Alan Stuart on Resilience, Bootstrapping, and Trusting the Team

As part of our interview series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A Founder”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Alan Stuart, Cash Warren, David Ehrenberg of Pair of Thieves.

L.A.-based brand Pair of Thieves was founded in 2012 by friends Alan Stuart, Cash Warren, and David Ehrenberg. Originally created as a sock company, the brand has expanded to men’s underwear and undershirts, bringing customers high-quality basics at an affordable price. Their products not only feature unique styles and designs but are made of high-performance fabrics, innovating the only Swass-Free technology in the market. Since inception, Pair of Thieves has donated millions of pairs of socks to those in need. Pair of Thieves apparel can be found on pairofthieves.com.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Cash Warren — We identified an area that frustrated consumers and took the initiative to come up with a solution to the problem.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

Cash Warren — When we first started the business we actually had a talent deal with a celebrity that we leveraged to sell into Target. It worked wonderfully given that the program was sold in to the retailer. Once the program was sold in we found out that the celebrity had pulled out so we had to pivot our pitch and story quickly. We had to come up with a replacement product that didn’t tie us to the celebrity — we flew to China to source our new product and that is when our SuperFit product came to life. It was a happy accident after all of the chaos.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

Alan Stuart — Entrepreneurs are built a little different, you have a certain attitude when it comes to business. When an entrepreneur gets told ‘no’ they hear ‘maybe’ which fuels the drive to continue. There isn’t an option to stop for founders.

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

David Ehrenberg — As of today Pair of Thieves has been in business for 9 years and at $100MM in revenue. Alan, Cash and I started with a $1,400 investment each and proud to say that it was without any outside capital from investors.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

David Ehrenberg — It wasn’t funny at the time but we definitely learned from our mistake! We ended up printing THIEVES on all socks but didn’t own the trademark, so we had to go buy it. It showed us that we had to be informed when it came to trademark searches.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

David Ehrenberg — We pride ourselves in being an approachable brand. From the way we position the brand to how we have built the company culture.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

David Ehrenberg — You must be patient and not try to grow too big too fast. Slow and steady will win the race.

Cash Warren — Make sure to understand your role in the industry, on a floorpad, or a marketplace.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Alan Stuart — My father.

Cash Warren — Roslyn, she made our very first product samples when we started the company & is still the lead we work with today. Over the years Roslyn has been super flexible and an awesome partner to work with, we wouldn’t be able to do it without her. The other key person to our story is our very first buyer who took a risk on a scrappy start up!

David Ehrenberg — My parents and wife.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

David Ehrenberg — GoodFits is the way we have brought good to the world. GoodFits is the pillar of Pair of Thieves where we give back to our partners like Baby2Baby, The Trevor Project and Bring Change to Mind. All three of us are charitable in our private lives and it was important to make it a core value for the company.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why?

1. Alan Stuart — you just need a yes from one human being to let things go through.
2. David Ehrenberg — buy TUMS; you’re going to get a lot of heart burn
3. David Ehrenberg — surround yourself with good people, it’s a team effort
4. Cash Warren — it’s hard to let go of control but you have to trust your people and delegate
5. Cash Warren — meditate and don’t forget to breathe

Can you share a few ideas or stories from your experience about how to successfully ride the emotional highs & lows of being a founder”?

Alan Stuart — Make sure to set timelines that are padded for unexpected turn of events.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Alan Stuart — The work we do to support mental health under our GoodFits pillar. It is important to support the next generation and the challenges that they are going to experience.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Pair of Thieves apparel can be found on pairofthieves.com.

Follow up on Instagram and TikTok!

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

About the Interviewer: Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA was born nearly blind, crippled with club feet, partially deaf, and left-handed. He overcame all of these obstacles to become a successful civil trial lawyer. In 2000, he abandoned his law practice to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity, and he executes his calling at many levels. He is an award-winning author, teacher, and trainer. He is a highly experienced mediator. Doug’s work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. Doug teaches his innovative de-escalation skill that calms any angry person in 90 seconds or less. With Laurel Kaufer, Doug founded Prison of Peace in 2009. The Prison of Peace project trains life and long terms incarcerated people to be powerful peacemakers and mediators. He has been deeply moved by inmates who have learned and applied deep, empathic listening skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills to reduce violence in their prison communities. Their dedication to learning, improving, and serving their communities motivates him to expand the principles of Prison of Peace so that every human wanting to learn the skills of peace may do so. Doug’s awards include California Lawyer Magazine Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, Purpose Prize Fellow, International Academy of Mediators Syd Leezak Award of Excellence, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals Neutral of the Year. His four books have won a number of awards and commendations. Doug’s podcast, Listen With Leaders, is now accepting guests. Click on this link to learn more and apply.