When Derian Baugh was a student at Grand View University, he spent a lot of time in class sketching clothes he wanted to wear.
But aside from some retail work right out of college, fashion had become more of a part-time thing than anything else.
Until this summer, when Baugh started Men’s Style Lab, an online service that helps men find and purchase clothes without having to shop or coordinate on their own.
Des Moines-based Men’s Style Lab has been accepted into a Madison, Wis.-based startup accelerator and Baugh will spend three months learning from mentors and meeting fellow entrepreneurs.
“They believe in us up front,” he said. “To have a serious accelerator, backed by an angel investor group in Wisconsin, to have that backing will help open doors. I have been waiting for that moment where my passion would align with an opportunity.”
An accelerator helps new startups through their early stages by introducing them to potentially helpful people and providing a space for the startups to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The Gener8or accelerator invests $20,000 in its five resident startups initially, with an additional $50,000 invested at the end of the program. According to some reports, the accelerator takes between 6 and 9 percent of a company’s equity.
As someone with an interest in fashion, Baugh was constantly asked for style advice by his friends and their wives.
He soon found a hole in the fashion delivery market and, being the son of an entrepreneur, set out to fill it.
But Men’s Style Lab isn’t the first on the market.
Chicago-based Trunk Club dubs itself a “premium-clothing service” and offers its customers clothing at prices that range from $100 to $300, depending on the item.
Baugh said he thought a similar service for less money would be popular. Men’s Style Lab items range from $50 to $80 for shirts and sweaters, with pants and jeans running $78 to $128. The site also offers free shipping.
“That’s where it started to come together,” he said. “We help men hit the reset button on their wardrobe without breaking the bank.”
Men’s Style Lab launched its testing mode in June. In October, the startup won a pitch competition against 15 other companies in Iowa City.
The company asks users to create a fashion profile, indicating what kind of clothes he wants to wear, then let Baugh and his small team shop for them.
The lab sends a box full of items that users can try for 10 days. They can then return the clothing or keep it and pay Men’s Style Lab.
Although the system works for now, with Baugh and chief technology officer Aaron Hoffman doing the shopping, Baugh hopes the Gener8or accelerator helps him serve a larger number of customers.
Baugh said his college self would have been impressed.
“Yes, 20-year-old Derian would be excited at what 31-year-old Derian is doing,” Baugh said. “I’m in the one percent of the guys who like to shop and I serve the 99 percent who hate it.”
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