May 13, 2019 By: mbrennan
Kukin Lecture Series Presents Kay Unger: Designer, Business Creator, Philanthropist
What makes for successful entrepreneurs? The ability to see a white space. They see something that needs filling, and they fill it. Intrigued by the answer? So, too, were students from the students who gathered at Yagoda Commons on Friday, May 10, 2019, to hear Kay Unger share her experiences as a fashion designer and entrepreneur at the academic year鈥檚 closing talk of the Doris and Dr. Ira Kukin Entrepreneurial and Executive Lecture Series. Debra Pine, assistant administrative dean at the Sy Syms School of Business, is the series coordinator.
In her welcoming remarks, Marcy Syms, president of the Sy Syms Foundation and fellow entrepreneur, offered a brief summary of her friend鈥檚 many accomplishments, among them founder and manager of four global fashion companies: the Gillian Group, Kay Unger New York, Kay J鈥檚 Pajama and Phoebe Couture. In 2012, she expanded her design efforts beyond the category of women鈥檚 clothing when she launched Kay Unger Design. Presently, she is a trustee of the New School and chairwoman of the board of governors at Parsons School of Design.
Unger began her career in fashion as an apprentice to couture designer Geoffrey Beene in the early 1970s. (Issey Miyake, the Japanese fashion designer known for his technology-driven clothing designs, was Beene鈥檚 other assistant). A few years later, she decided to design her own clothes on the side. She would take her bicycle to Bloomingdale鈥檚, one of her first customers, and drop off dress orders before she rode off to her 鈥渄ay job.鈥 But her career unofficially started much earlier than that. At the age of eight, she received the gift of a sewing machine and wasted no time in creating unique skirts from bedcovers she managed to steal from her family鈥檚 linen closet.
鈥淭he thing that makes someone an entrepreneur is that you see an opportunity and you just grasp it. Without thinking, without stopping, without worrying that you might not be educated or qualified enough,鈥 said Unger. 鈥淵ou just go for it. That鈥檚 how I got into design.鈥
But the creativity and enthusiasm of the entrepreneurial spirit needs to be balanced by the reality of finance. Her first established company, the Gillian Group, quickly became one of the largest suppliers of women鈥檚 apparel in America, growing to a $125 million company. Unger recounted how her superficial understanding of financial fundamentals led to a series of missteps with her partners, resulting in the company filing for bankruptcy. It was a difficult lesson but one from which she recovered.
Cautioning the audience of budding entrepreneurs, Unger remarked that regardless of how unique or niche-filling a product is, 鈥測ou must be willing to understand finance and business plans. One of the biggest mistakes people make is growing their companies too quickly.鈥 She also added that 鈥渨hen choosing a business partner, judge them as if they were to be your future spouse.鈥
Throughout the lecture, she underscored the importance of working for someone else at the start of a career. 鈥淓ntrepreneurs have to begin somewhere. If your goal is to create your own business, it鈥檚 best to work at an established company first,鈥 Unger advised. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter whether it鈥檚 big or small. Learn on someone鈥檚 else dime. Find out what you don鈥檛 like and understand why.鈥
In her closing comments, she talked about the challenges of sustainability and how several companies were addressing it in innovative ways, such as Ikea鈥檚 give back program, which takes back 鈥済ently used furniture鈥 for resale, and The RealReal鈥檚 unique approach to luxury consignment sales. 鈥淔or entrepreneurs, there are plenty of business opportunities in sustainability,鈥 said Unger. 鈥淟ook at the white space that needs to be filled and see how to fill it.鈥
