STATE was founded by social entrepreneurs and husband-and-wife team Scot and Jacqueline Tatelman, who came up with the idea after witnessing kids carrying their belongings in plastic bags. That prompted the pair to launch STATE, a line of clean, colorful backpacks, totes, lunch bags and pencil cases that kids are proud to carry, and that make a difference too.
For every STATE bag purchased, the Brooklyn-based company gives a fully stocked knapsack to a child in need—whether growing up in at-risk neighborhoods, homeless, undergoing cancer treatment or living with special needs. And not only are the carryalls philanthropic, but STATE’s streamlined designs come in a wide range of graphic prints and modern colors, ensuring there’s a style for every grown-up and child alike.
Beyond donating bags, the STATE team’s bigger goal is to find communities to support in ways that don’t just involve material handouts, but eye-opening, inspirational experiences that motivate kids of all backgrounds to beat the odds often stacked up against them.
To find out more, Ready Set Rocket Founding Partner and Chief Strategist Alex Lirtsman spoke with Beryl Solomon (right), who has been CEO at STATE Bags since January 2016.
How would you describe your brand in 4 words?
Cool, colorful, fun and authentic.
What’s your brand mission?
We sell bags—predominantly backpacks—for men, women, and kids. For every bag we sell, we donate one to an American child living in situations of need. We believe you can simultaneously build a large profitable fashion brand AND give back to your community. Business and social responsibility cannot and should not be contradictory. We are working on an official mission statement. The working draft is: “To be more than just a backpack. To be a Give Back Pack.”
Are you trying to create or disrupt a category? If so, how?
We are not re-inventing the wheel—we make backpacks. BUT… we do aim to make the BEST backpacks. Our goal is for STATE Bags to be synonymous with backpacks. We want to own the category. Currently, there are very few players committed specifically to the backpack space. Lots of fashion brands, lots of accessory brands, lots of outdoor brands—but there is a large white space for cool and functional backpacks.
Conversely, we are “disrupting” or building upon, as we like to say, the one-for-one model. For every bag sold, we hand-deliver a bag filled with tools for success to an American child in need. We deliver the bags in a totally unique and authentic way.
Our team of Child Development specialists, who we dub our STATE PackMen/Women, lead motivational, high-energy bag drop rallies that leave participating kids with not only a fully-stocked backpack, but a renewed spirit and belief in themselves. We are selling and therefore donating more than just backpacks—they are #GiveBackPacks. We do more than just organize a material donation.
"…Companies should use their voice to better the world." @StateBags mentoring @nycBOSS entrepreneurs hoping to launch their businesses pic.twitter.com/HJgwhzDAMJ
— Gloria CanalesMcCabe (@gcanalesmccabe) May 19, 2017
Our Founders, husband and wife duo Scot and Jacq Tatelman created STATE Bags after seeing kids at their non-profit summer camp carrying all their possessions in trash bags. We were giving before we were selling and we know first hand that there is value in more than just just “stuff”.
How is your brand answering a unique need in the marketplace, or improving on what’s out there?
Backpacks are a trend, but they aren’t going anywhere. With jeans and sneakers uniforms, hectic lifestyles (gym-to-work-to-dinner), and the need to be hands-free, backpacks are here to stay. We are filling a white space in the market for fashionable and simultaneously utilitarian bags.
Handbags have long been a status symbol—the brand you carry speaks to the world about your style. We want to reframe that—carrying a STATE Bag is a symbol of your style AND your values.
Tell us about how you’ve been growing since launch—and in what ways?
We are in the hockey stick growth phase. Wwe are growing in all ways: Sales, Team, Reach, you name it. It is super exciting and sometimes stressful. We are still in “startup” mode, mostly.
How are you using new technologies to scale?
We are by no means a technology company, but we are selling a great product to an increasingly digitally-savvy audience. More than half our consumers are millennials. So we certainly discuss technology daily, mostly in relationship to our website. We have no plans of opening a brick and mortar store anytime soon, so our site is our Flagship.
We are constantly ideating on how to make the shopping experience not only best in class but also fun. We utilize Olapic to collect and organize UGC (user generated content), Tangiblee to help our customers “try on” products, and we are currently developing two exciting interactive interfaces. One will enable interactive customization and personalization and the other will work with customers in a personal shopping capacity. We also just starting working with some data scientists that are helping us tailor messages to specific customer cohorts and lessen our dependency on the batch-and-blast email philosophy.
How do you create emotional resonance with consumers when you’re a yet-to-be-known entity?
This is where we believe we excel. We have such an authentic story and plethora of content that once customers encounter STATE and start digging into our brand, they become fans. Our challenge is less in resonating—it is more with attracting the right eyeballs and cutting through the noise of fashion and startups today.
As you look at cautionary tales such as Theranos that didn’t have the substance and authenticity behind the buzz, how do you manage buzz and expectations as you grow?
I think about this constantly. Our first Team member just announced she is pregnant. So we needed to land a maternity policy. We preach we are a family friendly organization that puts people first. So it was time to act accordingly. I am so proud of where we landed: 10 weeks paid leave and a two-week phase-in period. It is so important to me, as a leader, a woman and a mom, that we act authentically and with empathy.
How crucial is authenticity in breaking through?
CRITICAL. What led me to this interview was my participation in a panel at the Interbrand Breakthrough Brands conference about authenticity. Customers today are smart, especially when it comes to sniffing out imposters. We strive every day to remain authentic, both internally and externally.
What do you see as your biggest opportunity and/or challenge to future growth?
Backpacks are here to stay, but startup life is tough. We just need to stay the course and keep working hard. I know we will “pop” and STATE will be a household name. I feel it in my bones! We hope everyone reading this will check out #GiveBackPack at statebags.com and support this great cause!
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