Taylor Stitch, a men’s lifestyle brand, was launched in 2007 with a humble mission: to build a better tailored men’s shirt. Co-founded by Michael Maher, Barrett Purdum, and Mike Armenta, Taylor Stitch continues to be at the forefront of the well-made, casual clothing movement. “We don’t think of ourselves as fashion forward, but as building classic clothes,” Maher said. “We’re the opposite of fast fashion. We take a really iterative approach.”

Working Solutions provided crucial funding and support as the business was starting out. “We didn’t have a huge understanding of where to get capital,” Maher said. “And Working Solutions was about more than just money. They sat with us and helped us figure out what we were going to do.”

Taylor Stitch co-founders Michael Maher, Barrett Purdum, and Mike Armenta (Photo courtesy of Taylor Stitch)

In 2011, with the help of a $50,000 loan and customized business consulting from Working Solutions, Taylor Stitch opened its first retail location on Valencia Street in San Francisco. “The loan allowed us to buy inventory, prepare, and launch the business,” Maher said.

Today, Taylor Stitch has three brick-and-mortar stores—two in San Francisco and one in Japan—in addition to its online presence. The company sells a wide array of men’s clothing and accessories, all constructed for durability and comfort, with the idea that customers can wear the brand everywhere from their backyards to the boardroom.

The company pledges to build the best possible clothing while limiting its environmental impact. Taylor Stitch uses organic, recycled, and regenerative fibers whenever possible, and the company recently launched a buyback program called “Restitch” to help keep used clothes out of landfills.

All products are designed in San Francisco and made at factories in the U.S., Mexico, China, and Great Britain. “We have built five pillars of responsibility, taking into account not just the materials of a garment but also the people who make it, the facility they make it in, and the impact that has on the planet,” Maher told Entrepreneur magazine in a recent interview.

Taylor Stitch products are constructed for durability and comfort (Photo courtesy of Taylor Stitch)

“It’s been amazing to have a community interested in building things that are going to last,” Maher said. “It’s nice to have a place like San Francisco that is open to new ideas, which helps us spread the message that it’s better to invest in fewer, higher quality clothes, and you’ll save a lot of money in the long term because you don’t have to replace them as often. Our customers have the same philosophy.” In fact, a unique crowdfunding platform called the “Workshop” that lives on the Taylor Stitch site allows customers to help select some of the products that get made, a process that gets their buy-in and helps eliminate the waste of overproduction.

Since receiving the loan from Working Solutions, Maher estimates that Taylor Stitch has grown 750 percent. The company started with three employees and now has over 30 employees around the world. Looking ahead, Taylor Stitch aims to continue to grow and raise more capital in order to open more stores and develop a catalog.

Maher would enthusiastically recommend Working Solutions to other entrepreneurs. “It’s an awesome resource, not only because of the capital, but also because of the advisory services and the mentorship—the community that they build,” he said. “It’s not only the people you have on the advisory team; there’s also a community of other entrepreneurs. We help each other. It’s nice to see entrepreneurs and others giving back.”

Visit Taylor Stitch online at www.taylorstitch.com to see the full product line and learn more about the company’s commitment to creating durable, comfortable, and high-quality menswear!