How one couple's apartment hunt sparked the idea for a clothing company

by Liz Warren
August 2, 2017

The New York apartment hunt can make people crazy. For Laura and Michael Dweck, it made them entrepreneurs.

The two moved into their “cozy” Manhattan apartment and quickly realized there was little space for their clothes. They’d have to do some purging — and for Michael, that meant parting ways with an eclectic, excessive wardrobe and starting fresh.

So began the quest for the perfect tees, underwear, socks and sweatpants to replace his old collection. But it turns out finding new basics was actually pretty complex. Everything he found was either expensive designer products or generic and poorly made.

“He found that to be a super stressful and expensive shopping experience,” said Laura. “We came up with Basic Outfitters and our flagship service of the Create-a-Drawer to make it as easy as possible for guys to refill their basics drawers.”

Users can choose from a variety of basics and either purchase them on their own or take advantage of the Create-a-Drawer feature. By choosing the latter, they’re able to stock their wardrobes with up to 19 items for $60 and get everything delivered straight to their doors.

Like the company’s products, their e-commerce process is simple. They offer users a three-step process to keeping their dressers stocked with high quality, modestly priced basics. There’s no commitment required, though users can invite friends to the site and get a $20 referral credit to split with their friend. If said friend hasn’t taken advantage of the discount in three days, they receive a reminder email to nudge them along.

Basic Outfitters was launched in the city in 2015 and currently has six employees in addition to freelancers. The pair grew up in the area, with Laura hailing from Brooklyn and Michael from New Jersey.

“New York has proven to be invaluable when it comes to networking,” said Laura. “The energy and pace here is not matched anywhere else!”

 

Image via Facebook.

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