A young pilot, who initially set out to become a doctor was determined to start a business of his own, he decided build something where he can pour out his creativity while doing something charitable and give back to the world.

As a result, The i Am brand was born, a t-shirt company founded by Matthew Perret that not only sells eco friendly t-shirts but also donates $2 per shirt to several charitable trusts associated with them; a lucky bean is shipped to the buyer with the t-shirt as a sweet gesture. "We give this bean in the spirit that everyone have the essentials in life, which in reality is a happy existence." they say.

Matt has been very kind to spare some time tell us more about The i Am brand and himself.





To begin with, tell us about yourself.

My name is Matthew Perret from New Orleans, LA. I am 24 years old. I went to college my first year to become a doctor. Trust me I am not that smart. I soon realized that I was not interested in the coursework and decided that I was going to do something in life that I would enjoy.

I worked all summer to pay for and get my private pilot license. Then I decided that I definitely wanted to be an airline pilot and went to school at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to finish my degree in Aeronautical Science. I worked really hard in school and flight instructed for a little while, then was hired by the airlines. It is my belief that you can do anything that you put your mind to with hard work and a good attitude.

Throughout this entire time I always knew that I wanted to start some sort of business that was fun and charitable. Becoming a pilot so young, I kept feeling like there has to be something more. I wanted to give back and do something good. That is where the i Am brand idea came in. I always have felt very fortunate to have great family and friends which makes everything seem possible. I love to try new things and just live a happy life.

How did the idea of 'i Am' occur to you?

I began to think of ideas for a business with my buddy Scott. We would get together and discuss crazy ideas from college moving services to outsourcing career counseling called "Your Life." T-shirts kept coming up in the conversations, but didn't seem the most plausible. I am somewhat creative so I started making a few designs and putting together a website on my trips and during my spare time. I kept feeling this urge to start a business that was charitable and gave back. I kept seeing all these t-shirts around , but just couldn't seem to relate to any. I began to think about what I thought would be a perfect shirt. Thats when the i Am idea came about.

I decided to donate a good chunk of the profit of each shirt to charities inline with the shirt that is bought. For example, If you buy an Aviation shirt, $2 dollars goes to the Air Charity Network. I thought this would be great, even if I just broke even I would be giving back to so many different charities. Then I thought if I am going to do this it has to be done right. First thing, I hate is paying for shipping, so we offer $1 shipping on all orders. I also don't like hurting the environment so I went with an Enviroline of chemicals and water-based inks. I also hate that America is losing all of its manufacturing jobs so I buy shirts that are only made in the USA and we print the shirts ourselves so they are 100% made in our USA keeping jobs in our country for our future. Basically, the shirts embody everything that I believe is good.

After about a year and half, I finally finished the website as you see it today. During this time I also closed in my carport to make room for the screen printing press. Learned how to screen print and the rest is history.

When you decided to run your own business, printing shirts, graphics and designing websites etc were very new to you. Would you say that you had to go through a lot in order to kickstart your business? What were the major hindrances that you faced and how did you overcome them?

My initial reaction to almost everything is "oh yeah I can do that" I had no doubt that I could learn everything that I needed to know to run a business. To me it is very important to know every aspect of your business whether it be creating the website to how to printing shirts. If down the road we are let say outsourcing our printing and for some reason they cannot get an order out, I have the knowledge and equipment to print the shirts and fill the order.

Everyone has there strengths and weaknesses, for me designing the website came naturally, while mixing colors for screenprinting, not so much. You just have to think through everything before you execute. I read everything that I could get my hands on, learned as much as I could, then dove in and did it. Two of my major hindrances are still money and time. Flying full time, being gone 4 days a week and coming home and printing shirts is not for the feint of heart, but you only live once. Money is always a factor in anything that you do. Should I buy the screen press now or wait a few months till I have saved up for it? As long as you do things 100% you can never make a bad decision, because a bad decision always has a good side.

We learnt that with every sale, you ship a lucky bean with the t-shirt. Please enlighten us about this unique concept.

The Lucky Bean explanation is here.

We would love to learn about your marketing strategies, since i Am Brand is a new business, it would be refreshing to know how startups plan and execute their marketing campaigns.

The first plan is to go crazy on our social marketing campaign. We also have been building relationships with our charities. We also have a deal with certain clubs in which we donate back to them for every shirt that is sold. I have a few other crazy ideas but I am not sure if they are going to work so if they do I will let you know. A storefront is in the works probably in New Orleans. You go in chose your design and we screen print the shirt right there in front of you. Thats just an idea right now.

According to you, what are the top most priorities while launching a business, specially in E-commerce.

The top priority is to run a successful business, that gives back, does things right, has fun and inspires others along the way to do the same. E-commerce is so unique in that you can run a business with very little capital. It levels the playing field. If you have the desire and drive to start something its now possible to start out with E-commerce and with success move on to bigger and better things. Live the American dream.

What are your interests or hobbies Matt?. Also could you share your favorite books, music, movies, travel destination and websites with us.

I just read Freakonomics, which was pretty good. I really enjoy Entrepreneur, Inc. and Fast Company magazines. I really have too many favorite travel destinations. Being a pilot, I travel a lot all over the world. The next trip we have planned is to Hawaii to see some friends, hop to Tokyo for a few days, maybe down to Australia, then back home.

Where do you see your self and i Am brand 5 years from now?

In five years I see us a nationwide brand that has made a significant contribution to all of the charities that we support. When you see someone walking down the street with an i Am shirt you will know that they are good people. Also, working on my next social venture.

What advice would you like to give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

My personal motto is "Never Forfeit." It's on the wallpaper of my computer. If you want something bad enough go for it, but don't forget about everyone who has helped you along the way and think of those that you can help. That is what life is about.

I like this quote, "What you do speaks so loudly, that I cannot hear what you say." -Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Thank You Matt for the wonderful interview.

Do check out our giveaway contest and get a chance to win one of these amazing i Am brand t-shirts.