California Sigma (Sonoma State) Phi Zach Cohen became a young entrepreneur at just the age of 24. Cohen’s skills landed him a job right out of college; two years later Cohen quit his job to pursue his true passion, re-starting up the family business. As a little boy listening to stories his grandfather and uncle told him about the factory, Cohen developed a burning desire to revive the family business.
One generation later Cohen put everything on the line to pursue his dreams. Today Cohen is “creating Men’s Casual Apparel that’s Simple, Stylish and Fits the Way It Should.”
Cohen used Kickstarter to help promote and fundraise for his business. Kickstarter has only been around for just 5 years, yet it has become one of the hottest venues for startup projects. It has helped thousands of people launch their ideas into a reality. Each person is the pilot of his or her own project and is responsible for meeting his or her funding goal within a set deadline. Only about half the projects are successfully funded on Kickstarter, “Cohen and Sons” being one of them. While only 25% of the projects receive funding at $10K and above, the case of “Cohen & Sons” was an anomaly, achieving and surpassing this statistic.
Cohen’s objective was to raise $10,000 in under 30 days. He exceeded his goal by raising $12,000 in just two weeks. His first order of shipment goes out this fall. Cohen definitely recommends others to use Kickstarter if they have an idea for a project and want to share it with the world.
Recently “Cohen and Sons” was featured in MAXIM Magazine, a well-known worldwide magazine; which features young men clothing lines among other topics. “Cohen and Sons” has also been featured in Yahoo Finance, his local hometown magazine in Manhattan Beach, The Argonaut, and more. Ever since he used Kickstarter, “Cohen and Sons” startup revenue has skyrocketed and Cohen is now finally being recognized after all his hard work.
Cohen stated that if it wasn’t for him taking advantage of the opportunities throughout the Sonoma State business department, he would not have been prepared for the challenges he faces today, as an entrepreneur. Cohen was able to network with many students and “created a unique testing ground” which allowed him to learn from failures and build off his successes. Being able to practice “in a supportive and controlled environment where the cost of striking out isn’t as high as they are now” allowed Cohen to test the water without having to risk it all at a young age. This might require taking a leap into the unknown, but having the confidence and passion is the key to success.
For Business students seeking to be an entrepreneur, Cohen advises to network with numerous people and get an internship. An internship will allow students to get hands on experience. “Take what you learn in the classroom and test it out in the world,” said Cohen. “Odds are that some things won’t exactly go as planned but as you battle these challenges and learn from them you’ll keep improving. Then one day you’ll wake up and know how to easily handle things that used to seem like giant hurdles.”
