UPDATED: Feb. 19, 2020 at 2:30 a.m.

Ben Goldsmith and Jackson Ensley created Popcycle, an initiative to promote local fashion designers on campus, with the intention of combining their skills and helping others.

Combining their experience in fashion and branding, Goldsmith and Ensley teamed up to create Popcycle, a brand that unites fashion enthusiasts on campus. The business provides fashion brands a platform to market their products to a broader audience and give customers the experience to purchase unique fashion pieces from student-owned brands.

“Before the first pop-up, it was more like a fashion project for us, and we just had this goal we wanted to achieve. After we did that, we both kind of realized that there was a little something there. Well, not a little something, a big something,” Ensley said.
After their launch last semester in Blackstone LaunchPad, Popcycle will hold its next pop-up on Feb. 20 in Syracuse University’s Life Sciences building from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The prices of the fashion pieces will range from $10-150.

Goldsmith and Ensley decided to collaborate after overhearing each other’s projects at Blackstone LaunchPad, a center for budding entrepreneurs. Goldsmith was talking about writing a business plan for a clothing brand retail store, and Ensley was brainstorming ways to connect people on campus through fashion.

“I originally had the idea for a brick-and-mortar shop, and it would cycle student-owned clothing brands through its retail space,” Goldsmith said. “Jackson overheard and pitched the idea of pop-ups. Popcycle started to evolve from there. No business is run by one person.’’

After pitching their idea to Linda Hartsock, executive director of the Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University, Hartsock motivated them to dig deeper into marketing and research that eventually would make Popcycle a viable business.
Hartsock added that she encouraged them to be aware of real-world issues associated in running a business, “which is doing it correctly.”

Blackstone LaunchPad has advised more than 4,000 faculty, staff and alumni from every academic unit on campus, Hartsock said.

“The model of retail has changed. The brick-and-mortar store experience is completely different,” she said. “Consumers are looking for more experiential and immersive retail experiences, and I think that is what pop-ups provide.”

The partners of Popcycle were quick to point to each other as the sources of the business’s strengths. A combined set of qualities — Goldsmith’s experience in branding and Ensley’s experience in fashion — made it possible for the two students to launch a successful first pilot in the LaunchPad last semester and grow from there, they said.

“It has been an absolute dream working with them,’’ Ensley said.

The business’ focus is to make it easier for student-owned brands to showcase their clothes in a professional setting. Popcycle also aims to make the process of entering the retail industry easier for students. The young entrepreneurs emphasized that Popcycle is not about them, but about helping “fashion lovers” on campus. They explained that their purpose was to make “win-win-win situations,” Goldsmith said.

“We win because we get to run a store, the brands win because their clothing is in a store and the people that are coming to our store are able to wear dope clothing you cannot find anywhere else in the world,’’ Ensley said.

Junior Ben Goldsmith and Sophomore Jackson Ensley created Popcycle, an initiative to promote local fashion designers. Now, they want to focus more on helping other people and building a fashion family on campus. Emily Steinberger | Design Editor

According to Yianni Biniaris, sophomore and founder of brand Treeasun, Popcycle helped him express his passion for fashion and grow his brand with branding, marketing and exposure. On campus, they aided in promoting Biniaris’ brand and were helpful in landing the Treeasun account to an additional 200 followers on Instagram.

Biniaris is one of the many independent students who will showcase their work at Thursday’s pop-up event in the Life Sciences Complex.

Popcycle has big plans for the future and doesn’t let financial goals define them, the founders said. They instead want to focus more on helping other people and building a fashion family on campus.

“My dad always told me, ‘whatever you do, it has to make money, but most importantly, it has to help other people,’” Goldsmith said.

The young entrepreneurs said due to the diverse clothing brands on campus reaching out to them, each pop-up event is going to be different and more exciting. The pop-up in Life Sciences features fashion created from a more artistic perspective, featuring hand-crafted and unique fashion pieces.

“We both just love what we do,” Ensley added. “Because of that, two kids with this much passion can really just do anything.’’

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, Goldsmith’s and Ensley’s year at SU was misstated. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on February 19, 2020 at 1:06 am