$50M Exit – David Schottenstein, Astor & Black

In this episode, Steve, Mary, Richard, and David Schottenstein discuss:

• How Astor & Black started
• The investments that David made after selling Astor & Black
• What inspired him to create Viewabill and what led to him despising the company
• The art behind naming a business and the design of a product

Key Takeaways:

• Rome wasn’t built in a day and successful people are willing to do the things that unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.
• After selling a company, consider immediately investing in small businesses
• Source high quality materials and sell them at a reasonable price
• Be willing to make less in order to charge a fair price.

“My mentality was pretend like this money does not exist, put it away pretend like you’re never gonna make another buck again and this has to tie me over for years to come  “ — David Schottenstein

About David Schottenstein:

At the age of 21, Mr. Schottenstein founded Astor & Black, which quickly became the fastest growing custom clothing company in the US. In 2009, he was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year; 2010, Inc.’s 30 Under 30; and in 2011, Mr. Schottenstein sold a majority stake in Astor & Black to a private equity group. In 2012, Mr. Schottenstein and a childhood friend founded Viewabill, a cutting edge, rapidly growing cloud-based transparency tool that allows clients to view their legal work in progress in real time. In addition, Mr. Schottenstein has invested in several business ventures; Mizzen+Main, a men’s clothing company that focuses on performance material dress garments; Hilflint, a men’s clothing company specializing in higher-end collegiate and professional sports knitwear; Farm Hill, a food startup delivering healthy delicious meals directly to the customer; Mellow, a new robotic sous-vide cooking machine, made for the convenience of home cooking.

In 2017, Mr. Schottenstein set his sights on reframing the luxury eyewear market with the launch of Privé Revaux Eyewear. Mr. Schottenstein, along with an elite team including celebrity visionaries and partners Jamie Foxx, Hailee Steinfeld and Ashley Benson as well as VP of Celebrity Relations Dave Osokow and Creative Directors Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn have redefined the luxury sunglasses market with high-quality, on-trend frames retailing for $29.95/pair.

 
Connect with David Schottenstein:

• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/dschottCEO
• https://twitter.com/priverevaux
• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/david.schottenstein
• https://www.facebook.com/priverevaux/
• Website:  https://www.priverevaux.com
• Email:  ds@priverevaux.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dbschottenstein/
• https://www.instagram.com/priverevaux/

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