1. ISSUE 7
COLLECTIVE
renegade game changers | thought leaders | rule breakers | style makers
FASHION / DESIGN / FILM / FOOD / TECH / ART / SOCIAL CHANGE / TRAVEL
BEYONCÉ
HOW SHE
TURNED
THE MUSIC
INDUSTRY
ON ITS
HEAD
LANDING A COOL
US$350M
FROM GOOGLE
52PEOPLE
ROCKING
THE WORLD
HOW TO
FIND YOUR
PURPOSE
GARY
PEPPERSECRETS OF A
SUPER BLOGGER

2. 084 THE COLLECTIVE 085
THE NEW CLASS
ACES OF LACES
AS FAR as money-making VENTURES GO, selling men’s
SHOELACES may not be the first thing that comes to mind.
But these YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS from Melbourne have
the BUSINESS of shoestrings ALL TIED UP.
WORDS: MELANIE DIMMITT
O
n a warm
November day at a
pub in 2012, Leigh
Scholten returned
from the bar with
the Top Gun theme
song in his head,
the seeds of a footwear revolution
having just been sown moments
before. Along with a fresh jug of beer,
he and fellow graphic designers Jayden
Zernich and Luke Schoknecht had
found their brand name – Mavericks
Laces – and an idea for a business
that, one year on, is sprucing up men’s
kicks from Europe to the US.
Having befriended each other
working on various design projects, the
trio were “looking to get the band back
together”, as Jayden puts it, on behalf of
the crew. Their idea – to create quality,
colourful shoelaces for men – started as
a case study.
“It’s hard to show people in this age
that you need to adapt and evolve with
your customer,” he says.
So they became their own test
subjects. “We wanted a business where
we could be our own client.” The boys
had experience in branding and digital
design for shoe retailers throughout
Melbourne. They shared a knowledge
of the industry and, Jayden confesses, a
“shoe obsession”.
“We were jamming,” Jayden says
of their brainstorming session, “and
thought, ‘If we can think of an idea
around shoes then we’re already one
step ahead.’” Puns aside, they did just
that, devising a “happy socks version of
shoe laces that allows the modern-day
man to accessorise without being too
full-on”.
The Maverick ideology is central to
the boys’ brand, and Jayden assures this
is not only due to their love of Top Gun.
“You’ve got to skew left of centre and be
your own person,” he says.
“You’ve got to be a maverick.”
The division of labour fell into
place. “Collectively we all work across
the design elements. That’s a given,”
Jayden says. Luke took on logistics
and social media, Leigh inventory and
stock, and Jayden retail interaction and
business development. Their experience
of running design studios helped the
business get off the ground and they
each injected AU$1000 into the venture.
After researching local and offshore
manufacturers, they locked down
suppliers that worked with their favourite
shoe brands.
Maverick’s laces are made from 100
per cent waxed
cotton in vibrant
hues and each
have a tale to tell.
You can trim your
uppers with Archie
– the racy red lace
whose middle name
is danger – or cobalt
blue Dylan, who
gets along with
any shoe he meets.
Charlie, Goose and Iceman are there for
the Top Gun fans, and who could resist
Nemo, the coral-coloured lace from the
brand’s spring/summer range, not afraid
to prove his Maverick status despite his
shorter length.
And while it’s fun and fresh, there are
years of creative experience behind this
shoelace brand.
“The content build was just going
to come down to how much time we
wanted to push into the idea,” Jayden
says, revealing it would usually cost
a business between AU$15,000 and
AU$20,000 to start up and adding that
they are grateful for their experience –
and connections – approaching Belmore
Bootmakers, Henry Bucks and Beggar
Man Thief as their launching stockists.
“I think it gave us that bit of
YOU’VE got to
SKEW LEFT of
centre and be your
OWN PERSON.
You’ve GOT TO
be a MAVERICK.
credibility we required,” says Jayden.
At last count, their newbie laces were
sold in more than 30 outlets across
Australia, Europe and the US.
The reality of Mavericks Laces as a
viable business is setting in.
“We’re working to get a consistent
average between
retailers and
online sales,” says
Jayden. Their
focus, however,
remains on the
customer.
“If you
can involve
them in your
brand’s story
they’ll become
secondary brand ambassadors,” he
says. “Having free brand ambassadors
is invaluable.”
As far as start-ups go, the idea of
selling shoelaces is almost unnervingly
simple. “You get a few people who
scoff at the idea,” Jayden says,
“and for a minute you think, ‘Am I
doing the right thing?’” The overall
reception, however, has been quite the
opposite, with lecturers and design
teachers even using their business
to demonstrate that sometimes, the
simplest ideas are the best. “To hear
that,” he continues, “makes us think
we’re doing it for a reason.”
Feeling a little left out, I ask if there
are laces for ladies in the pipeline.
Jayden says they’ve found targeting a
brand to women tends to deter men,
but “target towards men and you can
essentially make a unisex product”, he
explains. “When we started, 60 per cent
of our online orders were from women.”
In addition to the shop, Mavericks’
online platform boasts a ‘lacing styles’
section. There’s the ‘double cross’,
the ‘double back’ and the striking
‘commando’ – born of their research into
army hi-top lacing. The ‘bowtie’ style is
an original.
“We’d all been doing it for a while,” he
says, “it’s one of our signatures.”
The well-laced trendsetters say they
keep their eyes and ears open, acting
“like sponges” around like-minded
brands. “With digital media there’s so
much to learn and everyone wants to
help each other out,” says Jayden of the
modern retail community.
Their advice for fellow business
starters: if you’ve got an idea, run with
it. “A mentor told us that 20 per cent
of an idea launching into the market
is better than 100 per cent of it never
launching,” says Jayden. They adopted
this philosophy, accepting failure in
some areas but learning as they go and
adapting with their customer.
As Jayden puts simply, “As long as
it’s a strong idea, we’re growing as a
company.” With so much ground trod in
only a year, these Mavericks have the
world at their feet.
THE NEW CLASS