BybrGina Tagliarino
Localbrentrepreneur Evan Williams lives life on the edge. And with his brand, KarelessbrOriginal, anybody can embrace the carefree lifestyle.
TrophybrClub native Evan Williams may consider himself to be “Kareless,” but let's bebrclear. This 23-year-old entrepreneur is anything but careless about his business.brSince the inception of his apparel brand known as Kareless Original in 2012, abrseemingly fleeting idea has evolved into a thriving business. And it allbrstarted with one simple goal: to bring people together, while celebrating theirbrunique qualities.
Thebra-ha moment struck when Williams was a 17-year-old student at Northwest HighbrSchool in Justin. Saturdays were always spent at local streetcar races, with Williamsbrin the driver's seat.
“Ibrwouldn't say that I'm an adrenaline junkie, but I do like to push the limits,” saysbrWilliams. “I don't like to sit on the sidelines.”
Thisbrgo-getter spirit inspired him to create a car club for himself and his crew ofbrlike-minded friends, all who shared the notion life isn't a spectator sport.
“Itbrdidn't start as a business, but just a way to identify us as a group,” Williamsbrrecalls. When the term “Kareless” came to mind, Williams said he knew itbrperfectly represented the type of lives he and his friends aimed to lead, wherebrrules are ignored and self-expression is welcomed. And the grammar-defying “k”?brWell, that's just part of the attitude.
“Webrwanted to stand out and be different. It's something people often do in the carbrand bike culture—to misspell something,” he shares. “It's just one more thingbrthat makes it unique, and it continues with the styling of the letters and thebrcolors in the logo. It all comes into play.”
Oncebr“Kareless” was established as their car-club motto, Williams realized it hadbrthe potential to resonate with people outside his close-knit group.
“Ibrfelt like it could be something bigger,” he says. “I started making stickersbrthat said ‘Kareless' and giving them out to my friends. Watching them put thembron their cars started to motivate me. I thought, ‘What could we do with this?'”
The Birth of a Brand
Settingbrout to stake claim on his idea, Williams learned he would need to set himselfbrapart even more to be granted a legal trademark. And so, “Kareless Original”brwas born.
“Ibrkept saying to my friends, we need to be different, we need to be original,” hebrlaughs. “And then it just sort of turned into Kareless Original.”
Ratherbrthan getting bogged down on the daunting details of starting a business (withbrno prior business experience), Williams turned to Google for guidance and beganbrdeveloping his plan to bring his dream to reality.
“Sobrmany people get held up on the idea, but you'll never have a perfect idea,” hebrsays. “You're going to fall on your face.”
Eightbrout of 10 businesses fail within the first 18 months, according to Bloomberg,brbut Williams is still going strong four years later. The road's been a littlebrbumpy at times, and yes, he has tripped along the way. But like all successbrstories, this one continues because of his courage to get up and keep trying.
“Inbrthe beginning, all the money was going into the products, so I didn't ownbranything,” Williams says. “I just borrowed things where I could.”
Hebrcan't help but smile while remembering late nights spent on the floor of hisbrfriend's tattoo shop, creating the first line of Kareless stickers to sell atbrcar meets.
“Mybrbuddy had a vinyl plotter and cheap scraps, so I would go after they closed onbra Friday night around 3 a.m. and get to work,” he says. “That was the only waybrI could get it done, and the price was right.”
Hebrbegan selling these stickers based on two offers: one for $3 or two for $5,brwhile competing vendors offered one for $5.
“IfbrI can get double the product out there and get the stickers on both sides ofbrthe car or bike, it's worth it,” Williams says.
The Making of a Movement
Today,brKareless Original has grown up from just stickers to a full apparel line. Williamsbrand his crew of faithful Kareless Original teammates travel near and far tobrdrift car races (think “Fast and Furious”), totaling about 45 events in thebrsummer of 2015. Stopping to rest is not an option, with the crew sometimes sleepingbrjust two to three hours a night before they're back to work—always the first tobrarrive and the last to leave.
“Webrlike to call ourselves the ‘No Sleep Team,' so there's definitely a certainbrlevel of ambition to us,” Williams says.
Andbrthey aren't alone in this mentality. Phrases like “No Sleep Team” and “LivebrMore Kare Less” have become the mantra of the Kareless Family, an unrestrictedbrgroup of brand followers that builds momentum daily as Williams welcomes newbrmembers to join in the no-holds-barred movement.
Tobrbecome part of the Kareless Family, you don't necessarily have to join them atbra car meet, or even attend one of their Monday night promotional events atbrAlliance Skate Park in Grand Prairie. In fact, you don't even have to be an extremistbryourself. All you need is an internet connection and the willingness to livebrlife your way.
“Abrcool thing we just did in January 2016 was buy Kareless.com,” Williams says.brBuilding upon the traffic he had already established from KarelessOriginal.com,brhe's already seen growth by purchasing both URLs, and is excited for thebrpossibilities to come.
“Inbrthe last 60 days, we've hit 28 states and six different countries,” Williamsbrsays of his website traffic. “We had our busiest month so far in December 2015.”
Whetherbrit's a local order, or placed by someone from across the globe, Williams putsbrthe same care and attention to detail into each package. Not only does hebrpersonally fulfill and deliver each one to the post office himself, but he alsobrincludes a hand-stenciled logo and handwritten note.
“Ibrthink part of the excitement of getting an online order is, as soon as they getbrit, they can already tell what it is,” Williams says. “It lets them know webrtook the time to specifically mention them, while promoting the KarelessbrFamily.”
Blazing Ahead
Despitebrall of the success and growth over the past few years, Williams acknowledgesbrthere's still much to come in the future. In addition to stickers and apparel,brhe's looking into new products, such as custom-made backpacks. But he notes itbrmust be unique before he's willing to move forward with it. “If I wouldn't usebrit, I can't passionately sell it,” he says.
Tobrfurther their efforts to become a world-recognized brand, Kareless Originalbralso plans to focus on YouTube videos, partnering with motovloggers (these arebrpeople who attach a camera to themselves or their motorcycle when they ride) whobrwill share videos with their fan base. Williams also hopes to upgrade hisbrfacility space and be able to add someone to the team who can assist him withbrrunning the website when he's on the road. And of course, they'll continuebrmoving from city to city and show to show.
“Rightbrnow, everything I make goes back to making the business better,” Williams says.br“If I keep making sacrifices and I keep hustling, I'm confident it's going tobrcatch on more so than it already has.”
Itbrturns out that being Kareless looks a lot like a carefully planned successbrstory after all.
True Champions, On and Off the Field
Championsbrcome in many forms. There are the football stars, the baseball kings and thebrbusiness moguls. In the case of 10Star Apparel, you'll find them all. More thanbra decade after they brought the Southlake Carroll Dragons to two state titlesbrin 2002 and 2004, and state runners up in 2003, Chase Daniel and Aaron Luna arebrliving the dream that first found its inspiration on the football field manybryears before.
Thebrduo imagined forming a business together while student athletes at SouthlakebrCarroll, turning it into a reality in 2011 by partnering with B&EbrIndustries, a longtime leader in the apparel industry. Here's an update onbrwhere they are today, as they run one of the largest screen-printing and embroidery factoriesbrin the United States.
IfbrChase Daniel's name sounds more than a little familiar, don't be surprised. Thebrformer Dragon wide receiver went on to become a two-time Heisman trophybrcandidate as a quarterback for the Missouri Tigers, has a Super Bowl ring frombrhis time with the New Orleans Saints, and currently plays for the Kansas CitybrChiefs. The hardworking football player and entrepreneur also serves as founderbrand CEO of Grand Prairie-based 10Star Apparel, a custom apparel business that offers abrwide range of services to its customers, both locally and throughout thebrcountry.
“Ibrwork on company strategy,” Daniel says, “and I leverage my personalbrrelationships for business development.”
Itbrwas always a dream of Daniel's to start his own business, and at 10Star, he andbrhis partner, Luna, share the common belief that growth for the company comesbrthrough hard work and relationship building. With 300 employees working atbrtheir facility, including more than 30 graphic designers who work to customizebrthe customer experience, he's had the opportunity to watch these relationshipsbrflourish, while developing a sustainable community business in the process.
Asbrfor Luna, he transitioned from football to baseball after high school, findingbrsuccess at Rice University, where he was named an All-American in 2007. Bybr2008, he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, before retiring to focus hisbrefforts on the 10Star Apparel business as chief operating officer. In his role,brhe works alongside Daniel on the company's overall strategy, while using hisbranalytical skills to ensure it's executed successfully and efficiently.
“Studyingbrbusiness and marketing in college, we all knew someday we wanted to run our ownbrcompany,” Luna says. “Sports do not last forever, and our education has allowedbrus to set ourselves up for life after the game.”
Whenbrwe asked Luna what he wished for 10Star Apparel's future, he said the goal isbrto take the company to the top of the corporate apparel world—an achievementbrthey're already close to reaching. While we can only imagine the storiesbrthey'll have to share at their next class reunion, we know they'll fill us withbrDragon Pride and the spirit of a true champion.