Pirata Couture

The Challenge

In 2010, after a Fortune-500  career in Sales & Finance, Founder Dan Stevens launched a start-up apparel brand PIRATA COUTURE & PIRATA CLOTHING. The brand name PIRATA is paying homage to his family blood line that is linked to the famous pirate Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard! Without manufacturing capabilities, wholesale suppliers, fashion training, or even the ability to sew, Dan set sail with his daughter to build a new clothing brand.

He completed is first order by sourcing black and white polka-dot women's tops from a discount wholesale supplier he located in Brooklyn, NY and having his daughter market offline to her friends for $30 per top.  They immediately sold-out and had created their first revenue from clothing sales.

What We Did

Taking a bootstrap approach to grow the business we launched a new website. Moving the business online was accomplished by becoming an affiliate of a major swimwear manufacturer in California and hosting a private label website under the brand name www.piratacouture.com. Pirata Couture was now had a drop shipping website that offered a vast array of swimwear made in California, USA.  We also leverage my marketing and sales background coupled with Brittany's hospitality background as a graduate of FIU School of hospitality and her experience with Universal City Walk and Bravo/Brio Restaurant group to launch events.

Our first official event was launched on September 19, 2012  International Talk Like a Pirate Day hosted by Milliken's Reef at Port  Canaveral.

See Video Below.

What We Achieved

Utilizing guerrilla  marketing tactics we were able to build national and international brand awareness.   In 2014 we partnered with a major e-commerce platform and grew on online sales from $0 to $50,000 per month using an omni-channel approach top sales and creating subscription Pirata Couture's Treasure Chest  and  My Party Bitch (A Bridal & Bachelorette Retail Experience). We continued to host our annual Pirate Party and Pop Up Shopping experiences at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and with business owners in Tampa affiliated with Gasparilla Pirate Festival.