Firm Headed To Kickstarter For Helmets

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Gloria Hwang might have to change the name of her Mar Vista company.

The 29-year-old called her bike-helmet business Thousand believing that’s how many units she’d need to sell on Kickstarter to get the firm rolling.

After launching her campaign in May of last year, Hwang received preorders for five times that many of her helmets, style-conscious head gear that comes in black and gold. The helmets, which cost between $80 and $90, went on sale to the general public on July 28 through Thousand’s website.

Hwang originally set a goal of $20,000 for her monthlong Kickstarter campaign, but ended up raising about $230,000 from more than 2,300 backers. Most of the interest came from people viewing social media posts by Hwang’s friends and family, she said.

“It was one of those things that went instantly crazy,” she said. “Within the first week, we raised $100,000.”

Hwang’s product puts a modern twist on classic 1960s scooter helmets by incorporating sustainable components such as vegan leather straps.

She launched the company after quitting her job as a social impact specialist at footwear company Toms in Playa del Rey and co-founded the firm with Vanessa Huang, her former roommate at the University of Texas at Austin, and Amar Patel, who she “poached” away from Toms.

“We need slow growth for people to understand the product and lifestyle we’re trying to create,” she said. “The way Thousand will succeed will be to change the way people think about bike helmets.”

– Caroline Anderson

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