Tag: Shop-A-Thon

Before it was a hipster destination and rents started rise faster than those in Manhattan, Brian Leventhal (BSBA’05) had a brilliant idea: to open a winery in Brooklyn. Urbanites could actually participate in the wine making experience from crushing grapes to making wine labels. Brooklyn Winery opened in the Williamsburg neighborhood in 2010 with a wine bar, private event spaces, and a DIY experience under the guidance of a master vintner. This fall, Leventhal and his partners expanded their operation with the opening of BKW restaurant in Crown Heights (see press release below). Plans for a second winery in 2017 in Washington D.C. are also in the works.

Brooklyn Winery does not grow grapes, but imports them from the wine regions of California, Long Islad and the Finger Lakes in upstate New York.  Their Winter Wine Pack  is currently discounted at 15% off. It includes: a 2013 Reserve Merlot; 2012 Cabernet Franc; and 2014 Unoaked Chardonnay.

When he was a WashU undergrad, Brian Levethal founded Wydown Water – a water cooler bottle delivery service on campus. He did a stint at McKinsey & Co. after graduation and then worked for a tech start-up. On the verge of going to Haas School of Business for his MBA, Leventhal and a friend decided to risk everything and start Brooklyn Winery.

New Restaurant Press Release:
BKW introduces a reimagined take on the Brooklyn Winery experience to Crown Heights, offering Brooklyn-made premium wines as well as a full menu of elegant New American dishes. Whether you’re sipping wine at the bar or enjoying dinner under the skylights in our Crown Heights restaurant, BKW provides a welcoming environment for guests to savor elevated cuisine alongside artisanal wine.

Rootbeer-glazed pork ribs

The menu, crafted by Executive Chef Michael Gordon, features a variety of approachable yet refined dishes designed to complement Brooklyn Winery’s portfolio of wines, which are available by the glass and via wine flights. A bottle list features vintages of Brooklyn Winery wines from the vault that date back to the winery’s first harvest and are available exclusively at BKW.

Brooklyn Winery continues its tradition of making wine in the borough by operating a micro-winery on-site at BKW, which will allow the winemaking team to trial experimental lots and techniques that will ultimately be served exclusively at this location.

We invite you to join us for dinner, weekend brunch, happy hour, and late night drinks. Visitors can also pick up a few bottles of our locally crafted wine to go and enjoy Brooklyn Winery wine at home.

That’s Jimmy Sansone (BSBA’10), in the photo above with his brother Lan. Jimmy is the founder of The Normal Brand and Lan helped him start the company. The brand is barely two-years old, but creating quite a buzz. As part of Olin’s holiday Shop-A-Thon, Jimmy is generously offering a 10% discount on orders for WashU alumni.

Use the code WASHU at checkout at https://thenormalbrand.com/

Sansone founded The Normal Brand in 2014 when he saw a need for a “normal” shirt, something he could wear from downtown St. Louis into the country after work. For Sansone, “normal” doesn’t mean mundane or average, but instead it means something personal and understandable: something you know and get.

The Garrett Weekend Bag

The brand has grown to include women’s clothing, hats, backpacks and even dog beds and leashes that all aim to “celebrate life in the middle.”

In 2015, The Normal Brand received an Arch Grant and, this year, Sansone was named one of the St. Louis Business Journal’s “30 Under 30.”

Although the fashion world typically operates on the coasts and trickles to the Midwest, Sansone is proud to be creating a standard that starts in the middle and trickles to the coasts.

Photos courtesy of The Normal Brand

Janji founders Mike and Dave (BA’11), in the 2012 issue of Olin Business Magazine.

We remember Mike and Dave when they were on the WashU Bears Cross Country team and had an idea for a startup back in 2012.

Their business plan for Janji (Malaysian word for ‘promise’) was created in The Hatchery. The idea was to manufacture running apparel featuring emblems of developing countries with profits going to clean water projects in those countries.

The runners became social entrepreneurs with the motto “Run for Another.” 10% of each sale goes towards constructing, implementing, and maintaining clean water projects.

When in Boston, visit the new store,
328 Newbury Street
Boston, Massachusetts – 02115

Four years later, the e-tailers are branching out. Mike Burnstein (Urban Studies major/Entrepreuneur minor’12), writes, “2016 has been an exciting year at Janji– it saw the opening of our first flagship store in Boston. Most importantly, we raised over $50,000 towards clean water initiatives around the globe.”

And as part of our Olin Startup Shop-A-Thon, Janji is offering a generous discount to members of their alma mater community: use Janji Promotion Code: WASHU for 20% off at http://runjanji.com/

Here are some samples of Janji style: