By Nico Zeballos

More young people than ever dream of starting their own brand, pushed by the media hype surrounding influencers and the attraction of entrepreneurial success. Yet the success rate for many start-ups still remains low. The difference? Grit, smart strategizing, and knowledge about navigating the perilous world of branding. 

My second cousin Vincent Harrer always had a vision of starting his own brand and business with his lifelong childhood friend, and now business partner, Tyler Baker. Born in Lockport, New York, just thirty minutes outside of Buffalo, Harrer stated, “I’ve always looked at myself as a business-minded person, whether it was doing yard work or other things to earn money.” Harrer and Baker grew up playing soccer together and football against each other for rival schools. Harrer attended St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute in Kenmore, New York, and Baker spent his time at Canisius High School in Buffalo. Their school rivalry didn’t get in the way of their friendship, as they stayed connected when they parted ways for college. Harrer graduated from St. Joseph’s in 2021 and decided to head to the sunshine state to attend The University of Tampa. Baker made his way to Annapolis to play football at The United States Naval Academy. He then would transfer to The University of Rhode Island for his junior year, still playing football.

Throughout his freshman year, Harrer retained his “always entrepreneurial” mindset and worked several jobs, and then he got the phone call from his old friend in May of his sophomore year. Baker, while playing football at Navy, rang Harrer up and gave the green light for their vision. This led to the creation of their first business, a dropshipping website. Dropshipping is a retail model where the business markets products without holding inventory, and a third party supplier ships products directly to customers. They made an unmemorable amount of money from that venture, but it was the first step that propelled them in the right direction. That summer they sat down and came to the conclusion that they needed to “niche it down” and start branding clothes. With the help of ChatGPT, asking for a “four letter word that would look good on the front of a t-shirt,” they created DIME.

DIME was originally also a dropshipping website. Harrer explained that “we didn’t want to lose any money, so we tested things out.” They spent one dollar to buy a Shopify account during one of Shopify’s promos and started their business. Harrer and Baker began calling people to find paid promoters who would help represent and expand their brand. They would explain who they were and what DIME could do for them. 

After seeing growth and progress, Harrer thought, “this is working; we can take it to inventory.” They began getting material from Alibaba.com, a Chinese e-commerce company, to build up their inventory. They produced items like athletic shirts, tracksuits, and other clothing, as well as bracelets, water bottles, and football towels. In January 2024, DIME began to hire employees, and business began to pick up. The employees would fill in for Baker and Harrer to make the phone calls to potential paid promoters. They now get 100-200 calls and 150 sales codes a day. 

Influencers and athletes like nationally-ranked girls basketball player Frankie McLain and Overtime Elite sensation Eli Ellis have repped the merchandise. McLain, a NCAA Division I basketball prospect out of Kenosha, Wisconsin, was contacted by Harrer and tried out some products, generating millions of views on her TikToks when she wore the DIME brand. With Ellis, Harrer hopped on a call with him and said, “We’re a young brand, and here is what we can offer you.” Ellis, a current hooper for the YNG Dreamers of the Overtime Elite League, was sent free gear to see if he wants to continue with the brand. Ellis currently holds the most points in OTE history, the most assists, two MVP awards, and the most wins in OTE history. He also committed to play basketball at University of South Carolina next year. Ellis went on to sport the DIME merchandise in several of his social media posts. 

Harrer believes that people like McLain and Ellis are the types to take DIME to the next level. DIME has now adopted a three-tier system with paid promoters, to prevent people from just taking the merchandise for free. The more sales someone generates, the higher tier they can level up to. Each tier means more free products. 

Influencer marketing has grown massively in recent years, and in 2024, the market was valued at 24 billion dollars. With social media booming, the surge is expected to continue. The reliance on influencers promoting branding is becoming a massive piece in the success of numerous businesses, including successful brands like Vuori, On Running, Sporty and Rich, and more. 

The business model relies heavily on affiliate marketers, which is why they have seen such rapid growth. Affiliated marketers are people or organizations who will promote the brand in exchange for a part of the sales generated through their discount codes or links. Harrer and Baker have spent significant amounts of money on videographers to ensure that their promotional content is high quality and engaging. They have also leaned heavily into direct messaging (DMing) potential customers and influencers, knowing that success in this space is a numbers game. By constantly spreading the word and strategically aligning with high school and college athletes, they are building a grassroots movement that aligns with their brand’s core values.

DIME has also taken on a few high schools, working with student-athletes to further their reach. Instead of using traditional models like Nike and Gymshark, who focus on more adults, DIME intentionally uses high school and college athletes to showcase their gear. Their approach empowers the youth, recognizing them as the future of athletic apparel. While they don’t necessarily have a formal mission statement, Harrer describes DIME as “a fitness and athletic apparel company dedicated to providing the highest quality clothing possible for athletes at all levels.”

A normal day for Harrer starts at seven in the morning, when he heads to the gym. He then runs the business while attending class at the same time. His day usually ends at midnight. Harrer firmly believes “you need a partner to keep you accountable and in check.” He went on to say that having Baker at his side is incredibly valuable, because Baker is as “passionate” as he is. I asked Harrer how being in college has affected his entrepreneurial vision and actions, and he said, “You’re only going to be young once,” and went on to explain how the college experience has really created a balance in his life. He believes the people you meet in college are the ones that stick with you forever. He mentioned how he grabbed breakfast with one of his professors recently to talk about entrepreneurship. He also made the point that his professors aren’t just teachers but also business owners who know how to make it to the top. He feels their guidance is invaluable to him.

In reflecting on his journey, Harrer said he believes much of his success stems from him moving to Tampa: “I always knew I wanted to get away for college and see the real world.” When applying to colleges, he toured University at Albany and University of Pittsburgh, but they weren’t cutting it for him. Being in Tampa has been an “eye-opening experience, where I see things I wouldn’t normally see back in Buffalo. There are kids here driving Lambos. It has really broadened my horizon,” Harrer explained. Harrer is graduating from Tampa this month and will continue trying to build the brand up. 

When faced with the question of what his end goal is, Harrer answered, “I want to sponsor an entire college. I want to start and compete with brands like Lululemon, YoungLA, and Gymshark. The perfect scenario would be to reach the status of a brand like Nike, but we have to take it step-by-step.” His greatest piece of advice for any budding entrepreneur is, “Just do it. Starting is the hardest thing. Nine times out of ten, you’re not reinventing the wheel. Focus on improving things that have high potential.” Harrer summed up the goal of DIME: “In the future, when people want to go buy their kids some clothes, they’re going to go buy their kids some DIME. We want to become a household name.”

All images courtesy of Dime Fitness.