180s, L.L.C. - Wharton Origins

Wharton Origins

The story of 180s began in 1993, as Ron L. Wilson II and Brian Le Gette, two new graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, discussed possible business ventures over a beer. According to the Baltimore Sun, after sifting through schemes such as selling cheese steaks in China, Wilson revisited an idea he had had while trudging through the snow as an undergraduate at Virginia Polytechnic University: building a better ear warmer.

Traditional earmuffs, with polyester fur earpieces and a cheap plastic band over the top of the head, were bulky, and could interfere with one's hairstyle and headwear. They did not stay on very well and, most important, they did not look cool. Their design, recalled the Oregonian, dated back to the 1870s, when a Maine farmhand created "The Greenwood Champion Ear Protector." Their inventor, Chester Greenwood, started a company in Farmington, Maine that was producing 400,000 pairs a year before his death in 1937. Although materials were updated over the years from the original haywire and beaver pelt, earmuffs had changed little since the 1950s. The original fur "ear protectors" were replaced by synthetic fleece products and, reported the San Diego Tribune, even L.L. Bean, Maine's giant catalog retailer, dropped them from its extensive winterwear collection in the mid-1980s.

Having picked up some engineering background as undergraduates, Wilson and Le Gette spent two years coming up with a revolutionary ear warmer design. They developed a sleeker, sportier version that wrapped around the back of the neck. Advanced, microfiber materials kept weight and bulk to a minimum while allowing the user to hear through them. Designed with active people in mind, they stayed in place during sports, and folded up easily. The pair began pitching their ear warmers on the University of Pennsylvania campus in fall 1994, reported Inc.

The new ear warmers, a 180-degree departure from the competition, were dubbed "Arctic 180s." Entrepreneur Magazine reported Wilson and Le Gette spent $50,000 to produce their first big batch of 5,000 ear warmers. "We were down to our last $100," Wilson told the Oregonian. Le Gette described to Entrepreneur their 1996 debut on the QVC television shopping network: "By minute four we hadn't sold anything, but by minute eight and a half, we were sold out." The 15-minute segment ended with 3,000 on back order. QVC soon ordered another shipment of 25,000; according to Inc., 600,000 were sold through this channel by 1997. Inc. reported that Le Gette and Wilson were originally talked into trying out TV retailing by two classmates who had landed internships at QVC.

Wilson and Le Gette funded development of the prototype with $7,500 in credit card charges. They then raised $100,000 from 18 fellow MBA students, who were future investment bankers after all. Within a couple of years, family and friends raised the kitty to $2 million.