Flux Company
Justin Polera and Saeb Ahsan, two students at the University of Illinois Chicago, wanted to get into the burgeoning messenger bag business but didn’t know much about bags. Max Montalvo at Lexington Leather Goods, a wholesale manufacturing company, knew a lot about bags but didn’t know Justin or Saeb.
CCV knew both, having worked with Justin and Saeb in a business competition and with Max and his two sisters to help them buy Lexington Leather Goods in 2006. So it brought together the guys who didn’t know bags with a company that did.
Justin and Saeb’s vision for their company, Flux Co, relied on a crowd-sourcing business model: develop an online community of artists and art enthusiasts who would together submit and judge unique designs for custom-made messenger bags. “It’s a way for artists to express themselves and become part of a community,” Justin said, “and it’s a way for art to find a new audience.”
He and Saeb both wanted their messenger bags to be eco-friendly, made domestically and have inside them a reusable grocery shopping bag. They took their idea to Max, who described the task as daunting but worthwhile. “It’s a very expensive project but worth it,” Max said. “Nowadays with the economy the way it is, if we small businesses don’t help each other, we’re not going to make it.” Together they went through several prototypes before settling on a design. Now they’re working on developing product lines and streamlining the printing process.
Artists have responded with enthusiasm to the bag idea, Saeb said, and ask constantly when the bags will be ready for production. He and Justin, who are still in school, said the process has been invigorating, and learning curve steep. “CCV has helped us so much,” Polera said. “We couldn’t have done it without them. We thought we were going to have to find a vendor in China or something. We never expected the answer would be right here in Chicago.”
As part of their business model, Justin and Saeb plan to donate 5 percent of their profits to the artists. Flux Co. hopes to have their website up and be selling bags by the end of 2009, Justin and Saeb said. Max has his own vision for the young entrepreneurs. “Honestly, I really want them to make it,” he said. “I hope to see them driving expensive cars very soon.”