Stay HVNGRY: Mary Baldwin student starts clothing brand, hopes to give back to community
by Patrick Hite May 14, 2021
Jamal Carter began sketching designs for his clothing brand on a piece of paper in his dorm room. It took five attempts before the Mary Baldwin University student was satisfied with what he had.
"In high school I wasn't really artistic, but I always found a way to make shapes go with other shapes," he said.
The design he came up with was the word Hungry, but spelled a little differently —HVNGRY. He added some claw marks to the design. He replaced the U with a V for trademark purposes, he said.
Carter said the name stands for Humility, Vnfolds, Nonchalant, Gleeful, Relentless, Youngins. He wants to inspire others to follow their dreams.
His dream, now, is to build this brand into something bigger, his own successful business that allows him to give back to others in the process, but when he arrived in Staunton as a college freshman he had no plans to start a business.
In the spring of 2019, Carter was at his work-study job at The Vantage Point, the school's office of personal and professional development.
A lot of times Carter, 20, who is from Woodbridge in Northern Virginia, was wearing clothes from a Washington, D.C.-based fashion line, EAT DC. The thing that Carter loved about the brand was, not only did it look good, but the company's founder, Malik Jarrett, had set up a non-profit to help give back to the D.C. community. That inspired Carter.
While talking with Nell Desmond, the director of The Vantage Point, Carter mentioned he would like to do something similar. Desmond encouraged him to do just that, and do it now, not wait until he was out of college.
"I looked at her like she was crazy," Carter said. "Me, being 19, I don't know nothing about running a business, running a clothing brand."
Desmond suggested he start small and helped him set up a sole proprietorship. Then she began coaching him on how to start and run a business.
"He took all the resources that I gave him and ran with it," Desmond said. "He did some more and some more and some more. When he came back fall of 2019, he had totally launched a company. In two years he has created a very successful financial business and he has continued to grow as a person, too."
Outside of Mary Baldwin, back home in Woodbridge, he talked to the owner of a fast food franchise and the owner of a consulting business. They gave him valuable advice in creating his business plan.
The plan started out 10 pages long, but in his senior seminar class the business major was able to beef up the plan. It's now maybe 25 pages.
"I know how to beat the competition, how to run my sales, how to appeal to the target audience, appeal to different demographics," he said. "It gave me that insight."
Desmond has helped connect Carter to the Staunton Creative Community Fund. Her office also got him a membership at the Staunton Innovation Hub so he could connect with other entrepreneurs and see how they work.
"I find it very inspiring listening to others people's stories," Carter said about how the Innovation Hub has helped him. "The major goal is to stay persistent and to not let obstacles stand in your way."
He sells the clothing through a website, got-hvngry.com. He has sweatsuits, T-shirts, beanies, shorts, slides, phone cases. The most popular item so far is the baseball cap.
"He's essentially used Mary Baldwin as a pilot to sell all this merchandise," Desmond said. "You see Mary Baldwin students wearing HVNGRY attire every day. It's really awesome and I'm really proud of him."
One of the many things about Carter that impresses Desmond is his willingness to help others.
"He works with students on their resumes and their cover letters and how to get ready for job interviews and how to find the right jobs," Desmond said. "He's a peer career coach with us. He's an invaluable resource to the Mary Baldwin community."
Carter encourages other MBU students to seek out the help provided by Desmond and her staff.
"A lot of our students come from first generation families or are BIPOCs, so their access to the system is limited or has been and oftentimes they're scared to come," Desmond said. "Jamal has been very, very inspiring to students to see what he is doing and also in giving them the tools they need to succeed, whether it's business or something else."
Next fall, Carter will be doing a series for The Vantage Point on young, Black entrepreneurs that will be featured on the office's YouTube channel. He wants to highlight those in the Staunton and Augusta County area.
"There are a lot of underrepresented Black entrepreneurs that deserve recognition for their hard work," he said. "The world needs to know that the life of an entrepreneur isn't necessarily easy. There are times where you will struggle, but those instances will only make you a stronger individual in the long run."
He thinks the series itself could take off and become a talk show or a podcast. He's excited to see where it might lead.
Desmond is excited also to see where this takes Carter.
"What I love about what I do is that I see people reach for something and then if they achieve it they undoubtedly give back," Desmond said. "Jamal is the perfect example of how that has happened."
Stay updated on special offers, promotions, and discounts!
© 2023, HVN·GRY Powered by Shopify