Jonathan Ockunzzi
Matthew Pukansky
Alex Occhionero
Sasha Wallace
Justin Canelli
Sahil Veeramoney
Case Western Reserve University - Weatherhead School of Management
Megan Buchter
Doug DeGirolamo
Michael Goldberg
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Wild Tiger Tees doesn’t find its innovation in its products - screen printed tee shirts and mugs are not revolutionizing the merchandise industry. The true innovation comes in how they are developing underprivileged and homeless youth. Adam discussed how he had witnessed many stories of young homeless people who had trouble integrating into a working environment. For the most part, the struggles largely came from an inability to communicate issues and take pride in their work.
Wild Tiger Tees sets out to solve these problems by getting young people involved in a task that is not physically, mentally, or emotionally demanding - screen printing. This allows the on-the-job energy to be more focused on having conversations, developing leadership skills, and building teamwork. Through trial and error, Wild Tiger Tees has gotten their work groups and sessions down to a science: groups of 3 young people working for 2 and a half hours at a time has allowed everyone to have the guidance they need while allowing them to feel like they are in a safe and invulnerable environment to discuss their struggles and learn from each other and the mentors.
Adam Morris began his career in the computer science industry after graduating from college, but after several years of working in the industry, something just wasn’t sitting right for him. He started his own podcast called People Helping People, and began learning more about social ventures, and the impact that they could have on communities. From his podcast, he became invested with the issue of at-risk youth around Columbus, and wanted to do something about it. Morris understood that he grew up with a better support system than most of these at-risk teens, and decided to make a step towards supporting these youth in multiple aspects of their life.
In 2018, Morris decided to drive from Columbus to Cleveland and attend GiveBack Hack; an event similar to a hackathon, but instead of coding, social venture ideas are created. While at GiveBack Hack, Morris met the rest of his current team members, who all were invested in the same problem of trying to assist at-risk youth around Columbus. After a few days of idea creation they walked away with the concept of Wild Tiger Tees. From there, it took years of testing new ideas and tactics and partnering with other social entrepreneurs to get to the point of success that Wild Tiger Tees has achieved today.
The impact that these relationships and experiences have on the youth Wild Tiger Tees works with is not something that can be measured in revenue or number of units sold, but by the outcomes these youth are seeing after they leave Wild Tiger Tees. The t-shirts made by these small groups are purchased by a wide variety of organizations, but the real work being done is in enhancing the soft skills and confidence of the youth making the shirts. Building up these qualities is integral to helping at-risk and homeless youth grow and have the ability to take that next step into having jobs while also learning in a safe environment with the help of mentors. Through their partnership with Star House, a youth homelessness shelter in Columbus, OH, Wild Tiger Tees brings work experience and a livable wage while the youth are able to live and grow in a community where they no longer have to worry about having a bed to sleep in or food to eat. With the support of organizations and teams who are in need of t-shirts, Wild Tiger Tees is able to have a tremendous impact on the youth they are working with, and are able to see the success stories of employment after leaving their program.
Wild Tiger Tees is unique compared to most in the way that its innovation is benefitting its business. Rather than having a product which is directly providing value, the company and its executive team vastly benefit from the presence of the program itself and its inspirational impact. Adam Morris, the co-founder, is passionate about making an impact in the local community. He expresses that the peak experience as an entrepreneur is to watch someone—who is withdrawn or experiencing difficulty—progress over time, shift their behavioral attitude, and fill the responsibilities they are capable of achieving. For each youth at Star House that Wild Tiger Tees engages and the personal story that comes along with it, the company is provided with an intangible benefit by assuring its team that it is fulfilling its objective. As a result, a positive environment, which promotes collaboration between youth, increases leadership growth, and helps employees realize their full potential, is fostered. This ultimately benefits the company through having a workforce which possesses more confidence and skill. It also results in more people overall, such as successful participants or alumni of the program, to become passionate about the business and get involved in the mentorship process.
By utilizing metrics to track t-shirts and mugs printed, Wild Tiger Tees is able to gauge their overall environmental impact and ensure that a sustainable manufacturing process is occurring. However, the most compelling benefit of the company is to society and its use of innovative techniques to engage the homeless youth population as well as streamline workplace integration. From a nationwide perspective, homeless communities are all too often marginalized by society. Moreover, the workplace resources to help provide guidance and assimilate the youth demographic from these communities into employment are lacking. The way Wild Tiger Tees enables a safe space to grow while building confidence, developing leadership, and providing mentorship, is the innovation itself and is undoubtedly benefitting society. Personal stories of youth who have worked at Star House and then gone on to pursue different careers also reinforce the societal benefit.
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Adam Morris, Co-Founder | Head of Operations
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures each year an estimated 4.2 million youth and young adults experience homelessness. In Central Ohio alone there are 3,000 youth who are homeless and 4,000 at risk for becoming homeless. Through partnerships with other public and private organizations, Wild Tiger Tees aims to use simple tasks to build relationships with these youth and help them be more than a statistic. In the words of Adam Morris Co-Founder and Head of Operations “the real value is in that human connection” that the company aims to nourish. The success stories are numerous and the value priceless When a new person is employed, “you can see when someone is just really not in a good place, but over time, you can see that confidence really build up and they know they’re not alone in the world, and they can go on and get re-established in life and in the world again, and they know inside them they’ve got what it takes to make it again.” At Wild Tiger Tees lives are being changed and people are being equipped to live their lives again. This is their story.