I'm Tys, founder of Black Brook Apparel. My vision is to build a mixed-revenue model clothing company with responsibility at its core: to workers, to the environment, to customers. The HN community has a wealth of knowledge on every aspect of business and startups: I welcome your feedback, advice, enthusiasm, criticism, etc.

I'm currently funding our first product in Kickstarter (http://kck.st/2SbREJx), and building our team.

I study economics and politics at Tufts University and I've always been an entrepreneur. I'm more of a supply chain guy than a coder, but I've worked with tech startups before, including a great food delivery company from Madrid, and these experiences have informed my own business ventures. I'm driven by the desire to build something and a respect for the natural world, so after going back to the drawing board many times, that's what I've designed with Black Brook.

My dream is bigger than a simple eco-friendly clothing company. I want to deliver real affordability ($100 is not affordable for many people) without sacrificing environmentalism, but I also want to use 45% of profits to fund micro-loans for community development and the transition to renewable energy. The real dream here is broad-scale integration.

The best way to try to start (this type of project) at first is Kickstarter-that way I can easily demonstrate demand to wholesalers. I talked to many factories about meeting my specifications, and now I have a product line ready to launch. Securing wholesale accounts and maintaining a commitment to a sustainable supply chain are my biggest priorities, and of course team-building is just as important. I'm looking for driven people to join my team and help bring Black Brook into the world--perhaps some of you will be interested. As a student, I have so much to learn about business.

I love creating, and though I've started businesses before, this is my first really big project.

-Tys S