Entrepreneurial Experience, Part II
By Ivan Cash - January, 2007
(You may want to read Part I, before reading on.)
Towards the beginning of December, 2007, a photograph of a Knicks related t-shirt I designed was posted on the sports blog site: SportsByBrooks. Within the next couple of days, I received a bunch of encouraging e-mails from fellow Knicks fans expressing interest in the shirts. As a direct result of the current abysmal performance of the Knicks, I realized that the shirts’ message, which indirectly encourages the firing of coach Isiah Thomas, was even more relevant and favorable than when I’d sold them a year prior.
When I did sell the shirts outside of Madison Square Garden the year before, my friend Alex ended up getting arrested on charges for selling without a vendor's license. I decided that the only way I’d be able to sell this time around is if I either linked up with someone who possessed a vendor’s license (since it’s impossible for me to obtain one) or sold the shirts online. Utilizing the free-access print studio at my college, I spent an entire Saturday printing up 30 new shirts.
I next posted an ad on Craigslist looking for someone with a legitimate vendor’s license through which I’d be able to sell the shirts in exchange for a monetary stipend. I talked to a fellow named Victor who responded to my ad, and we worked out a logistical plan for selling the shirts. Having just come home on break from college, I went to NYC with the aid of my friend Matt, an avid sports fan and semi-professional sports blogger, to meet up with Victor an hour before the game. Our timing could not have been better; a bunch of fans had held a demonstration demanding the firing of Isiah Thomas earlier in the day!
The forecast called for rain throughout the evening and we debated about whether or not we’d call the whole thing off. Luckily, the rain tapered off an hour before the game, just when we were due to meet Victor outside of MSG. To our disappointment, Victor was nowhere to be found and wasn’t answering his phone; after waiting for 15 minutes, I figured we’d gotten stood up. Luckily, Victor showed up shortly after with the vending license. We immediately began to sell.
Similar to my last experience selling the shirts, the nearby scalpers advised us to lower the price. I knew though, that they were worth the $20; plus I’d spent a lot of time, effort, and money, further justifying the cost. When a couple of New York City cops asked us to show our vending license, I tensed, not knowing what to expect. They simply looked at Victor’s license however, and approvingly walked away. Considering the shirt's relevancy to the day's earlier events, they were a remarkable success; we sold out and could have pushed another ten had I been equipped with more stock! One of the highlights of my night was when one of the original people that’d emailed me actually met me and bought two shirts. To further glorify the evening’s success, there was a lot of press coverage, and as the most outspoken fans around MSG, (To help sell shirts, and to express our dismay with the coach, we were shouting about how Isiah should “get the boot”) both Matt and I had a bunch of interviews. Turns out we were on both ABC 7 and CW 11.
Never being one to miss out on an opportunity, the next day I got right to work. Using nearly all of the profit money, I ordered 100 orange shirts, arranged for accommodations with two separate screen printers, made a bunch of business cards, and created a website. While Matt was on vacation for the holidays, I asked my college buddy Chris, who’s a die-hard Knicks fan, and who co-produced and co-anchored with me on our college’s sports television show for three years, to help me sell at the next Knicks home game. His experience being an intern at New York’s biggest sports radio station: WFAN, would later come into great use.
Armed with over 60 printed shirts this time, all of which had business cards pointing to the new website, Chris and I went to MSG an hour before the Knicks game where we met up with Victor and began to sell. Sean (shown below), another buddy from college who’s probably the biggest Knicks fan I know, ended up meeting us and helped out a lot. We sold about 45 shirts all in all. Once again, there was an abundance of press; the shirt ended up making an appearane in two online articles of The NY Daily News. The same image was also picked up by popular sports blog Dead Spin, through which I received many online orders. Again, the police had come to check out Victor’s license and after seeing it, they let us continue selling.
I went to the next game with my energetic friend Sandy who was a terrific salesperson; he came up with the clever phrase "T-Shirt for a draft pick!" (In reference to all of the drafts Isiah has traded away). Sandy's bright orange outfit, combined with his loud hawking voice, drew a lot of attention, particularly from the media.
The publicity also got the attention of the NYPD who came over and, without reason, told us we had to move locations. Although I blieved us to legally be in the right, I didn't want to challange the officers. We moved across the street from MSG, which turned out to have a lot less fans. As a result of this crummy location, and of Victor having to leave midway through the game, we only sold 20 shirts all in all. Just the same, I'd reached the 100 shirt barrier.
Anticpating a shortage of shirts, I used a significant sum of my profits and ordered 100 more t-shirts, this time straight from a Mississippi screen printing company who gave me a terrific price and turn-around time. In the time I saved from having to hand-print the shirts, I was able to work on the website as well as just have (for the first time all break) some down time. Being able to essentially sit-back and relax while my work was being outsourced gave me a feeling of accomplishment, knowing that it all linked back to one original idea.
To Read the Daily News Article, Click the Above Image.
On Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008, armed with a duffle bag and two backpacks full of a combined 60 "anti-Isiah" t-shirts, my friend Matt and I went to the corner of 33rd St. and 7th Ave. an hour before the Knicks game to meet up with my licensed vendor, Victor who I'd been selling through. Upon arrival, I immediately noticed three police officers standing nearby where I'd sold the t-shirts in the past. This was the first time I'd seen any police officers stationed there but I didn't think much of it. While waiting for Victor to arrive, Matt and I placed everything we'd been carrying (including two display boards on which were the shirts and their price) against a concrete wall.
After waiting with Matt for no more than two minutes, the cops came over and began to interrogate us, wanting to know what we were up to. Not wanting to get myself into a situation that might lead to me being unable to sell any shirts, I calmly and respectfully explained that we were waiting for a vendor through which we planned on legally selling the t-shirts. I emphasized that we weren't trying to cause any trouble and that we intended to stay in full compliance with the law. The cops wouldn't have it though, and told us that since the price of the shirts was showing, we were intending to sell. In a non-threatening, unsassuming manner, I replied that the shirts had merely been plopped down, and that the displayed price was purely arbitrary and totally inadvertant. To further emphasize the point that we had not been trying to sell the shirts, I cited a previous experience when someone had wanted to buy a shirt, but I'd told them they'd have to come back because my vendor had been momentarily absent. I also pointed out that the duffle bag was covering part of the shirt's design, which didn't make any sense if we were in fact trying to sell them. My final explanation referenced the display board handles which were clearly meant for holding. "In all due respect," I stated, "If we were trying to sell the shirts, we'd be holding up the display boards and hawking to people walking by as I did at the last three games." The police officers refused to deviate from their thinking that we had been intending to sell.
Next thing I knew, I was in hand-cuffs and being taken away. (Luckily, Matt remained untouched throughout the entire ordeal, and walked away scott-free.) When Victor arrived out of no where and explained to my arresting officer that he was our vendor and that he had a license, I thought, for a split-second, that I was saved. Unphased, the officer told him that I had the intension of selling before Victor had gotten there and so whether or not he infact did have a license was irrelevant. I found some irony in passing so many scalpers on my way to the police van. While waiting there, the cops assured me that I was indeed going to jail, but that I'd only be held for about three hours (coincidentally the average time of a basketball game). One of the officers then took a look at Victor's license.
As I was soon-after informed, Victor's license was apparently only a tax license, not a vendor's license. The cop told me that while a tax license is valid for items protected under the First Amendment: Freedom of Speech, like artwork and books, my shirts were not. This is in lue of the fact that the very same license had been sufficient enough for the police who checked us out when we'd sold at prior Knicks games. As the van drove off, I internally questioned this stark disparity in judgement betweeen police officers, especially when considering that, according to my arresting officer's logic, he could have arrested me at a later point when we were actually selling the shirts. Why this wasn't the case is beyond me, but I feel that, given the manner and circumstance of my arrest, it was an unjust one. Furthermore, it was terribly degrading to wear hand-cuffs for the twenty minutes between my arrest and reaching the station. Everyone walking by was looking at me as though I was a criminal.
A bunch of officers chuckled in appreciation of my shirt's design when I arrived at the Midtown South Precinct. I found it curious that they were so casual about the shirts, yet at the same time arresting me for intending to sell them. I inconspicuously asked one officer if MSG had called to get rid of me to which he replied that they had. (My arresting officer later denied this.) After taking all of my belongings, including my belt and shoelaces (a precaution taken to ensure I wouldn't kill myself), my arresting officer beckoned for me to follow him into a small jail cell that was horribly dirty, reeked of urine, and was freezing-cold. Sitting quietly in this tiny, filthy cage for three hours was more than enough time for me to make some philisophical reflections. What has our society come to, I wondered, where we lock people in cages not because they are murdering or stealing but because they are expressing themselves by say, selling a product, or writing on a wall? What gives cops the right to lock people in a cage, when the cop themself could just as easily be morally corrupt? While this probably sounds really cliche´, judge me only after you've personally experienced being locked up.
One bright note was chatting with a person a few cells down from me. Despite our unfortunate setting, and the fact that we couldn't see each other, our conversation was surprisingly uplifting and impactful. We chatted about topics ranging from Nelson Mandela (if he could manage prison life for over 25 years, surely we could handle a few hours of it!) to the ethics behind purchasing a pair of NIKE shoes. After being fingerprinted, attempting to meditate for a little while, and finally chowing my way through a complimentary McDonalds hamburger, my three hours were soon up. My official charge ended up being "selling without a vendors license," and I'm due for a desk appearance in the near future. (Feel free to contact me with legal advice!)
After the Knicks game ended (and I was let out of jail), I contacted the Daily News and told them what had happened to me. The story ended up appearing on page 1 of the next day's paper with a color photo of me! That following day, I was contacted by a couple of television stations including Fox 5 News, who wanted to do an interview of me. I was flattered, but decided I needed a break from the New York City, and turned them down. Radio interviews were no problem though, and I talked on ESPN Radio, WFAN, and a few Rochester stations. My story was also picked up by numerous Sports Blogs, as well as national newspaper such as the Chicago Tribune, the Indianapolis Star, and the LA Times. Throughout the day, I got phone calls from friends who'd heard what had happened. The day or two after my arrest was really quite wild; I got over 100 emails from people that had heard about my arrest, and also received a bunch of shirt orders through www.HateTheCoach.com. Thank you everyone for your support!
UPDATE: The charges against me were dropped, and I have saught legal action against the police for "jumping the gun" and falsely arresting me. Thanks again to everyone for their support.