Jason Grullón is the cofounder of Virtu, a sustainable fashion brand that produces most of its apparel in his native Dominican Republic. Please enjoy this episode of the Crossing Borders Podcast.
Outline of This Episode
[0:25] Who is Jason Grullón?
[1:51] What is virtu and how does the company work to change people’s lives?
[3:08] Why Jason’s company uses employees from a slum.
[5:06] Meeting the demand of the Kickstarter success.
[8:50] The difference the company is making by paying the living wage for the Dominican Republic.
[13:04] Finding producers in Bolivia and the organic process that happened.
[18:01] Why the company is profitable because it is socially responsible.
[22:14] How did Jason wind up going to law school and moving into fashion?
[26:43] The business opportunities that exist in the Dominican Republic.
[31:51] Jason’s predictions about the D.R. economy and business climate in the future.
[34:39] The mistakes companies make when attempting a sustainable brand.
[41:22] The social and PR benefits of having Virtu provide business uniforms.
[45:09] Advice Jason would give to himself if he were starting over.
[48:52] The response Jason’s friends and family had to his business ideas.
[52:17] Streamlining and expanding to Haiti as the company moves ahead.
