Gurmer Chopra, 32, is the co-founder of clothes model YoungLA.
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Proper after graduating from college in 2015, Gurmer Chopra, 32, landed his first company position at a “Large 4” accounting agency. However after lower than a 12 months on the job, he determined to stop.
“4 months into it, I [was] like: ‘I freaking hate it right here.’ It was simply probably the most boring work, and I felt like I used to be making zero distinction on the earth,” Chopra instructed CNBC Make It.
“At one level, I [started studying] for my [certified public accountant exam]… Then I opened the e-book [and] I keep in mind simply studying the primary web page, and I feel that is actually after I realized I can’t do that with my life, or I am gonna simply not be a contented particular person,” stated Chopra.
At the moment, he was additionally engaged on an e-commerce enterprise on the facet together with his older brother Dashmeet Chopra. Of their free time, the duo went into Downtown Los Angeles to supply gadgets corresponding to T-shirts, denims and sneakers at wholesale costs and resold them on eBay.
Their eBay facet hustle has since change into YoungLA, a life-style clothes model that introduced in over $167 million in 2024, in keeping with paperwork reviewed by CNBC Make It.
From souvenirs to garments
Initially from India, Chopra and his household immigrated to the U.S. in 2002 and spent their first 4 years in New Jersey earlier than touchdown in California. Chopra stated he received his entrepreneurial chops from his dad, who labored at a memento store after transferring to the U.S.
His dad ultimately began a wholesale memento enterprise and managed some reward outlets in Los Angeles. Chopra and his brother turned concerned of their dad’s enterprise endeavors at a younger age.
Brothers Gurmer and Dashmeet Chopra with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“That was truthfully the beginning of me turning into an entrepreneur with my brother, as a result of … I used to be 12 years previous, and serving to my dad with working this enterprise,” stated Chopra.
After a while working these brick-and-mortar shops, Chopra’s dad realized that he had higher success by promoting their items on-line. Impressed by his discovery, the 2 brothers determined to experiment with e-commerce themselves.
Initially, me and my brother pulled collectively $5,000 and that is all we have ever invested within the firm. And we have at all times been capable of …simply reinvest.
Gurmer Chopra
Co-founder, YoungLA
In March 2014, Chopra was finding out economics and accounting on the College of California, Santa Barbara, when he and his brother first opened their eBay account.
“Initially, me and my brother pulled collectively $5,000 and that is all we have ever invested within the firm. And we have at all times been capable of simply reinvest,” stated Chopra. The 2 used this cash to supply their first few merchandise.
“We had been shopping for denims, Converse, Vans … Tupac shirts, Biggie shirts … We’d simply purchase plenty of stuff from Downtown LA, and sort of simply throw a bunch of issues on the wall. No matter listings that may begin popping off, we might [put] extra effort and time into that,” he stated.
Apart from promoting on eBay, Chopra and his brother additionally expanded to Amazon and Shopify, which they determined to call YoungLA.com — impressed by a DJ on their native radio station known as “Younger California.”
From there, they shifted their focus from solely reselling gadgets they purchased wholesale to going all-in on the YoungLA model. Chopra stated they started manufacturing their very own merchandise and would add the title “YoungLA.com” to the tags of their gadgets to create model recognition.
The enterprise introduced in its first million in income in 2017, Chopra stated. Finally, there have been two key successes that catapulted the model’s progress additional: “drop tradition” and influencer advertising — each of that are nonetheless core elements of the enterprise as we speak.
Drop tradition is a advertising technique the place manufacturers launch limited-edition gadgets, or “drops,” at particular occasions, to create exclusivity and buzz on social media.
“In 2018 we began … specializing in our web site, and we wished to sort of create a “drop tradition,” stated Chopra. “So each time a brand new product got here out, we want attempt to hype it up beforehand after which drop it on the web site.”
In 2019, YoungLA signed its first main contract with an influencer, and by 2020, the enterprise had hit over $6 million in income, added Chopra. Final 12 months, the enterprise introduced in, on common, greater than double that quantity in month-to-month income.
Classes realized
When requested if he’s completely happy that he left his accounting job, Chopra stated: “I do not suppose I might be happier. [I’m] very, very glad with the place we have been, however it’s positively hectic.”
“I feel a couple of years into working the enterprise, you notice [that] no one might have ready me for this… I feel a few of the hardest issues to start with was firing an worker … or simply coping with actually powerful conditions, coping with stress, getting sued and issues like that too,” he stated.
“You be taught a lot whenever you’re really in it … However I feel figuring these issues out teaches you a lot in regards to the world, but in addition about your self.”
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