The Hundreds | Bobby Kim and Ben Shenassafar

First, I have to break down the circumstances in how this brain picking occured. A few months back I contacted Ben and Bobby of the Hundreds in an effort to convince them of granting me an in person interview for my final year thesis paper on Streetwear and Urban Branding.

If you are unaware The Hundreds is a 2-part project that houses both a clothing line and online magazine. Co-founded by Ben Shenassafar and Bobby Kim in 2003, both ends of The Hundreds incorporate their trademark lifestyle, attitude, and personal perspective on street subculture (www.thehundreds.com).

After a polite and respectful "No" from Ben I got to thinking about how I could somehow convince them otherwise. After a few days storming I decided to see if they had purchased the domain thehundredsishuge.com (The Hundreds is Huge), the registered business name. To my luck they hadn't. I decided that I would purchase the domain for $6.99 and take my chances that this would be something sought after by the duo. Instead of harrassing them with more emails I decided I would let them determine my fate by posting an eBay auction for the domain, in which I stipulated that I would give them the domain for free in exchange for an in person interview. I set the Buy-It-Now price at a dollar amount that was through the roof in hopes no one would bid. A month later I was sitting in the newly acquired warehouse space in LA interviewing Ben and later joining Bobby on the patio at Pinkberry.

Both Ben and Bobby were extremely down to earth and insightful. An hour and a half later we had discussed everything from the formation of the brand ($400 start up) to future plans. Just to speak to their success the duo took spots #13 and #14 of this years Top 30 Entrepreneurs by Inc.com. The Hundreds is expected to take in revenues of $4 million dollars this year. Not too shabby of a return on a five year project. I even was able to get my 15 minutes of e-fame.

Thanks for the opportunity and best wishes. Next stop Benny Gold....