What does it take to create a truly “Made in America” brand? In this episode, we sit down with Dean Wegner, the founder and CEO of Authentically American, an American-made apparel brand. In a world where outsourcing and cheap labor are prevalent, Dean explains the challenges and rewards of building a sole American supply chain that supports our economy and creates jobs. With his strong leadership skills and military background, Dean has not only built a successful business but also a community-driven brand.
As a Veteran entrepreneur, Dean emphasizes the importance of having a niche and focusing on customer experience in building a successful brand. He also highlights the camaraderie and collaboration among Veteran entrepreneurs and the impact of supporting each other’s businesses.
Dean Wegner: What if we built a brand? And I thought back to the days of Crest and Tide and M&Ms? And I also thought, what if, instead of what 97% of brands do and chase cheap labor overseas, what if we made the intentional choice to produce right here in the U.S.?
John Berry: Welcome to the Veteran Led podcast where we talk with leaders who use their military experiences to develop great organizations and continue to serve their communities. Today’s guest is Dean Wegner. Dean is the founder of Authentically American, an apparel group of T-shirts and other items made here in the United States. Dean is a West Point graduate and was the 2024 Veteran Small Business Owner of the Year for the state of Tennessee out of 8,000 Veteran companies. Welcome to the show, Dean.
Dean Wegner: John, I’m honored to be here and I’m looking forward to a fantastic discussion with my fellow Veteran and Army Ranger.
John Berry: So Dean, you graduate from West Point, you serve about seven years in the military, and then you get out to work for some big companies. Why?
Dean Wegner: So it really goes back to family. John. So, had an amazing dad growing up and he worked 30 years for a Fortune 500 company. So that’s the quick background. And when I left the Army in 2000, I tell everybody now, I’m a Veteran and an entrepreneur, but when I left in 2000, couldn’t even spell “entrepreneur”. Had no idea this world existed. And it goes back to my dad. He worked 30 years for a Fortune 500 company and that’s what all his friends and our neighbors did. So that’s the only world I knew. So that’s the path I went. And you know, joined Procter & Gamble and Mars.
John Berry: When you joined the team, I mean, you joined I think, a very, in a very crucial position, strategy, marketing, development. So you got to learn some of those skills at a very high level. Did that help or hinder your ability to create Authentically American?
Dean Wegner: I’ll tell you, John, there was some good and bad, but I think overall all good. And some people may not recognize as much the name P&G and Mars, but I guarantee they recognize names like Crest and Tide and M&M. Tide and M&MS and Pedigree. I mean, both P&G and Mars are world class marketing and branding companies and I learned a ton. But what really drives me is want to know I make a difference. And you mentioned echelons above corps. I mean it’s the same way with P&G. But to put it in a revenue perspective, it was an 80 billion, $80 billion company with a B. And what really drives me is knowing that I’m making a difference and really struggled in such a large company, feeling like a cog in the wheel.
John Berry: And so you decide to make an apparel company and take on the challenge of having everything made here in the United States. So tell us about how challenging that is.
Dean Wegner: Well, let me share one intermediate step, because I mentioned not being able to spell entrepreneurs. When I decided I wanted to be an entrepreneur at Mars, I didn’t think I had it in me to start a business from scratch. So I entered the entrepreneurial ranks through acquisition and bought my first business in 2012. And it was a business that no one has ever heard of, but it was a government contractor. And what we did was produce dress uniforms for the military. So, John, you remember the fancy ASU trousers with the gold braid that you wore in the Army?
John Berry: Oh, yeah.
Dean Wegner: So that was one of our contracts. So we produced thousands of uniforms every week for Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. And having worn that exact same uniform before, I love being connected back to the military. And one of the things I learned was the tragic history of the apparel industry, which, to give you an idea of how rare American made is, when I graduated from West Point in 1993, over 50% of the apparel was made in the U.S.. Today, it’s three. 3% is all that’s made here. And something else I’m passionate about is creating American jobs. And back then, I was rather naive and didn’t really understand how it worked because the initial thought was, I want to win more contracts. Then I thought, we’ll create more jobs. But as I understand, started to better understand the area of government contracting I was in, it was really a bidding process. For example, John, if you and I are bidding on a contract and you had it before, and I won, in essence, your job is transferred to me, and there’s no real job creation. And that was that light bulb moment for me that said, what if? What if, instead of being a government contractor, what if we built a brand? And I thought back to the days of Crest and Tide and M&Ms. And I also thought, what if, instead of what 97% of brands do and chase cheap labor overseas, what if we made the intentional choice to produce right here in the U.S.? And that’s where it started in 2017. From a blank sheet of paper with a vision to build this iconic American brand. And I’m exhausted. I mean, it’s been the most challenging, most difficult thing I have ever done. But, you know, truly love what I’m doing, passionate about it, and truly believe in our mission of creating American jobs.
John Berry: Absolutely. And you have created those jobs through the growth of your organization. And as Veterans, we go back to our happiest days. And for me, it was leading a team and seeing the mission through, accomplishing the mission as a team. Do you get that same feeling today with your team?
Dean Wegner: I think it’s even more rewarding because when you join the military, I mean, it’s existing as part of a team, something that’s already there. But what I love as an entrepreneur, especially this phase of being an entrepreneur in 2017, I mean, you know, John, this was our business plan. I mean, it started from nothing, so it’s literally been building from scratch. And it started with just my wife and I. And we continue to slowly grow and build. Now that we really understand who our niche is, I mean, things are really starting to take off. And you and I both come in from that Army background and leadership being so critical. That is something I love right now, is having a mission that we all believe in around creating American jobs and building a team to help deliver on that vision.
John Berry: Yeah, and delivering on the vision is quite a different thing than having the vision. And I personally know about what it’s taken for you. I remember a few years ago you reached out to me and said, hey, I noticed you’re a Veteran owned company. This is what we’re doing. We’re making American made products here, some for Veterans. And at that point, we already had a supplier who I had a really good relationship with. And I was like, no, you know, I’d love to, but this, we’ve got something lined up already. And then here we are several years later, and I run into Dean, and it’s like, I need someone who can build the brand shirts. And sure enough, there’s Dean and his team. But I know that you went through a period where you had to go out and do and get in the dirt, right? Actually go out and sell, do the hard things that as a senior executive, most people never do.
Dean Wegner: Spot on, John, because in 2017, I am the one that built the initial business plan, brought on investors, built the supply chain and everything, but I was also the one that scrubbed the toilets, whatever it took to make it happen. You asked before about, were there good things, bad things coming out of working with such big companies like P&G and Mars? I talked about what I learned from a marketing and branding standpoint. But what I took for granted was, you know, the need to focus. I mean, literally, back in the P&G and Mars days, we had Super Bowl ad budgets, my marketing budgets, about this big. And remember that old baseball movie, John, Field of Dreams?
John Berry: Yeah, absolutely.
Dean Wegner: You know, build it, and they will come. Yeah, that’s a lie. It does not exist. I mean, you have our shirts. I mean, the feedback that Betsy and your team have shared, I mean, so incredibly soft and comfortable. And just the fact that we built it doesn’t mean anyone’s coming. And that’s one of the things I took for granted, that when you’re a new brand with a relatively small marketing budget, you need a niche. You really need to understand who your target customer is. And that’s something that we didn’t have early on. I mean, we were trying to be all things to all people, and we were chasing a lot of things. But now that we understand, I mean, you’re a perfect example of our target customer. It’s that Veteran owned business who served their country, who loves this great nation of ours, does not want made in China, wants something that’s American made.
John Berry: And as we look at the geopolitics right now, it’s not a bad thing to have your stuff made in the United States. Of course, you and I were in the oif oef era. But coming up, who knows what’s coming up now? But we know that we’re very dependent on foreign trade. And the amount of T-shirts, garments that are made in the United States is what. What percentage?
Dean Wegner: So it’s 3%. That is all that’s made here. That total number is 3%. But you know what’s interesting, John, and I’m so thankful for this opportunity here, but you bring up a great point. I mean, one of the few good things that came out of COVID is, was our reliance on overseas manufacturing. I mean, from the chips that are in our phone, from the pills that we’re ingesting in our body to the shirt we’re putting on our back. I mean, so much is made in China. So much is made overseas. And I think in some areas, we’re starting to wake up that we need to fix that. We can’t be reliant on our archenemy in China to produce everything. And I think what’s exciting, just a couple weeks ago, Memorial Day weekend was back on national TV, was back on Fox & Friends, and they were showcasing our brand and a couple others who were very much Veteran owned and committed to American made. And the traffic to our website, I mean, it was incredible. The spike in traffic. It was incredible, the interest. I mean, we have been slammed the last couple of weeks. Just go ahead and, you know, following up from all the interest from that appearance.
John Berry: The end of the day, we have to be self sufficient to some degree. And if we rely on somebody else, then that is a weakness. And we learned that in the military, we learned about our center of gravity, or the enemy center of gravity, where is it? Where we’re weak and look. I had the fortune or misfortune of going from infantry to logistics. And so I learned all about supply chains and the challenges of. Of getting the stuff to the people who need it, when they need it. How have you learned about supply chain logistics in building your brand and building your apparel?
Dean Wegner: It was really, John, OJT, so on-the-job training. And that was the real benefit of the five years previous of owning that government contractor that produced dress uniforms, because what I was able to do was learn the apparel industry and understand how it works here in the U.S.. And when only 3% is American made, there’s not many options available. But really, what happened in 2017? Switched from being a manufacturer to a brand. Switched from being in the production focus now to being more like a Nike or Lands’ End, where we’re focusing on the branding. And what those five years really allowed me to do is find the best darn T-shirt maker in the country, provide them our specifications and have them produce for us. Find the best darn sock maker in the country, which is in North Carolina, provide them our specs, and have them produce for us. So it was really those five years, John, in that last company, that I really learned and understood the apparel industry and really took that knowledge and built the supply chain that we have right now. And instead of being made in China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, all around the world, it’s very intentionally, eleven states here in the U.S., the T-shirt that you ordered from us, right? In Texas, I mentioned the socks in North Carolina, we have polos we make in California. And very intentionally, that choice is all here in the U.S..
John Berry: And you have the team that is designing it here in the U.S. as well, which is important, because a lot of times, companies will offshore that or near shore that. But when I talked to your team, or had my team talk to your team, they were very complimentary about the process. Hey, this is the Veteran led logo. This is what we think we want. Show us how it’s going to look. And then they did a couple iterations. Your team helped us get exactly what we wanted, and then it shipped and we opened the box. It was there because as you probably know, there are some companies, especially outside the U.S., where you order something, and it’s not the way it looked on the Internet.
Dean Wegner: Well, John, you’re highlighting two things that we very much believe in and that’s all about the experience. The first one that’s most important is that product experience. When you open up that T-shirt that I’m wearing, when you put it on your back, we want everyone to say, wow, that is so soft. It’s so comfortable. You know what? I absolutely love it. It’s my new favorite. And from a second standpoint, I’m glad to hear what your team shared because we also want to deliver an amazing customer experience. Remember that old staples commercial with the easy button, right? Yep. That’s what we want to try and deliver. We know the businesses and charities that we work with, they’re extremely busy. And the best calls I get, John, is from somebody like you. Somebody who’s leading organization has worked with my team. And they say, Dean, you know what? You guys are an incredible partner. First and foremost, your product is amazing. It’s America made. It’s soft and comfortable. But your team was incredible. They made it so easy to work with.
John Berry: Well, and Dean, you, you not only take care of your team, but you take care of your peers. And in fact, at our last meeting in Dallas at CEO Circle, you won an award. Tell us about that award.
Dean Wegner: I don’t even remember what it was called, John. But it was funny because it was really about recognizing somebody that embodies the values of CEO Circle and being involved, being active, being engaged and giving back. And the gentleman sitting right next to me, Alexe had asked, hey Dean, I’m looking for this kind of connection, can you help me out? And I was on my phone. Shame on me for not paying attention. But I was getting him that contact. I just texted him and then I looked up and there was my picture on the floor. And we got quite a chuckle after that because that example is one that’s been told countless times. I love CEO Circle, I love being part of it with you and 70, 80 other Veteran CEO’s. Because it’s all about that relationship. It’s about that brotherhood, that common service that we had in country. And now we are all Veteran entrepreneurs together. And that’s what I love is, John, if you have a need, I’ve got your back. I’m there for you. If Alex has a need, it’s the same way. And that’s the way it should be that we all look out for each other.
John Berry: Yeah. And I’ve noticed that even though there are some CEO’s in the same industry, it is all about collaboration and not competition. So often when we get from the military world to the civilian world, we see that it seems like nobody wants us to survive, nobody wants us to succeed. But then when we start getting around our Veteran peers, there’s a lot of synergy and camaraderie and positive attitudes where we want to share, we want to help our fellow Veterans. We want to see those businesses succeed because they’re one of us.
Dean Wegner: To me, John, it’s the whole rising tide theory. If you’re getting a riser tide, it’s not about how many pieces of the pie can I have? Let’s keep making that pie bigger. And that’s really at the heart of what we’re doing. I have had customers who very rarely. But if they’re already ordering something American made, I’m equally happy they don’t have to order from us. Because you look on our website, you go to Authentically American us. The heart of our mission is our passion for creating American jobs. So if more companies come on board and start doing us, doing what we’re doing and following our lead, that’s just going to make the fulfillment of our mission even more possible.
John Berry: At what point did the U.S. economy shift to buying everything overseas?
Dean Wegner: So it has been a precipitous decline. I mentioned 50% in 93, down to 3% now. But if you ask me for one catalyst, it was really NAFTA that agreement put in place and said, you know what, we need to start opening our borders. And I think what happened then is people realized that, okay, the cost of labor in the U.S. is here, cost of labor in Mexico is here. But as people started to see what they could do from a margin standpoint, lowering their costs, they started looking elsewhere. And that’s where they went to China and saw, you know what, how much lower the cost is in China, even more so than Mexico. And I think a lot of that was just corporate greed saying, you know what, we’re just going to keep chasing cheap labor all around the world, trying to improve our bottom line.
John Berry: Yeah. And with labor, sometimes you get what you pay for. You know, I certainly, I’m sure you’ve experienced some of the stuff that’s been shipped overseas that was. That was low quality, some of it’s been high quality. But I noticed what you can’t ship and what you can’t get through NAFTA, through trade agreements is dedication to mission accomplishment. And I think that’s where hiring Veterans comes in, because if you’ve got Veterans on your team, they understand there’s a mission that, hey, this is the mission, I’m told the who, what, when, where, and why. No one’s telling me the how. But I’m going to figure it out and I’m going to do my job and I’m going to do it to standard. And I can tell you that if there’s a shortage of anything in this country, it’s a shortage of Veterans.
Dean Wegner: John, I’ll tell you, you’re touching on something that’s so critical. It’s the power of story. We learned that in the military. You engage your troops with a story. And back in 2017, we had zero customers. Now we have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of businesses and charities that we work with. And all of them previously were ordering something made in China, made overseas. And here’s the best compliment we get from a leader like you, John, a fellow CEO, a President, a GM, a marketing lead, when they say, “Dean, I love it when we partner with you because we had an event, we made everyone wear it on Friday, but they want to wear it on Saturday. It’s their new favorite.” And we just didn’t go ahead and make the switch. What we did is we told them why. We told them why we wanted to partner with a better-known company, why we wanted to make that intentional choice for American made, why we wanted to help create American jobs, and why that aligns with our values. So that story that they tell is so important because when you share that story, you got an amazing soft shirt that they’re wearing. That just leads to higher engagement. That leads to greater morale, and ultimately leads to lower turnover, which you know leads to a successful business.
John Berry: What was the struggle early on where you thought, man, this may not work?
Dean Wegner: Well, it’s funny, John, I’ll share, first of all, a story back to our common bond with being Army and being a Ranger because a lot of people aren’t familiar. And I didn’t know it back then, back in 1994, but Ranger school was great training for leaving a startup. It was no sleep and incredible stress. And that’s the life I’ve been living. But for those who are tuning in that aren’t familiar, I remember, John, back on day one for our class, class 1294, there were 340 of us, 340 on day one. And as you know, there’s a lot of military doctrine and tactics. But at its core, Ranger school is a leadership course. And what they do is deprive you of everything you think you need to survive, namely food and sleep, and then put you in incredibly stressful situations. And I know for you and I was 72 days. And if you make it straight through, you live on one meal a day and two to 3 hours sleep a night. And, you know, during that time, we went from 340 down to 70 and we lost 80% of our class. And I learned two things. One, you know how far your body can be stretched, how far you can be pushed, and how strong your body has been designed. But the more important lesson is I had no business being in Ranger school, being a flight suit wearing aviator. But Roy Backe was my ranger buddy. And you remember, John, your Ranger buddy’s assigned to have your back, to be there when you ever have a need to be there. And that’s the lesson I learned that has stuck with me today. If you’re going through something tough, you’re going through something challenging and difficult, don’t do it alone. I mean, Roy and I, 30 years later, still keep in touch. And that’s the lesson that carries with me today. So on this entrepreneur journey, that’s something I share with everybody. If you’re going to start something challenging like being an entrepreneur, start a business from scratch, don’t do it alone. I mean, find that mentor, find that business partner, find that advisor that’s going to help you through this journey.
John Berry: Absolutely. Absolutely. And then what happens when you hit that rough patch where it looks like the sky is falling and this is it?
Dean Wegner: I mean, that’s when you pull up the bat phone and you reach out to that Ranger buddy in life and say, you know what, help. I mean, I need some perspective and I just don’t have one. John, I’ve been fortunate to have some incredible mentors and relationships. So if I need some question, some perspective on marketing, I reach out to this friend. If I’ve got another question on supply chain manufacturing, I reach out to a different friend. If you have a question on, you know, leadership, HR–it’s somebody different. And it’s not to say, you know what, you can only have one Ranger buddy. But I think the idea is that, you know what? Build that collaboration, that teamwork, not only within the organization yourself, but have people that you can reach out to as a leader.
John Berry: And how did you build that network? I mean, especially we’re talking about American made apparel, which there’s not a lot out there. So there probably aren’t a whole lot of mentors. So how did you find those mentors and how did you provide them value so that they would continue to work with you?
Dean Wegner: So, John, it’s less about the American made because to your point, there’s not a lot of options out there. But, I mean, you’re in the legal business, I’m in the apparel business. But if you and I sat down and compared notes, I mean, there’s a lot of common synergies between how you run and lead and have a successful organization. And it’s less about that for me, because apparel is a consumer product. M&Ms are a consumer product. Tide is a consumer product. So all that time in consumer packaged goods, although it’s not apparel, although it’s different. I mean, there’s so many common similarities that, you know what? You can go ahead and draw upon those common experiences, and that’s where really it comes together.
John Berry: So from your past life, you made sure that you left on good terms and had those good relationships with the people from the Fortune 500 companies who knew what you needed to do.
Dean Wegner: Absolutely, John. And I’ll tell you one specific story. So, in 2017, when I was just figuring out how to spell “entrepreneur”, one of the things I realized, if we want to take the long term view, we got to raise some capital, and we needed to get some investors. So I have my MBA in finance, but I don’t consider myself a finance expert and never have a finance role. So I needed some help. So, very sheepishly, I reached out to three of my friends who were CFO’s, and I know how busy they are, and I was sheepish because I wasn’t sure if they’d be willing to help. And they said, “Dean, we would love to help you build that business plan because you’ve always been there for me. You’ve gone out of your way. Whenever there’s a need, you’re there for me.” And myself and these three CFO’s built this whole business plan, built this pro forma three-year financial forecast. And at the end of it, I was wondering, “Shark Tank, like, how does it look? How does it feel?” And you’ve seen Shark Tank, and I was wondering, you know, what is the valuation we come up with? Is it a little too high? Is it too low? Or is it just about right? And one of them, John, said, “Dean, here’s my thoughts. One, I feel incredible about the work we’ve done. We’ve spent a few months putting this together, and I feel really solid, and I actually feel it’s a little conservative. But here’s why I feel so good, because here’s your first check. I’m going to be your first investor.”
John Berry: Has he made his ROI back on that check yet?
Dean Wegner: We haven’t cashed out yet, but it’s amazing, John, having that first one, because after having the business plan and everything prepared, I went to others and said, “Okay, hey, here’s the idea, here’s the business, here’s our brand, everything.” And then the first question I got was, “Well, how did you come up with that evaluation?” I said, “Well, I already have the first check.” And then it was like, “Well, I’m in, I’m number two.” And Then it was like, well, I’m in. I’m number two, and then the next one is number three. So having that first one is so critical. And that didn’t happen. There’s just three months ago. That happened 15 years ago when I first met these three gentlemen and they helped me. It’s investing those relationships early on and continue to maintain that that made that difference.
John Berry: Yeah. A couple really important points there is that if you can’t get someone to write a check for it, then the market, there might not be a market demand. So you’ve got that first check. And then I noticed that momentum kicks in, and it’s like, you remember the runaway gun, the runaway machine gun where they tell you to ride the lightning, even though you let go of the trigger and the gun keeps firing. And it seems like when that momentum comes and that first domino falls and then you just start seeing things fall into place, it takes off so quickly that you don’t realize what’s happening until you wake up one night in a cold sweat, oh, my gosh, this is all really happening. And now you’re even more scared because you’re succeeding.
Dean Wegner: It’s that whole snowball effect. I mean, just giving a different analogy because, you know, we’ve been pushing really hard and heavy as weHere’s the transcript with the timestamps removed and the speaker names placed on the same line as their text:
Dean Wegner: Well, John, you’re highlighting two things that we very much believe in and that’s all about the experience. The first one that’s most important is that product experience. When you open up that T-shirt that I’m wearing, when you put it on your back, we want everyone to say, wow, that is so soft. It’s so comfortable. You know what? I absolutely love it. It’s my new favorite. And from a second standpoint, I’m glad to hear what your team shared because we also want to deliver an amazing customer experience. Remember that old staples commercial with the easy button, right? Yep. That’s what we want to try and deliver. We know the businesses and charities that we work with, they’re extremely busy. And the best calls I get, John, is from somebody like you. Somebody who’s leading organization has worked with my team. And they say, Dean, you know what? You guys are an incredible partner. First and foremost, your product is amazing. It’s America made. It’s soft and comfortable. But your team was incredible. They made it so easy to work with.
John Berry: Well, and Dean, you, you not only take care of your team, but you take care of your peers. And in fact, at our last meeting in Dallas at CEO Circle, you won an award. Tell us about that award.
Dean Wegner: I don’t even remember what it was called, John. But it was funny because it was really about recognizing somebody that embodies the values of CEO Circle and being involved, being active, being engaged and giving back. And the gentleman sitting right next to me, Alexe had asked, hey Dean, I’m looking for this kind of connection, can you help me out? And I was on my phone. Shame on me for not paying attention. But I was getting him that contact. I just texted him and then I looked up and there was my picture on the floor. And we got quite a chuckle after that because that example is one that’s been told countless times. I love CEO Circle, I love being part of it with you and 70, 80 other Veteran CEO’s. Because it’s all about that relationship. It’s about that brotherhood, that common service that we had in country. And now we are all Veteran entrepreneurs together. And that’s what I love is, John, if you have a need, I’ve got your back. I’m there for you. If Alex has a need, it’s the same way. And that’s the way it should be that we all look out for each other.
John Berry: Yeah. And I’ve noticed that even though there are some CEO’s in the same industry, it is all about collaboration and not competition. So often when we get from the military world to the civilian world, we see that it seems like nobody wants us to survive, nobody wants us to succeed. But then when we start getting around our Veteran peers, there’s a lot of synergy and camaraderie and positive attitudes where we want to share, we want to help our fellow Veterans. We want to see those businesses succeed because they’re one of us.
Dean Wegner: To me, John, it’s the whole rising tide theory. If you’re getting a riser tide, it’s not about how many pieces of the pie can I have? Let’s keep making that pie bigger. And that’s really at the heart of what we’re doing. I have had customers who very rarely. But if they’re already ordering something American made, I’m equally happy they don’t have to order from us. Because you look on our website, you go to Authentically American us. The heart of our mission is our passion for creating American jobs. So if more companies come on board and start doing us, doing what we’re doing and following our lead, that’s just going to make the fulfillment of our mission even more possible.
John Berry: At what point did the U.S. economy shift to buying everything overseas?
Dean Wegner: So it has been a precipitous decline. I mentioned 50% in 93, down to 3% now. But if you ask me for one catalyst, it was really NAFTA that agreement put in place and said, you know what, we need to start opening our borders. And I think what happened then is people realized that, okay, the cost of labor in the U.S. is here, cost of labor in Mexico is here. But as people started to see what they could do from a margin standpoint, lowering their costs, they started looking elsewhere. And that’s where they went to China and saw, you know what, how much lower the cost is in China, even more so than Mexico. And I think a lot of that was just corporate greed saying, you know what, we’re just going to keep chasing cheap labor all around the world, trying to improve our bottom line.
John Berry: Yeah. And with labor, sometimes you get what you pay for. You know, I certainly, I’m sure you’ve experienced some of the stuff that’s been shipped overseas that was. That was low quality, some of it’s been high quality. But I noticed what you can’t ship and what you can’t get through NAFTA, through trade agreements is dedication to mission accomplishment. And I think that’s where hiring Veterans comes in, because if you’ve got Veterans on your team, they understand there’s a mission that, hey, this is the mission, I’m told the who, what, when, where, and why. No one’s telling me the how. But I’m going to figure it out and I’m going to do my job and I’m going to do it to standard. And I can tell you that if there’s a shortage of anything in this country, it’s a shortage of Veterans.
Dean Wegner: John, I’ll tell you, you’re touching on something that’s so critical. It’s the power of story. We learned that in the military. You engage your troops with a story. And back in 2017, we had zero customers. Now we have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of businesses and charities that we work with. And all of them previously were ordering something made in China, made overseas. And here’s the best compliment we get from a leader like you, John, a fellow CEO, a President, a GM, a marketing lead, when they say, “Dean, I love it when we partner with you because we had an event, we made everyone wear it on Friday, but they want to wear it on Saturday. It’s their new favorite.” And we just didn’t go ahead and make the switch. What we did is we told them why. We told them why we wanted to partner with a better-known company, why we wanted to make that intentional choice for American made, why we wanted to help create American jobs, and why that aligns with our values. So that story that they tell is so important because when you share that story, you got an amazing soft shirt that they’re wearing. That just leads to higher engagement. That leads to greater morale, and ultimately leads to lower turnover, which you know leads to a successful business.
John Berry: What was the struggle early on where you thought, man, this may not work?
Dean Wegner: Well, it’s funny, John, I’ll share, first of all, a story back to our common bond with being Army and being a Ranger because a lot of people aren’t familiar. And I didn’t know it back then, back in 1994, but Ranger school was great training for leaving a startup. It was no sleep and incredible stress. And that’s the life I’ve been living. But for those who are tuning in that aren’t familiar, I remember, John, back on day one for our class, class 1294, there were 340 of us, 340 on day one. And as you know, there’s a lot of military doctrine and tactics. But at its core, Ranger school is a leadership course. And what they do is deprive you of everything you think you need to survive, namely food and sleep, and then put you in incredibly stressful situations. And I know for you and I was 72 days. And if you make it straight through, you live on one meal a day and two to 3 hours sleep a night. And, you know, during that time, we went from 340 down to 70 and we lost 80% of our class. And I learned two things. One, you know how far your body can be stretched, how far you can be pushed, and how strong your body has been designed. But the more important lesson is I had no business being in Ranger school, being a flight suit wearing aviator. But Roy Backe was my ranger buddy. And you remember, John, your Ranger buddy’s assigned to have your back, to be there when you ever have a need to be there. And that’s the lesson I learned that has stuck with me today. If you’re going through something tough, you’re going through something challenging and difficult, don’t do it alone. I mean, Roy and I, 30 years later, still keep in touch. And that’s the lesson that carries with me today. So on this entrepreneur journey, that’s something I share with everybody. If you’re going to start something challenging like being an entrepreneur, start a business from scratch, don’t do it alone. I mean, find that mentor, find that business partner, find that advisor that’s going to help you through this journey.
John Berry: Absolutely. Absolutely. And then what happens when you hit that rough patch where it looks like the sky is falling and this is it?
Dean Wegner: I mean, that’s when you pull up the bat phone and you reach out to that Ranger buddy in life and say, you know what, help. I mean, I need some perspective and I just don’t have one. John, I’ve been fortunate to have some incredible mentors and relationships. So if I need some question, some perspective on marketing, I reach out to this friend. If I’ve got another question on supply chain manufacturing, I reach out to a different friend. If you have a question on, you know, leadership, HR–it’s somebody different. And it’s not to say, you know what, you can only have one Ranger buddy. But I think the idea is that, you know what? Build that collaboration, that teamwork, not only within the organization yourself, but have people that you can reach out to as a leader.
John Berry: And how did you build that network? I mean, especially we’re talking about American made apparel, which there’s not a lot out there. So there probably aren’t a whole lot of mentors. So how did you find those mentors and how did you provide them value so that they would continue to work with you?
Dean Wegner: So, John, it’s less about the American made because to your point, there’s not a lot of options out there. But, I mean, you’re in the legal business, I’m in the apparel business. But if you and I sat down and compared notes, I mean, there’s a lot of common synergies between how you run and lead and have a successful organization. And it’s less about that for me, because apparel is a consumer product. M&Ms are a consumer product. Tide is a consumer product. So all that time in consumer packaged goods, although it’s not apparel, although it’s different. I mean, there’s so many common similarities that, you know what? You can go ahead and draw upon those common experiences, and that’s where really it comes together.
John Berry: So from your past life, you made sure that you left on good terms and had those good relationships with the people from the Fortune 500 companies who knew what you needed to do.
Dean Wegner: Absolutely, John. And I’ll tell you one specific story. So, in 2017, when I was just figuring out how to spell “entrepreneur”, one of the things I realized, if we want to take the long term view, we got to raise some capital, and we needed to get some investors. So I have my MBA in finance, but I don’t consider myself a finance expert and never have a finance role. So I needed some help. So, very sheepishly, I reached out to three of my friends who were CFO’s, and I know how busy they are, and I was sheepish because I wasn’t sure if they’d be willing to help. And they said, “Dean, we would love to help you build that business plan because you’ve always been there for me. You’ve gone out of your way. Whenever there’s a need, you’re there for me.” And myself and these three CFO’s built this whole business plan, built this pro forma three-year financial forecast. And at the end of it, I was wondering, “Shark Tank, like, how does it look? How does it feel?” And you’ve seen Shark Tank, and I was wondering, you know, what is the valuation we come up with? Is it a little too high? Is it too low? Or is it just about right? And one of them, John, said, “Dean, here’s my thoughts. One, I feel incredible about the work we’ve done. We’ve spent a few months putting this together, and I feel really solid, and I actually feel it’s a little conservative. But here’s why I feel so good, because here’s your first check. I’m going to be your first investor.”
John Berry: Has he made his ROI back on that check yet?
Dean Wegner: We haven’t cashed out yet, but it’s amazing, John, having that first one, because after having the business plan and everything prepared, I went to others and said, “Okay, hey, here’s the idea, here’s the business, here’s our brand, everything.” And then the first question I got was, “Well, how did you come up with that evaluation?” I said, “Well, I already have the first check.” And then it was like, “Well, I’m in, I’m number two.” And Then it was like, well, I’m in. I’m number two, and then the next one is number three. So having that first one is so critical. And that didn’t happen. There’s just three months ago. That happened 15 years ago when I first met these three gentlemen and they helped me. It’s investing those relationships early on and continue to maintain that that made that difference.
John Berry: Yeah. A couple really important points there is that if you can’t get someone to write a check for it, then the market, there might not be a market demand. So you’ve got that first check. And then I noticed that momentum kicks in, and it’s like, you remember the runaway gun, the runaway machine gun where they tell you to ride the lightning, even though you let go of the trigger and the gun keeps firing. And it seems like when that momentum comes and that first domino falls and then you just start seeing things fall into place, it takes off so quickly that you don’t realize what’s happening until you wake up one night in a cold sweat, oh, my gosh, this is all really happening. And now you’re even more scared because you’re succeeding.
Dean Wegner: It’s that whole snowball effect. I mean, just giving a different analogy because, you know, we’ve been pushing really hard and heavy as we’re getting some momentum and getting more national tv appearances, we’re, you know, honored to be a guest on your podcast and more people around it is that snowball effect. It starts building, you get that momentum and, you know, that’s when it really starts to take off. And, you know, we’ve been at it seven years, John, and we’re on the verge of being that overnight success story. Seven years in the making.
John Berry: Absolutely. And probably more than seven years. If we think about all your training on the job training from the Fortune 500 companies and everything that you learned that got you to this place. And I think sometimes we get experiences and we think, well, that wasn’t a good experience. I didn’t learn much. And then a few years later, we learned, wow, that was an incredible experience. And I learned something that helped either save or grow my business.
Dean Wegner: I mean, John, it goes back 30 years, which I don’t feel like an old grad. I still feel young at heart and still feel healthy. But to know that I’ve been out of West Point 30 years, I mean, that’s a long time. But going all the way back to West Point, days and graduation, some lessons learned as a Second Lieutenant, all that experience is built to get to the point where we’re at right now. So I can’t say I’d ever want to pursue a different journey than I have right now. I mean, each and every step has enabled me to build, to get to the point we’re at right now.
John Berry: Dean, that is a great segue into our After Action Review. You probably remember the AAR–the three up, the three down. This is the leadership AAR from your entire career, from, we’ll say, from the day you started West Point till now. Three sustains–three examples of great leadership–and then three improves–three examples of horrible leadership.
John Berry: Dean, that is a great segue into our After Action Review. You probably remember the AAR–the three up, the three down. This is the leadership AAR from your entire career, from, we’ll say, from the day you started West Point till now. Three sustains–three examples of great leadership–and then three improves–three examples of horrible leadership.
Dean Wegner: Probably the first one, it’s built around this saying that no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. And some of the best leaders I have had and had the privilege of working for really genuinely cared about me. Wanted to meet my wife, Kelly, wanted to get to know my four kids and genuinely wanted to go ahead and get to know me as a person first and foremost before we even talked about business. And that’s something I’ve tried to emulate as well. So I think that would be one. I think the second one, I’ve had leaders as well that weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. They were the ones that turned the lights on in the morning, turn the lights on at the end of the day, and they still took time for family. But when there was hard heavy lifting that needed to be done, they were there first. They weren’t there cutting out early when the heavy lifting and hard work was needed, they were there, right there with me. So I think that would be the second one, and I think the third one. And I think, like you, John, I’m very hard charging. I’m very driven. I’m very much want to accomplish and make things happen. I think too often when you’re like that, people aren’t as likely to give feedback. And I truly believe feedback is a gift. And you know what? Some of the best leaders I had would really sit down when we’d have regular one on ones and say, dean, here’s all the things I love that you’re doing, but here’s a couple things that you can do to make it even better. And feedback sometimes can be hard. So those would be the three that I would highlight. Yeah.
John Berry: It took me till I was in my forties to really accept that feedback is a gift, and sometimes it’s tough to receive feedback. But I’ve also been on the other end of it in the military, where it’s tough to give that feedback, especially to a senior officer.
Dean Wegner: So you’re also looking for three on the opposite side.
John Berry: That’s right.
Dean Wegner: I won’t name names, but I remember this one as a Second Lieutenant, one of the Captains. And our unit was headed by a Major. I remember having the office right next to him, and I heard him on the phone to his wife say, hey, honey, the boss has left, so I’m going to be coming home early. And I think back, he was always the one. If the boss was there, he was sticking around. And this ties to my definition that I love of character, doing what’s right when no one else is watching. I think that is the hallmark of a great leader. And so often when I see people falling short, they’re looking over their shoulder and wonders who’s watching them. Instead of focusing on, I want to do what’s right. I want to do what I know needs to be done. I don’t care who’s watching because I’m all about character and doing it right. And I think, you know, I’ve seen this too often before. And a lot of them are corollaries from the positives where, you know, somebody that, you know, is leading and, you know, gives a lot of great advice, gives a lot of great strategy. But when it comes to the heavy lifting, you’re looking around like, where’d they go? Where did they go? You know, what happened? So I think that is one. I think the opposite. I think the third one, you know, John, do you remember meals, for example, you know, at Ranger school? I mean, how few meals we had and one of those small things. But I think it’s a symbolic one is I always ate last. You always want your troops to eat last. And I have continued that even into the business world, that if we’re at an event, we’re at something. I mean, if there’s a buffet, whatever it is, I will make sure that I’m always the one eating last. And I’ve had some leaders that, you know what? When it’s a great meal, when food is served, guess who’s at the front of the line? And I think it’s the reverse. And I think that’s one of the things back to every step is built upon the way. I mean, some of those foundational lessons around leadership and character and being a servant leader started back in the Army.
John Berry: Yeah, absolutely. I learned a lesson that was the opposite of that. The ROTC teaching was, yeah, leaders eat last, and so on and so forth. I remember we were doing this field problem in Fort Hood. We were probably about two weeks in, and we were getting ready to plan our last operation. I get in the back of the chow line, and one of my squad leaders says, “Sir, what are you doing?” “I’m waiting in line”. And the First Sergeant is back there with him. He says, “No, you’re not, sir. You get to the front line, you get that chow, you eat now. Because we know how you get if you’re not going to because everybody’s tired, everybody’s hungry, and you have to take an off order in an hour. I can’t have you standing in line here.” I said, “But First Sergeant, I’m in charge.” “Let me tell you something, Lieutenant, you’re not in charge. If there’s not enough food here, it’s my fault. I’m the First Sergeant. And are you doubting me? Are you doubting that I know how to plan to make sure there’s enough rations for this company?” “No, First Sergeant.” That’s right. He said, “You know what? If anybody doesn’t eat, it will be me.” And he says, “And believe me, I’m going to eat.” So I got punked by the First Sergeant. I went to front line and got my food and then went to the OP Order. But what he was trying to teach me was, I think that sometimes as a leader, you have to take care of yourself as well. And if you’re the last guy to eat and you don’t eat and you get to that OP Order, the one thing I learned in Ranger School is if you get deprived of food and sleep, you start making bad decisions. The brain isn’t functioning the way it should anymore. I’m sure when you went through, you saw the same thing I did, which guys who I highly admired seemed to lose their integrity when they became so sleep-deprived and hungry. I don’t know if you saw the same thing, but guys, I remember that. And I was like, This guy’s a great guy. I can’t believe he just did that. Some Blue Falcon move that you weren’t expecting. You know what I’m talking about?
Dean Wegner: I absolutely do, John. And that lack of integrity was a Ranger School story, because when you only get one MRE, I mean, you want every last morsel in that. And one of the instances I remember is, you know, we had somebody steal some MREs. We’re out on patrol, and a number of people were back and they didn’t know who it was. But, you know, for two nights in a row, we didn’t sleep in a wink. They were trying to flush out who it was. And, you know, like you said, when there’s lack of food, there’s lack of sleep, sometimes there’s a lack of character. And that was the first hand example that I experienced.
John Berry: Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, Dean, thank you so much for coming on to the Veteran led podcast today. Please let our listeners know where they can learn more about your product, authentically Americana. We’ll have everything in the show notes, including your bio, but where can we learn about your product?
Dean Wegner: So the best place, John, to go is our website, AuthenticallyAmerican.Us. And that us was an intentional choice given the equity of our brand. So if you’re an individual consumer and want to buy your new favorite polo, T-shirt, socks, individual, just one, go to our website. But if you are a business owner, if you’re leading a charity and you are buying custom apparel and you don’t like made in China, you want something that’s American made, that is the same place to go as our website, and you’ll see an opportunity to go and see how you can get custom apparel for your business.
John Berry: It’s great. And what I like about the logo, the logo is not overstated. It’s understated, but it’s there. Tell us a little bit about the choice for the logo.
Dean Wegner: We have two logos, so I’ll highlight two of them, John. One is our inside tag. Actually, I’ll hold it up. I’ve got one of my favorite Go Army shirts. But if you can see the Authentically American stamp logo. You mentioned this during our discussion, the days when they were Made in the USA, things would be stamped with Made in the USA. And that was the design behind that logo is everything that we produce, is stamped Authentically American to certify that it’s American made. So that’s the internal tag. The external one, it’s white on the back of this shirt, but you can see that vintage US flag here. Go Army is front center. Veteran Led–Dominate is front center. But that vintage flag on the back is that subtle reinforcement, John, the intentional choice you made to choose American Made.
John Berry: Thank you so much, Dean. And if you have one last piece of advice for those Veteran entrepreneurs that want to get in the game, what’s the one question that they need to ask themselves before starting?
Dean Wegner: So I mentioned the one that I always give is find that Ranger buddy in life. But the second one, I would say, is find something that you truly love. Find something that you’re truly passionate about. Because, you know, John, it’s not easy, you know, being an entrepreneur, it’s not easy being a business owner. But if you are pursuing something that you love and you’re passionate about, it doesn’t feel like life. It’s just something that you’re pursuing. It’s your passion.
John Berry: Thank you for joining us today on Veteran Led, where we pursue our mission of promoting Veteran leadership in business, strengthening the Veteran community, and getting Veterans all of the benefits that they earn. If you know a leader who should be on the Veteran Led podcast, report to our online community by searching “Veteran Led” on your favorite social channels and posting in the comments. We want to hear how your military challenges prepared you to lead your industry or community, and we will let the world know. And of course, hit subscribe and join me next time on Veteran Led.
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