--- title: "From Corporate Corridors to Startup Support: How Rachel Erickson Is Making Apparel a Little Less Lonely" description: Rachel Erickson’s BoA guides founders through apparel production challenges with expert insight, real support and a trusted industry community author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2025-07-11T10:01:18.000Z updated: 2026-03-31T11:24:42.652Z canonical: https://richwoman.co/article/from-corporate-corridors-to-startup-support-how-rachel-erickson-is-making-apparel-a-little-le image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/DSC_9931_web_crop.jpg categories: Female leadership content_type: Profile region: Global publication: Rich Woman Magazine about: - type: Organization name: The Business of Apparel description: The Business of Apparel is the educational arm of Unmarked Street , founded by industry veteran Rachel Erickson after two decades in billion-dollar corporate apparel offices. With over 55 years of collective team experience, The Business of Apparel transforms the often isolating journey of launching clothing brands into a supported, community-driven experience. Through practical courses, weekly office hours and real-time problem solving, they guide founders through the technical maze of production timelines, tech packs and manufacturer relationships that typically derail new brands. url: https://www.unmarkedstreet.com/ --- Rachel Erickson spent twenty years watching the same scene play out in corporate apparel boardrooms. Talented founders would walk in with brilliant ideas for performance clothing, sketches tucked under their arms and genuine excitement in their voices. Then reality would hit – the maze of production timelines, the bewildering world of tech packs, the frustrating dance of finding manufacturers who wouldn’t demand impossible minimum orders. ‘After 20 years in corporate apparel, I knew how many incredible people were building brands – but getting stuck on the production side’, Erickson recalls. Time after time, she watched creative founders lose momentum when they encountered the less glamorous but essential mechanics of making clothes. The breaking point came when she realised she was becoming part of the problem. Here she was, armed with two decades of hard-won knowledge about [navigating supply chains](https://richwoman.co/article/reducing-fashion-pollution-what-if-your-clothes-could-be-tough-soft-and-safe) and production crises, yet watching founder after founder struggle with the same basic hurdles that had tripped her up years earlier. ## The Loneliness of Learning the Hard Way Anyone who’s tried to [bring a clothing design to life](https://richwoman.co/article/wearing-plus-size-with-confidence-why-women-over-40-love-eco-friendly-activewear) knows the feeling – that moment when you discover a [tech pack isn’t just a fancy term](https://techpacker.com/blog/design/what-is-a-tech-pack/) for a design sketch, but actually a detailed blueprint containing every measurement, fabric specification and construction detail your manufacturer needs. Get it wrong, and your beautiful design becomes an expensive mistake. For established brands, these challenges are routine bumps in the road. But for someone launching their first collection, each obstacle can feel enormous. The language alone – MOQs, lead times, pre-production samples – sounds like a foreign dialect to newcomers. Erickson kept seeing the same pattern: founders would spend months perfecting their designs, only to hit a wall when it came to production. Some would give up entirely. Others would push through but make costly mistakes that could have been avoided with proper guidance. The apparel industry doesn’t make it easy for newcomers. [Trust issues with suppliers](https://makersrow.com/blog/top-challenges-solutions-for-apparel-production-business/), communication barriers with overseas manufacturers and the challenge of finding partners willing to work with small batch orders create a storm of frustration for new brands. ## Building the Support System She Wished She’d Had That’s when Erickson made her move. After building her consulting firm Unmarked Street into a trusted resource for performance apparel brands, she launched The Business of Apparel (BoA) – not as another slick online course, but as the kind of practical, no-nonsense support system she wished had existed when she was starting out. ‘BoA is what I wish existed for so many of my clients when they were just starting out’, she explains. ‘Real advice, from real industry experts who’ve built billion-dollar brands, not just theories and fluff.’ The difference is in the details. While most business education focuses on strategy and marketing, BoA gets into the nitty-gritty of production challenges. Weekly office hours where founders can ask about specific factory communications. Live workshops that walk through the actual process of creating a tech pack. Templates that take the guesswork out of essential documents. It’s the kind of help that feels personal because it comes from someone who’s been there. [Erickson and her team aren’t business school graduates](https://richwoman.co/article/from-invisible-to-authority-why-entrepreneurs-master-self-confidence) with certificates in entrepreneurship – they’re industry veterans who’ve navigated the same production crises and supply chain headaches that keep new founders awake at night. ## Making the Complex Feel Manageable The smallest details can derail everything in apparel manufacturing. A tech pack missing crucial seam specifications can lead to samples that don’t fit properly. Misunderstanding a factory’s communication style can result in months of delays. These aren’t theoretical problems – they’re the daily reality for founders trying to [bring their vision to life](https://richwoman.co/article/finding-new-purpose-imani-blackmon-s-mission-to-help-athletes-write-their-next-chapter). What makes BoA different is recognition that these challenges aren’t just technical hurdles – they’re emotional ones too. [Starting a clothing brand can feel isolating](https://richwoman.co/article/relief-for-the-burnout-how-wellness-founders-find-freedom-when-they-let-go-of-sales), especially when you’re trying to decode industry jargon and navigate relationships with manufacturers who might not take small orders seriously. The platform addresses this through what Erickson calls ‘real-time problem solving’. Instead of generic advice, founders get specific help with their actual challenges. Someone struggling with a factory communication issue can bring their real emails to office hours and get guidance on how to phrase their next message. Another founder confused about fabric weights can get explanations that make sense for their specific product. The founders BoA is already supporting represent the diversity of modern apparel entrepreneurship – from former athletes launching performance wear lines to sustainability advocates creating eco-friendly alternatives. What they share is the experience of hitting production roadblocks that felt insurmountable until they found someone who’d navigated the same challenges. ## The Human Element of Building Brands Erickson’s approach recognises something often missing from business education: the human relationships that make apparel manufacturing work. [Finding the right manufacturing partners](https://makersrow.com/blog/challenges-in-the-usa-garment-production/) isn’t just about comparing price quotes – it’s about building trust with people who understand your vision and can help bring it to life. This is particularly crucial for [small brands navigating supply chain challenges](https://hulaglobal.com/blog/top-10-supply-chain-issues-in-the-clothing-industry/) like finding manufacturers willing to work with lower minimum order quantities or managing long pre-production turnaround times. The technical knowledge matters, but so does understanding how to communicate effectively with partners across different cultures and time zones. The support system Erickson has built acknowledges that starting an apparel brand is as much about building relationships as it is about understanding technical specifications. Her team brings not just expertise in areas like fit and collection building, but also the emotional intelligence that comes from years of working with founders at all stages of their journey. [For Erickson, the ultimate goal](https://richwoman.co/article/the-corner-office-mindset-how-women-cfos-drive-financial-growth-across-sectors) isn’t just helping founders solve individual problems – it’s about creating a community where the essential but often overlooked aspects of apparel manufacturing feel less daunting. Where someone struggling with their first tech pack knows they’re not alone, and where the path from design sketch to finished product feels possible rather than overwhelming. It’s about taking the loneliness out of learning the hard way, and giving founders the kind of support that makes the difference between giving up and pushing through to success. **About The Business of Apparel** The Business of Apparel is the educational arm of Unmarked Street , founded by industry veteran Rachel Erickson after two decades in billion-dollar corporate apparel offices. With over 55 years of collective team experience, The Business of Apparel transforms the often isolating journey of launching clothing brands into a supported, community-driven experience. Through practical courses, weekly office hours and real-time problem solving, they guide founders through the technical maze of production timelines, tech packs and manufacturer relationships that typically derail new brands. [Website](https://www.unmarkedstreet.com/)