Self-Made Saturday 1: Jon Koon

Jon Koon is a Chinese American entrepreneur, artist, and fashion designer who became a self-made millionaire by the age of 16⁽¹⁾

This is the story of Jon Koon. He saw success from an early age, which he capitalized on and continues to leverage to even greater heights today. Jon Koon grew up in Queens, NYC. While still in high school, Koon noticed an incredible opportunity; for whatever reason there was a lack of auto parts businesses in New York City. Jon was adequately equipped to tackle this opportunity; he had a passion for cars and would spend hours looking through his father's auto magazines from Hong Kong. Koon said that he "saw those cars and loved them and thought I could bring that over to the US." He jumped at the chance and opened up Extreme Performance Motorsports; a company that imported "custom body kits, aftermarket wheels and rims, stereo systems, and other specialized accessories" from Asia.⁽¹⁾ Many notable celebrities bough parts from Koon, including Tim Westwood. Extreme Performance Motorsports even became the main supplier for Xzibit's show Pimp My Ride on MTV, as well as several other reality shows. As a result, Jon Koon was worth over $40 million by the time he was 16! 

However, Koon lost a bit of the luster he had for the auto industry when people began "copying" his idea and opening their own auto parts businesses. Koon went off to Georgetown University to get his business degree, and it was here that he transitioned from car-parts to apparel⁽²⁾. " Using ties forged with factories in China, Japan and Taiwan, Jon started making high quality brand merch for the hip-pop group, The Diplomats.⁽²⁾ At the same time this was happening, hip hop legend and entrepreneur Jay Z was launching a business of his own. Rocawear is a street wear line which was bringing in a revenue of $700 million per year at the time. "“A few months later, I get this call from Jay-Z’s people – I was the only person who could get that quality of apparel over to the US,” Koon said. Koon became the sole manufacturer for all the head-wear for Rocawear. To this day,  Koon Enterprises still manufacture all the head-wear for Rocawear, Honda and even the international wholesaler, Costco.

"In 2008, Jay-Z sold his 8732 brand to Jon, which he re-launched with artist Young Jeezy as Young Jeezy 8732 Apparel Ltd, which went on to become one of the top three selling streetwear brands in the US according to Koon Enterprises, Jon’s holding company, which still owns the label. Yet, despite the success of Young Jeezy 8732, Jon left the US for the luxury fashion houses of northern Italy. 'I had a bunch of mentors at the time who said designing for the mass markets was a waste of my talent', he says. Jon partnered with an Italian designer and launched Domenico Vacca Denim, a ready-to-wear line apparently worn by 'everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Al Pacino'."⁽²⁾

"Now 32, Jon runs Private Stock: a high-fashion concept store in Andy Warhol’s former studio – a huge 5,000 square foot space in New York’s SoHo. Downstairs, a white marble koi pond stretches from one side of the store to the other, filled with fifty ornamental Japanese carp. Denim is hung on canvases upstairs, mixed with waterproof cashmere, layered with intricate detail and bracelets lined in tiger-eye stones from Brazil. Private Stock is the upper end of ostentatious luxury, but that’s the point, Jon says: 'As Andy Warhol once said, ‘Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art’,' because you’re definitely an artist, yet you’ll never be recognized for it. Money was never the end game for Jon, his businesses run through his passions: 'I was always interested in being a creator. Everything has been about creating these concepts – through importing, manufacturing, or designing'."⁽²⁾

Jon Koon's story is unique. An often undervalued skill which has set him apart in the business world is networking. Jon was able to use his parents connection to Asia to find quality, cheap manufacturers who would export automotive products to him. He formed new connections through all of his business interactions, which he used when launching his streetwear brand. Another skill which propelled Jon to success is listening. Many young, self-made entrepreneurs burn out because they become cocky and think they can do anything on their own. There is always going to be someone who knows more than you in a given field, and the only way to become an expert is by listening to these mentors. Jon Koon is a great example of a visionary seeing an opportunity and seizing it, and we can all learn a lot from him.

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Sources: 

(1): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Koon

(2): https://amuse-i-d.vice.com/jon-koon-from-pimp-my-ride-to-owning-warhols-home/