The stereotypical New Schooler is either buried nose-deep in a book (Lang) or grinding away in a 6-hour-long studio (Parsons). However, at least two students are changing up the narrative. Josh Segal, 23, a senior studying Fiction at Lang, and Alexandra Combias, a Design and Management junior at Parsons, have both launched their own businesses while still in school.
Segal and his two partners have created Pinky, a sandwich shop working out of Kinfolk, a dive bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Combias and two of her friends created Tiqo, an all-natural tequila drink that’s packaged in stylized beer bottle.
“My friends and I were always talking about doing this but I never thought people would get so excited about it,” said Segal of his fledgling sandwich business. Segal partnered with Zack Cooper, a chef who previously worked at Soho House, and Lucas Mascatello, a painter. Cooper handles the food, Mascatello the marketing of the business and its visual identity, while Segal is the manager of operations, making sure events run smoothly.
Combias created her business with two Barnard grads, G.G. Mirvis and Sarah Pierce. Pierce came up with the idea 4 years ago, while hiking in the hills of Mexico and thinking to herself how nice it would be to have a “tequila on the go.” The three launched Tiqo in early 2013. They are now in the pre-launch phase and hoping to distribute Tiqo into liquor stores soon. Combias said she was confident the business would succeed. “In a recession, people are drinking,” she said. “In a surplus, people are still drinking.”
According to both Segal and Combias, one of the biggest challenges of launching a new business is time management.
“It’s so difficult because you want to have a life,” said Segal. “Then your business life and your student work life has to fit in somewhere.”
“Being a part of Tiqo has improved my organization skills by far,” said Combias. “But it has also made me choose specific time for school that won’t overlap with work.”
Segal says that his liberal arts education has helped him, in at least one way. “I know that if I was studying something else [besides fiction] I wouldn’t be able to draft an amazing email that people actually respond back to,” he said.
Combias says she too has used a lot of what she has learned at Parsons in helping to build Tiqo. “My major fits perfectly in line with what Tiqo is about, in terms of marketing,” she said. “Just little things I learn in my law and marketing classes, also with my Photoshop and Illustrator skills.”
Both students also credit their families’ support for their success. “[My mom] always said I would be a restaurateur and has been so supportive of my business,” said Segal. “I’ve never really started and finished something, so with Pinky, having people depending on us is exciting cause we’ll be finishing something.”
Although her family has a background in the liquor distribution business, Combias said they had little to do with her decision to start her own business. “They were supportive but wanted me to do things on my own for this business,” she said. “They gave me advice but I made all the decisions together with my friends.”
Both Segal and Combias say they recommend having friends as business partners. “It’s fun because you can just be chilling and actually get work done,” Segal said. Added Combias: “Working with my friends gives us the opportunity to have fun together, but only after the work gets done.”
Combias said that students considering the launch of a new business should be confident and not be afraid to pursue their dreams. “I think that The New School should require some entrepreneurship workshop just to give students an idea that it’s really not scary or hard to start your business now,” she said.