World IP Day 2022: taking Montirex from the kitchen table to a global brand
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In our second client profile to celebrate World IP Day, we speak to Daniel Yuen, co-founder of sportswear brand Montirex, who co-founded the business aged 21 from his business partner’s home and now employs 13 people.
Tell us about Montirex
Montirex is a technical outdoor/sportswear brand, offering a range of tracksuits, shorts, t-shirts and quarter-zips. Designed with performance in mind, using technical fabrics and trims to maximise comfort and athletic ability.
I started the business in 2019 with my best friend, Kieran Riddell-Austin. We lived across the road from each other and had always been fans of sportswear. We were 21 when we started Montirex in Kieran’s kitchen, there were boxes everywhere, so his mum wasn’t too happy. However, we got our first office after six months. Today we have 13 staff and are currently recruiting for more people to join the growing team.
What made you think about protecting the brand?
It was surprising how quickly the business grew. We had started off seeing it as a way to earn some extra money. We had always wanted our own business, but when we realised how big it could go, we knew that we should protect the brand. The first IP company we contacted was Forresters, at their office in Liverpool. From the moment we started working with them everything was straightforward. With the Montirex logo and name protected we felt able to sell the brand in various online and high-street retailers across the UK.
Was it daunting to start a business at such a young age?
We always had doubts, but we were lucky to be surrounded by people who believed in what we were doing. It has helped having a friend to talk everything through with. At the beginning, we did everything ourselves across all aspects of the business, from the design of the product to the marketing of the brand.
To begin with we just saw it as a bit of extra money, we wanted our own business but we both worked full time. In those days we would finish our jobs around 5pm and head to the office to work on our business until 9-10pm every night. We did this daily until we completely left work in September 2020.
What does the future hold?
We’ve had such an exciting start in the UK, with an amazing response from customers. We plan on expanding into new territories and eventually start selling overseas. Knowing that our name and logo is protected, it gives us the confidence to turn Montirex into a global brand.
Read our interview with Ruth Amos, inventor of the StairSteady, who turned a school project into a successful business.
