Three sophomore students founded the small apparel company, Republic Society, on campus and hope to expand to surrounding schools and cities.
The company, founded by Bret Wheeless, Kevin Carroll, and Cade Allen operates under the motto “Classy. Patriotic. Unique.”
Republic Society was started at the beginning of the semester.
Wheeless attributes the company’s success at ACU to his promoters spreading the word, or, as he likes to call them, his “representatives.”
“Republic Society is about power to the people, and we want students to feel like they’re part of society when they buy a shirt,” said Wheeless, sophomore management major from Frisco.
Carroll, sophomore management major from Abilene, said the company recently broke even and now the money they make is just going toward profit, with a percentage being donated to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Allen, sophomore engineering major from Abilene, adds, “It makes sense to give back to the people who make America what it is.”
Wheeless also credits Republic Society’s success to Ten:Nine Designs, a locally owned company that has helped them out tremendously by making their shirts.
It is through receiving a good “deal” that they are able to keep the cost of the shirts low, Wheeless said.
The trio emphasizes the importance of the shirts being unique and humorous.
Last year, inspiration to design a shirt featuring former president George W. Bush cam from Chapel. A picture of President Bush was shown on the screens and students started applauding and cheering.
Wheeless and partners had the idea to make a shirt with President Bush on it because many students love President Bush, Wheeless said.
Humor isn’t the only type of shirt they make, though. They have also designed a simple shirt with the state of Texas on the back for people who want to celebrate the state.
As the partners begin testing the market at ACU, they said they hope to expand their business to other universities, such as Texas Tech and Texas Christian University. The expansion will require 10 to 15 promoters on those campuses, and Republic Society seeks to make that goal a reality.
