Leader Of The Packs

It takes moxie to choose Smarter Than Most as a corporate slogan.

- Alan Deans

It shows force of character and determination, definitely. Nerve? For sure. And a touch of bravado, too. Those three words drive STM Goods, a business that designs and sells laptop bags, mobile phone and tablet cases in most parts of the world. The two founders, Adina Jacobs and Ethan Nyholm from Sydney’s Bondi Beach, started 21 years ago when the global markets for their products either were a glimmer in their makers’ eyes or in their mere infancy.

Laptops were only just emerging, and mostly were only used at work. There weren’t too many lifestyle uses. The internet was out there but it was far too slow for video streaming and there were no online music services. Google didn’t even exist. Mobile phones were not internet enabled and tablets were struggling to find a market without any wi-fi. Nyholm bought his first laptop but he had a problem carrying it on his bike. With the help of his work buddy Jacobs, at fashion group Hound Dog, they devised a solution.

“He couldn’t find a bag for it,” explains Jacobs. “So he put his laptop in a padded envelope from the Post Office and that went inside a normal backpack. He rode to work and to uni, and that’s how he protected his laptop. I was an accessories buyer, and knew about product development and how to source from overseas. We put his idea together with my know-how and we created a small collection – two bags, a backpack and a shoulder bag.”

STM was born. They jointly worked on the designs and Jacobs signed up a factory in Asia that agreed to make 250 items. “That is a very small quantity. Normally your order is a thousand units per colour per style. This was 50 units per colour per style. The person who helped us did it for a favour. They didn’t realise this was going to be an ongoing thing. We found our niche and everything was OK. We upped our quantities pretty quickly after that.”