inked people – Doug Schwartz

Today’s entrepreneur can’t create just one amazing brand, they need to cultivate an empire.

- By Devon Preston

Doug Schwartz personifies this idea, and he has his hands in more projects than we thought possible for one man. From encapsulating treasured possessions in solid lucite to revolutionizing the world of scene branding to creating the next must-have for hypebeast germaphobes—he’s juggling the Detroitwick machine on top of being a dad. We sat down with Schwartz to learn how he started his first business, how he balances each one of his endeavors and what he’s cooking up next.

What does it mean to you to be an entrepreneur? To be an entrepreneur is a true blessing. Being able to wake up every day and map out your own destiny is an amazing privilege, but also comes with a set of challenges and responsibilities. I set a very high level for myself and for others. In today’s business and entrepreneurial climate, I believe there’s a lost art of one of the most basic concepts “your word.” It’s the thread that sews it all together. I take great pride as an entrepreneur in my word being gold.

Why is it that so many businesses failed but you’ve found success? That’s a great question. It took 1000+ ideas, countless hurdles, a whole lot of failures, to evolve and mold a viable/ growing concept. I found success by learning from mistakes, being tenacious, consistent and leveraging the small wins into the long game. I’ve made great relationships over the years and I feel that in every business, you’re in the hospitality business, everyone should serve their customers at the highest level. Sustaining and building on that over time equals success in many ways.