FOXBUSINESS.COM PROFILES ENTREPRENEURS AGE 35 AND YOUNGER

Jonah Staw, 33 years old, founded Little MissMatched on the oddball notion that socks don't have to match. Since then, he has built this three-year old company, with projected sales of $30 million in 2008, into "a lifestyle brand" that targets tween girls. The sell: being different and imaginative is cool -- and colors definitely do not have to coordinate.

This target audience -- along with the rest of holiday shoppers -- will be getting a lot more opportunity to discover Little MissMatched's offerings. While they are permanent fixtures in big-name stores like Macy's (M) and FAO Schwartz, thanks to Staw's savvy and innovative marketing skills, this entrepreneur has cooked up a quick way to increase sales during the holiday season by opening two "pop-up" shops in New York City. These stores look like other retail shops lining the city streets—the catch is they are open only for November and December. Staw has positioned both stores in the heart of two major shopping areas. But how did he persuade landlords to give him temporary space in such sought-after areas?

He readily admits that "since the economy started taking a nosedive" he began thinking of ways to "competitively" take advantage. "We decided to do [the pop-up shops] no more than a month and a half ago," explains Staw. This last-minute venture was dreamed up because there was an abundance of retail space in New York, he says, and landlords were more willing to lease their space temporarily. "We always said we wanted to enter New York with our own retail, but the reality is when you're signing a 5-year lease or even 10-year lease, your making a huge commitment." A two-month lease, says Staw, is much more realistic -- and much less painful if things don't work out.

These pop-up stores are also a great way to try out different neighborhoods, says Staw. But he plans to plant a more permanent flag in the Big Apple. With a $17.3 million investment in the company from a prviate-equity firm this past April, Little MissMatched plans on opening a flagship store in New York in June 2009.

Staw is forthright about how lucky the company was to get millions in capital during such a shaky time. "We got this money right at the tail end of the boom," he says. But he is not taking anything for granted. "When I get up in our staff meetings, I tell everyone we have to fight for every dollar. We have to work harder than we've ever had to work, and we have to really emotionally connect to our customer."

To learn more about Staw and his "pop-up stores" take a look at the video below.

THE SIX SHOOTER

1. Where were you the moment you decided your business plan?

It was about midnight, and I was lying on my couch in San Francisco. I had joked about mismatched socks being a great business earlier...but that night I realized, miss-matched...the company will be called LittleMissMatched. You can be young and mismatched. You can be slightly mismatched. You can be a little miss who likes to match…the triple entendre encapsulated the complexity and simplicity of the business...

2. What was the one thing you didn't know that you had to bluff your way through? 

The whole thing. No really, I had developed brands and products for leading companies like Target, Disney, Daimler Chrysler, and Nextel, but I had never tried to spark true consumer demand with a breakaway idea. It is hard! I still am figuring this out every day.

3. What one life lesson did you learn that helped you build your business?

Failing the first time. I tried unsuccessfully to start a dot-com business right as the tech bubble was bursting. Understanding failure has bred LittleMissMatched's success.

4. Who is your role model or inspiration?

I worked with [the architect] Frank Gehry right out of college. He [has] built a gigantic business and a fantastic brand in his own name. And he remains a genuinely nice man [who] with all of his unbridled success, [is] more passionate than ever…He reinvented architect for the 21st century.

5. What do you wish you had more of: time or money?

Time…being an entrepreneur isn't about the money for me. It is about setting myself on a course and executing my plan 100% successfully. It takes patience sometimes. It takes innovation. It takes smarts. It takes passion. Success always comes if I try hard enough, and as a businessowner, money is the ultimate symbol of my success...more money will come, but time goes away.

6. What is the one word your employees would use to describe you? 

Passionate.

Want to know who's next? Check back every other week for more Young Guns...And if you know a young entrepreneur with an interesting story, e-mail us at youngguns@foxbusiness.com.

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