I Took A $2.5 Million Loan To Start A Fashion Brand — Now It Brings In $100 Million/Year

In 2014, business partners Matt Scanlan and Diederik Rijsemus drove into Mongolia's Gobi Desert with $2.5 million tied up in plastic bags. Their goal: purchase 50 tons of cashmere wool from nomadic goat herders for their new clothing company, Naadam. Today, Naadam brings in more than $100 million per year selling relatively affordable cashmere clothing. Its lowest-cost — and most popular — cashmere sweater sells for $98.

Produced by: Zach Green
Senior Managing Producer: Eric M. Clark
Senior Production Manager: Kathryn Mavrikakis
Additional Camera: Valentina Duarte
Editor: Marisa Forziati
Animator: Gene Kim
Reporter: Tom Huddleston
Additional Footage: Matt Scanlan, Naadam, Getty Images

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I Took A $2.5 Million Loan To Start A Fashion Brand — Now It Brings In $100 Million/Year