Andy’s story from launching a Cashmere Sweatpant company in New York City, to becoming part of the top 1% of realtors in Miami.
We hear the success stories of people every day. Some quit their corporate jobs and launch bad-ass startups whereas some change their field of work completely. With the adaptation of technology, there are new professions that come to the surface. The Internet has made it easy to become successful and earn fame. But today, we will talk about a man who built himself in the most untraditional way one could. From launching cashmere sweatpants in the fashion industry to reaching the pinnacle of the real estate world, Andy Rotondaro’s story is meant to be shared.
Cashmere Pants – A Lesson
Andy began his professional career after university by working in various corporate sales jobs and project management for a construction company. However, he knew that he wanted to launch a business and become independent of the corporate cycle.
In 2012, Rotondaro launched a line of cashmere sweatpants with his friend Richard Hottinger. They named the brand ‘HottinDaro’. In the initial years, the brand had some success since they were the first company in history to make “cashmere pants”. With his exceptional sales skills, the business was able to pick up and they did two purchase orders with Saks Fifth Avenue. With negligible to little knowledge of the fashion business or manufacturing overseas in China, there were a lot of challenges in the business for a new 25-year-old entrepreneur.
The company inevitably lost a lot of money in its effort to become a cashmere empire. Mistakes were made with costly manufacturing, and not able to compete with the giants of the fashion world. Andy didn’t lose hope, he understood failure isn’t a mistake, it is an experience. This pushed Andy to quit his last corporate job and enter into the real estate business so that he can make money but ideally have more time to focus on their unique idea of making cashmere pants. But little did he know that he was making a smooth transition toward his lifelong career when he got a real estate license.
Real Estate – A Success
Inspired by his friend, Andy started working in real estate to balance both his ventures, real estate and fashion, from 2012-2014 while living in New York City. The beginning years were tough, as Andy worked alongside his partner Hottinger hustling to learn the industry in one of the world’s most competitive and fast-paced real estate markets. However, he believes that there is no task too big or small. He valued every single client in his real estate business. This led him to take care of their needs even if they wouldn’t ask for it. He shared that he always tries to go the extra mile to earn his client’s respect and business. He even keeps a separate storage unit to assist his clients when they are in-between moves, stretching out a helping hand to provide flexibility to his customers while they are moving. This isn’t his job as a realtor but he understands the importance of customer relationships.
These actions of going above and beyond for the clients escalated Andy’s growth. Not long ago, he launched The Daro Team at Compass Florida to assist more clients and bring them to Miami. This is a clear sign that there are more successes to be added to Andy’s story.
