Mark Launiu, one of the three founders for Made Mobb, has a big heart. To hear him talk, it’s almost as if the Crossroads-based clothing retailer was created solely to be a vehicle for community outreach and its clothing line just an afterthought. With a “Midwest grit,” the fashion brand’s urban and casual streetwear aesthetic has a heavy KC bent. Founded in 2012, the brand’s offerings are usually released in drops and focus on partnerships with local sports teams and artists.
Launiu believes that, if by chance you succeed, you need to help others do the same. His actions (and in turn, Made Mobb’s work) constantly reinforce these values.
You were born on the island of Samoa. How does your upbringing inform your work as the director of community engagement for Made Mobb? Growing up in a small village of like 200 people, man, we never really had much, right? Like resources or opportunities. Every time we went hunting or fishing, we always got enough for our neighbors. The culture was very community-based. When I moved to Kansas City when I was 10, that stayed with me. So now we are about building relationships, connecting with other small businesses, being a pillar in the community and adding value to that community. I don’t know, we just get a kick of joy out of seeing our neighbors grow.
What’s the view like now? How does it feel to be the one helping others? I love the impact that I have now, and my main goal is to continue to open doors for other small businesses. Representation is very important, too. I wanted to show kids that look like me that we can be in these spaces. I’m a girl dad—my kids go to every meeting. My kids are always front row watching me. It is important to me to show my girls they can be in these male-dominant spaces.
From teaching financial literacy to free investing classes, Made Mobb does a lot. At times, it looks more like a community outreach program than a clothing retailer. Tell us about this. I feel like clothing just happened to me. I’m very religious, right? So I just feel like it was God’s plan. It allowed me to have a seat at the table. We could reach a broader audience by having a business. Like I said, I’m an immigrant child. A lot of my uncles and aunts had their own business, and that instilled something in me. It was like, oh, go work for myself, invest the hours into building my dreams instead of putting in hours building somebody else’s dreams. I spoke at Blue Springs High School a couple days ago, and I was telling them: “I know the world’s a very big place and you might think it is hard to change. But your backyard is a great place to start.”
What community outreach and engagement are you working on now? We do the First Friday marketplace all the time. [I just did] a series where we taught people how to get started with a clothing brand. We bring in manufacturing, marketing and retailers. One of our buyers will walk people through what they’re looking for and how you should pitch it. This is what you keep in mind when you talk to a buyer. That’s the thing for us, right? Building relationships and then bringing it back to the community. I just love to see our community grow because that’s what it’s about.
That almost sounds like you are actively training folks to be your competitors. Hah! Man, I’ve never even thought of it that way.
