Although Moses Mandelbaum grew up around fashion at his family’s business Gertex, his journey took him a few years for him to find his niche and calling to provide consumers with a luxurious, sustainable, and fashionable parka that can still withstand frigid winter elements. In 2019, after years of trial and numerous prototypes, Moses launched True Outliers, a tribe of collective people who embody the idea of NOT fitting in with everyone else. His Jewish faith taught the adage, “Every person has something to teach you that you don’t know.” As the tribe expands, there are more opportunities to learn from people on the same path.
When Moses Mandelbaum realized he didn’t have to belong, that he had to be himself and take his journey according to what was right for him, it allowed him to define himself and give direction for his business venture. True Outlier’s logo of two outstretched hands is based on the Jewish concept that a Kohen is the most blessed person in the tribe. The True Outlier is a person who stands from the crowd and requires no blessings. As Moses says, “The most important thing you can do is to truly love yourself. Then, you’ll do what you really want to do, and will really be able to help others.” For Moses, the company represents more than a business, it is a collective group of people that are united by the True Outlier mindset.
True Outliers is proving to be quite a difficult tribe to join. Before being allowed to purchase a coat every potential customer needs to enter a few sentences about themselves, as well as their social media info. The True Outliers team then researches for up to 3 days before giving a yes or no. This has crazily boosted their popularity as they are receiving over 100 applications a day and on average only accepting 8 or 9 people.
When asked why True Outliers has such a difficult screening process Moses responded,” We are not for everyone. We are a global tribe of like-minded individuals. In order to join this tribe you have to truly be special, a “true outlier’, if you will. We have a responsibility to our other tribe members, that when they see someone else wearing a True Outliers parka, that the human wearing that coat is just as unique as they are. We take that very seriously.” This has proven to make the True Outliers brand quite exclusive.
True Outliers receives more than 100 people applying to purchase a coat every day. Of those 100, less than 10% of the people are accepted into the tribe and allowed to purchase a coat. While Moses has acquiesced that he feels sad he cannot let everyone join, the selectivity allows the tribe to prosper with A-listers like Andrea Bocelli, Jennifer Garner, and Jamie Foxx a part of the tribe. The meaning is clear; create a real sense of camaraderie in a global tribe, and give “true outliers” a place to finally belong. Check out the beautiful and warm parka that is driving all of this conversation here True Outliers.
