CollegeWear

What CollegeWear does

CollegeWear, Inc. is a privately held custom-manufacturing e-commerce company founded in 2008/2010 (sources vary) by brothers Jaysond and Jeff Miclat while they were students. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company designs, produces, and ships custom graduation stoles and adjacent custom apparel directly to individual graduates, student organizations, and university departments, with affiliate-branded storefronts serving campus retailers and institutions. The company's core technology is a web-based Stole Design Tool that supports real-time pricing, drag-and-drop customization, embroidery preview, and automatic bulk discount calculation; manufacturing and embroidery are performed in-house at a San Diego production facility, supported by a team of approximately 20 members. Product offerings include custom Greek, cultural (Kente, Serape, Native American, Filipino, Mexican), identity (Pride, First Generation), academic (Nursing, Honors), athletic, and class-year stoles, plus a Quick Ship line of pre-made stoles for one-week delivery; unit pricing ranges from $54 to $75+ per stole with bulk discounts for 6+ identical designs and enterprise pricing for 50+ piece orders. The business is monetized through direct-to-consumer e-commerce, an affiliate partnership program with four tiers, and B2B sales through campus retailers and university commencement offices, with official licensing agreements with Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) and Affinity Licensing enabling authorized use of Greek letters, organization names, and campus trademarks. The company remains bootstrapped with no external institutional funding disclosed, ships to the continental U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and reports having served 50,000+ to 100,000+ graduates since founding.

Name

CollegeWear

Legal name

CollegeWear, Inc.

Website

https://collegewearinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CollegeWear, Inc. designs, manufactures in San Diego, and sells custom graduation stoles and apparel through an online design tool directly to graduates, student organizations, and universities across North America, supplemented by an affiliate partner program for campus retailers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Custom Graduation Stoles: One-time purchase of custom-made graduation stoles. Products are made-to-order with customer-specified customization including embroidery, colors, Greek letters, logos, and cultural elements. Average order turnaround is 3-6 weeks.
2. Quick Ship Pre-Made Stoles: Pre-designed graduation stoles that ship within one week. Includes nursing, honors, first generation, cultural, and flag stoles at fixed price points.
3. Licensing Royalties: Collection and remittance of licensing fees for Greek letters, organization names, and trademarked campus logos to rights holders (CLC, Affinity Licensing). Fee determined by licensing agencies and passed through to customers.
4. Affiliate Partner Commissions: Campus retailers and organizations earn commission on sales generated through their affiliate storefronts. Commission paid as check after graduation season.
5. Group/Bulk Orders: Bulk orders of 6+ identical designs receive automatic discounts. Orders of 50+ pieces may receive additional pricing through Sales Solutions program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CollegeWear designs, manufactures, and sells custom graduation stoles that customers personalize online through the company's Stole Design Tool. Stoles are hand-crafted and embroidered in San Diego across Greek, cultural (Kente, Serape, Native American, flag-based), identity-based (Pride), academic (Nursing, Honors), and organization-based (Club, Athletic, Class Year) categories, with a Quick Ship line of pre-made stoles for urgent orders.

Product overview

CollegeWear is a custom graduation stole and apparel company offering a unified product portfolio centered on customizable graduation stoles. The core offering consists of custom graduation stoles designed through an online Stole Design Tool, available in multiple categories including Greek (fraternity/sorority), cultural (Kente, Serape, Native American, flag-based including 50+ country flags, Filipino, Mexican), identity-based (Pride, First Generation, AAPI), academic (Nursing, Honors), and organization-based (Club/Organization, Athletic, Class Year) stoles. Products are differentiated by base fabric (Satin, Kente cloth, Serape/cotton, Native American fabric) and customization options (embroidery, text, logos, Greek letters, flag patches). The company also offers Quick Ship pre-made stoles for urgent orders, and B2B services including an Affiliate Partnership Program with four tiers (Full Affiliate Platform, Stole Storefront, Single Product Page, Personalized Product Page) for campus retailers, universities, and organizations to sell stoles with commission earnings. Turnaround time is 3-4 weeks for custom orders, with 1-week Quick Ship options available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Graduation Stoles The primary product offering—fully customizable graduation stoles and sashes designed by customers online using the CollegeWear Stole Design Tool, with options for colors, text, logos, Greek letters, crests, and flag patches; made-to-order with custom embroidery.
• Greek Graduation Stoles
• Kente Graduation Stoles
• Serape Graduation Stoles
• Nursing Graduation Stoles
• Flag Graduation Stoles
• Native American Graduation Stoles
• Sorority Graduation Stoles
• Filipino Graduation Stoles
• Class of 2026 Graduation Stoles
• Quick Ship Graduation Stoles
• Club and Organization Graduation Stoles
• Athletic Graduation Stoles
• Pride Graduation Stoles
• Affiliate Partnership Program
• Sales Solutions

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100,000+ graduates served
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• CLC Learfield (Collegiate Licensing Company)coreTechnology or IntegrationLicensing agency for collegiate trademarks. CollegeWear maintains licensing agreements to imprint Greek letters, organization names, and campus trademarks on graduation merchandise. Licensing fees are collected and remitted to CLC on behalf of customers.
• Affinity LicensingcoreTechnology or IntegrationLicensing agency for Greek and organization trademarks. CollegeWear is officially licensed to produce merchandise featuring Greek letters and crests from Affinity-affiliated organizations.
• UC San DiegocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate partnership with dedicated branded storefront at partner.collegewearinc.com. UC San Diego students and organizations can order custom graduation stoles through the campus-specific platform. Last order date before commencement displayed on partnership page.
• UC Santa BarbaracoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate partnership with dedicated branded storefront. Also available through UCSB Campus Store. Partnership page displays Greek life stoles with pre-configured sorority and fraternity options.
• Western University of Health SciencescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate partnership with dedicated branded storefront. Partnership page displays commencement order deadlines and design tools specific to WesternU students and programs.
• Saint Mary's College of CaliforniacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate partnership with dedicated branded storefront for Saint Mary's College students. Includes commencement deadline information and custom stole design tools.
• Southwestern CollegecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate partnership with dedicated branded storefront. Partnership page includes commencement deadline countdown and design tools for Southwestern College students.
• Campus Retail PartnersmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCampus bookstores and retailers can become affiliate partners. Partners receive branded storefront, affiliate dashboard for sales tracking, and commission on all sales. No inventory required.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Zazzle: Online print-on-demand marketplace that includes graduation stoles among thousands of customizable products. Comparable to CollegeWear on online customization commerce for graduation stoles, but as a long-tail marketplace rather than a specialist.
• Etsy (Graduation Stoles Category): Online marketplace hosting many independent sellers of handmade and custom graduation stoles, including cultural and Kente options. Comparable to CollegeWear on custom stole product offering and cultural identity demand, but as a fragmented channel rather than a single specialist brand.

Broad incumbents

• Custom Ink: Large-scale custom apparel platform serving groups, schools, and organizations with screen-printed and embroidered apparel. Comparable to CollegeWear on made-to-order group apparel and online design tools, but at much broader scale and across many product types beyond stoles.
• Herff Jones: One of the largest U.S. graduation regalia and class-ring companies, with established contracts at thousands of high schools and universities. Comparable to CollegeWear in serving the graduation apparel category, but at much broader scale and with portfolio offerings (rings, announcements, caps and gowns) that surround the stole.
• Jostens: Major U.S. graduation products company known for class rings, yearbooks, and diplomas, with deep high school and university relationships. Overlaps with CollegeWear in the graduation apparel category but competes from a broad-portfolio incumbent position rather than a custom-stole focus.
• Balfour: Long-standing U.S. graduation products manufacturer including class rings, announcements, and regalia. Comparable to CollegeWear as an established graduation-apparel seller, though operating at broader scale and through institutional contracts rather than direct-to-consumer custom orders.

Direct peers

• Stoles.com: Direct-to-consumer retailer focused on customizable graduation stoles and sashes, including honor society and cultural lines. Closely comparable to CollegeWear on core product category and online customization ordering model.
• Custom Greek: Online retailer specializing in custom Greek-letter apparel and graduation accessories for fraternities and sororities. Closely comparable to CollegeWear's Greek stole line on product, target customer, and customization-driven D2C model.
• Greek Gear: Custom Greek apparel and merchandise retailer serving fraternities, sororities, and Greek organizations. Directly comparable to CollegeWear on Greek-letter customization, bulk group ordering, and D2C e-commerce.
• Graduation Stoles: Specialty online retailer focused on customizable graduation stoles across cultural, honor, and identity categories. Direct head-to-head competitor to CollegeWear on product category, customization model, and individual graduate buyer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/collegewearinc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQT9zp7p2AfWuanHHCSHkTQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/CollegeWearInc
• Instagraminstagram.com/collegewearinc
• TikToktiktok.com/@collegewearinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CollegeWear