Anthony Whitaker, 22, was first introduced to entrepreneurship at a young age by his grandfather, an auto body shop owner, and his mother, Nadine Whitaker, who owned a hair care business.
Whitaker, a criminal justice major, never thought about owning his own business until his second year of college. That's when he created Unparalleled, an athleisure clothing company.
This spring, Unparalleled will release their first athletics line.
In addition to his clothing company, Whitaker has several jobs.
He also works with Pangea.app, a freelance marketplace that gives college students the opportunity to work with the top startups and companies in the country, and with his brother and best friend Christian Womack at QuestStone, an I.T. consulting and business development company.
Whitaker began working with Pangea on project-based and part-time work. He was recently accepted to their Top Emergent Talent Class program and offered a position as a Fellow.
"What led me to entrepreneurship was the simple fact that I wanted to give my whole family financial freedom and inspire generations to come through my clothing company," Whitaker said.
Whitaker said that although his entrepreneurship journey has been challenging, he loves that he is learning and acquiring new skills every day.
Whitaker learned a lot with the creation of Unparalled. The process included learning to create designs and product mockups, registering as an LLC, submitting trademarks, building the website and promoting and selling the merchandise.
"There are going to be ups and downs. As long as you never give up and be patient, things will eventually come together," Whitaker said.
"I am so grateful for how the Strome Entrepreneurial Center has helped me in my entrepreneurial journey," Whitaker said. "From allowing me to be a speaker at an entrepreneurial award ceremony, to allowing me to sell my shirts in the Monarch Way store, to the ability to use the workspace that they provide, to how personable the staff is and willing to help and give advice every step of the way."
Whitaker's future goals are to make Unparalleled a household name and global brand. He hopes that Unparalleled will "inspire the youth, athletes, and competitors across all lifestyles to realize that their only competition is themselves."
