# Not Everyone Gets to Do What They Love. | Stratton & Ivy

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/feed/364745
- Entity ID: wefunder:feed_item:364745
- Published at: 2026-08-06 21:32:37 UTC
- Updated at: 2026-08-08 16:16:58 UTC

## Author
James Tulin

## Subject
Stratton & Ivy

## Content
People ask me from time to time why I decided to start another company.The answer is simple.Because this is what I love.I've learned something over the years. If you want to be truly good at something—whether it's building a business, skiing, or playing chess—you'd better love it. Passion has become one of those words everyone throws around. It almost sounds like something you can pick up on aisle #7 at Walmart.You can't.You can't buy passion, and you can't manufacture it. It's just there. It's the thing inside you that makes working hard not feel like work.I was lucky. I grew up in a family where the business was part of our lives. My father ran Swank Inc. for fifty-one years, but he was home every night at six o'clock for dinner. The business was simply another member of the family. Looking back, I think that's why building companies has never felt like a job to me. It's simply who I am.Money was never what drove me. Money follows success. What always drove me was creating something people loved. There is no better feeling than hearing someone say, "I've never felt fabric like this before," or watching someone enjoy something that started as nothing more than an idea in your mind.That's why I started Stratton & Ivy.Not because I needed another company, but because I still wake up excited to create. I had a vision for building a luxury brand differently—combining decades of experience with artificial intelligence from the very beginning.I also have one other passion that has been with me my entire life: dogs. My hope is that WHEN Stratton & Ivy becomes the company I KNOW it can be, we'll not only create products people are proud to wear, but we'll also be able to make a meaningful difference for homeless and shelter dogs.To me, that's a life well lived.