BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT n SHAKERS & MOVERS
Deuce & Champ:
They Got Next!
By Professor Laura Dorsey
I
t is often said that most new businesses fail during the first year.
It is amazing then, when you find a small business that defies
the statistics and beats the odds. It is even more amazing when
you find that the business, S2T2 Sports Apparel LLC, is run by
14-year-old CEO, Syhion Washington (Champ) and 12-year-old
SEO, Semaj Washington (Deuce).
From the outside looking in, you would think that these are two
average young men. Semaj, better known as Deuce, is an upcom-
ing 7 th grader at Sunridge Middle School whose favorite subject
is Math. Syhion, affectionally known as Champ, is an emerging 9 th
grader, whose favorite class is Science, at Dr. Phillips High. Bas-
ketball is a favorite sport of Semaj while Syhion is a budding track
star running in the 100, 200, 400 and long jump. While Syhion, a
self-described introvert, has a love for music, playing several in-
struments; Semaj says that he likes to go outside and play (novel
idea in this day and age) enjoying basketball and video games.
The one thing that they have in common is their love for their dog
Snowbell, an 11-year-old white Maltese.
However, these young men are anything but
average. Their lives changed drastically in the
Summer of 2013. Their Dad died in a car acci-
dent, leaving them and their Mother, Alundra,
with a loss that was unimaginable. In an effort
to help their mother and to make money they
decided being an entrepreneur was the way
to go. They mention how they tried several
businesses that did not work: car washing (but
they got more water on them than on the cars);
dog walking (but they forgot to feed the dogs
or clean up after them) and cooking (but a
couple of burned entrees ended that choice).
Since they both play sports, it was natural that
something sports related would make sense.
S2T2 Sports Apparel LLC stands for “Strength
to the Second Power”. This athletic clothing
line features customized head bands, com-
pression arm sleeves, leg sleeves, shirts,
shorts, and socks. The apparel is all branded
with the S2T2 logo and all the arm and leg
sleeves are sewn personally by these young
men. They have orders from across the coun-
try, however, their largest client, Hoop Dreams
Elite Basketball organization, and Dr. Phillip’s
Track Team, are local. The largest order to date
was for over 25 athletes. The company uses word of mouth and
social media as a means of marketing for their apparel which sells
at below $25. There are also Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Even though some young entrepreneurs show enormous creativi-
ty in starting a business, some also make fatal mistakes, especially
financial. These savvy businessmen are smart
enough to avoid these financial pitfalls. Their
mother Alundra and their financial advisor (yes,
they were smart enough to know they need a
financial advisor) helps with the finances of the
business. A portion of the profits are put aside
for college funding and a portion is spent re-
investing back into the business. In addition, a
portion is also split amongst the two for plea-
sure spending. Semaj and Syhion are also
young men of faith who believe that “to whom
much is given, even more is required’. They un-
derstand the value of social-responsibility and
host a charity event each year as a give back
to the community. Last year, they facilitated a
book bag drive in the Paramore community.
If you ask the average adult where they see
themselves in five years, you may have to wait
for an answer. For Syhion and Semaj, they know
exactly where they want to be. They want their
apparel to be in stores and they want to be big-
ger than Nike! For them, They Got Next!!!
For more information check out:
FB - S2T2Sports Apparel
IG - S2T2sportsapparel
www.s2t2sportsapparel.com
VOL 5, Issue 3
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