OpenAI & Anthropic · Independent concept
Frontier Lab Signet Rings
AI labs are modern dynastic houses. Which model you use reflects who you are as a person. These signet rings signal your allegiance and membership to the AI lab.
Book a callMerch fashion design studio
Nothing less thaniconic merch.
Custom merch for tech companies, designed through the lens of fashion.
Book a callMerch as marketing
Treat the merch budget like ad spend.
Most merch is worn once or twice, then forgotten. Great merch creates an order of magnitude more value by being worn more, drawing more attention and uplifting the brand image. The bar is so low. Great merch gives you the edge you need.
Software fluencyFashion-oriented designDirect factory partnerships
Concepts
Custom designed pieces tailored to each company's product, mission, and customers. These are design studies, not commissioned work.
Concept 01 / 05
Why RAY ZHU
Merch that delivers on business outcomes.
We focus explicitly on your business needs and design a unique merch strategy for your company. We don't do merch for the sake of merch, we make sure everything is aligned with your business goals.
Product fluency
Understanding your company and customers.
We first start with deeply understanding your product and growth strategy so we can choose merch pieces that reflect your product and your target customer. Our technical background allows us to quickly understand your company and effectively translate it into the physical medium.
Fashion aesthetic
Design something people want.
We design pieces that look more like fashion than it does tech merch. Most tech merch isn't worn because it's ugly or isn't useful. Our design philosophy prioritizes both form and function, ensuring each piece stands on its own as an object to be worn.
Factory Partnerships
Uniqueness x Quality x Speed.
We work directly with manufacturers in China, working with them in person to develop custom products with the highest quality materials in quick iteration. You will get access to merch items that no other startup has because we can create entirely unique products.
Ray Zhu
Founder
As a former software engineer and founder of two AI startups, I learnt that a strong product with weak distribution can't win against a weak product with strong distribution. That idea made me obsessed with how branding shapes a company’s success, from winning customers to attracting talent and raising capital. It eventually led me to fashion. Now I apply the same level of excellence to fashion design that I had when building software.
Start a project
Make merch people want to wear.
Tell me your budget and timeline, and any requirements you have for your merch. We’ll propose ideas and handle everything from idea to final delivery. You can be as involved or as hands-off as you want. As past founders, we understand you're busy with a million other things so we make the process as simple as possible.
Book a call