Ryan Topham is the Co-Founder, Designer and Developer of Small Apparel. But, as with most success stories, he didn’t start there!

Ryan went to Drexel University and landed some great internships through their co-op program. After graduation, he used his networking connections to get a job in the eCommerce department at anthropologie.com (owned by Urban Outfitters). His first big gig out of college was this digital production position.

But, life happens as we all know. Ryan fell in love with his wife Amanda who worked in the buying department at Athropologie. They decided they wanted to move to New England together, which brought Ryan to some local Rhode Island job boards and he contacted Silverman McGovern for a new opportunity.

great people ryan topham

Patti Herron, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Silverman McGovern booked Ryan a trip to Providence to interview with Hasbro. Ryan recalls, “I still remember the flight up there, in a suit (like a dork), getting picked up at the airport by Patti, driving a bit around Providence (it’s tiny) and hanging out in your offices until it was time to head to Hasbro.  I interviewed there with a few folks, and the interview was pretty short.  I called Silverman McGovern to get a ride back to the airport, and Patti was pretty surprised as how short the interviews were.  I figured I had blown it, didn’t get the job, and had a semi-bummed trip back to Philadelphia (in that same suit).  Miraculously, however, I did get a job offer, accepted it and moved up to Providence a few weeks later.”

So how did Ryan get from a contractor at Hasbro to the founder of his own company? Ryan says, “That job was a great one.  I loved the culture, the people and the work. I’d still rank it as the best job I’ve had.  My career has been a constantly unfolding and evolving chain of events, and that was one of the most important links in it, because it taught me how to manage and motivate people, how to think creatively, and how to understand and implement analytics in my work.”

As much as he loved Hasbro, again life happens and sometimes we need to have a little fun. Ryan quit his job at Hasbro and took a six-week long road trip with Amanda across the US and back. Then they moved to Puerto Rico for a few months, “just for fun.”

Ryan and Amanda settled down and brought their son Calvin into the world. Not far behind was the launch of their own company, Small Apparel. Ryan’s experience in digital production, coupled with his experiences at Hasbro and Amanda’s buying power, fueled by inspiration to provide a life for their son, lead to the culmination of Small Apparel.

great people ryan topham

Small Apparel is located in Portland, Oregon and they create well designed, super comfy graphic clothes for kids and babies. Small Apparel is working to partner with a handful of non-profits that are doing great work for kids and design clothes inspired by them. For each item they sell, 25% of the profits will go towards the charity that inspired the design. You can even help them reach this vision and click here to back them on Kickstarter!

As much as we would like to take some credit for Ryan’s amazing company, we just helped him make some connections that lead him on his own journey. Of course we like to keep in touch and brag about our talented people on our blog, but we aren’t just here to open that one door. We create career life cycle partnerships that come back around full circle.

great people ryan topham