Star Power This entrepreneur is enlisting a little help from Hollywood to meet her double bottom line.
By JJ Ramberg
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
From the moment she came up with the idea for her Los Angeles-based clothing and accessories company OmniPeace, founder Mary Fanaro says everything just fell into place. "I believe that when you're doing what you're supposed to be doing in your life, good things happen to help you along," she says.
A former events producer in the entertainment industry, Fanaro witnessed firsthand the power of celebrity. Just before starting OmniPeace, she produced the 10-year anniversary of the Hard Rock Hotel. "There was so much celebrity support in that room," she says. "When those people say things, other people listen." So she decided to harness the influence of that strong celebrity network on behalf of a good cause.
The concept behind her company is simple: She creates products ranging from T-shirts to tote bags to scarves branded with the OmniPeace logo, a hand making the peace sign. The issues she's helping to solve, however, are complex: Twenty-five percent of OmniPeace's profits are donated to Millennium Promise, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending poverty in Africa. "I had researched Oxfam, the Red Cross and other organizations, but they were so big that I thought my contributions wouldn't be enough to make the changes I want to make in the time I want to make them," says Fanaro, 43. So she approached the founder of Millennium Promise and offered her services.
The rest of this article is locked.
Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.
Already have an account? Sign In