Member Spotlight

Norm Bishop - EdwardsX

Can you tell us about the origins of your business?

Our journey with EdwardsX started in 1997 when we bought the company from Orbit Intl. At that time, we were known as Symax, which is a portmanteau of Syd & Max Ipshits, the original owners who founded the company in the 1940s.

My wife Carolyn and I knew that we wanted to own our own business and we had some experience with fashion and sales. While we didn’t set out to buy a clothing company, we were interested in the industry and Symax seemed like a great fit. For us, ownership was less about building something huge and more about having something of our own and a lifestyle that worked for our growing family.

What was your vision in creating EdwardsX?

I don’t think we had a clear vision for what we could create. Rather, it was all about doing something interesting that we could call our own. Carolyn, a CPA by trade would handle the finances while I would use my consumer-packaged goods expertise to handle the product and sales side. Read more...