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Tux Dollars at Work as Menguin Raises Nearly $1M from Investors

2 min read

An online tuxedo rental company in Fayetteville raised nearly $1 million in a recent offering, according to a document on file with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.

Menguin Inc. will use the money to hire employees, build technology and grow the business, co-founder Justin Delaney, 37, told Whispers.

The company has about 22 employees and wants to add about 20 more. Delaney said he will hire the workers “as we get them.”

You may recall that Menguin was based in Atlanta but moved to northwest Arkansas about a year ago.

Delaney said he wanted to be closer to John James, who created Acumen Brands in 2009. James also started Hayseed Ventures, which helps turn startups into businesses.

“We felt like [James] was somebody worth learning from,” Delaney said.

Delaney also said he also made the move because he liked the investment community in Arkansas.

About 75 percent of the investors in the company are from Arkansas, Delaney said.

Menguin started in 2013 after Delany and Kurt Sutton won a business plan competition at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Sutton is the company’s COO.

To order suits or tuxes, a customer enters his measurements, and Menguin uses algorithms to determine the correct fit.

“If anything doesn’t fit, we have six distribution centers around the U.S., so we can send stuff very quickly to everyone,” he said. “And after the event, they just put it back in the box, and it comes right to us.”

Delaney said he expects the company to generate revenue of $10 million-$25 million this year.

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