Jackson Ensley’s entrepreneurial journey to creating Popcycle
Courtesy of Jackson Ensley
Ensley started Popcyle after approaching SU alumnus Ben Goldsmith about an idea Goldsmith had to open a store featuring student-run brands in Marshall Square Mall.
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Jackson Ensley has always considered himself an entrepreneur.
From creating a clothing brand and Instagram account where his classmates could buy secondhand clothing to programming different startup apps in high school, Ensley said he came to Syracuse University with the plan to start his own business.
Ensley is a senior marketing management major who is the founder and CEO of Popcycle, an event management company founded in 2019 that helps local and student-owned brands sell merchandise through pop-up shops at SU.
Popcycle began when Ensley approached Ben Goldsmith, a 2021 SU graduate, who had an idea to create a store in Marshall Square Mall that would continuously cycle through student-owned clothing brands multiple times a year. Ensley said he has always been interested in fashion and was immediately drawn to Goldsmith’s idea.
“At the end of our conversation I was like, ‘Dude, let me work with you,’” Ensley said. “‘This is a super rad idea and I love everything you’re doing.’”
Goldsmith agreed to collaborate with Ensley and from there, Popcycle was born.
The two realized early on that having a permanent storefront wasn’t going to be feasible for a number of reasons. Ensley pitched the idea to do pop-up shops around campus instead, and in 2019, Ensley and Goldsmith held their first Popcycle event in Bird Library.
Ensley spoke about how excited he remembers feeling before the first event because he had no expectations. He connected with seven student-run brands that he previously knew and wanted to support.
“I love working with student brands, I know the excitement they’re feeling because I was once on the path to create my own clothing brand,” Ensley said.
Ensley’s excitement quickly turned into stress once the first event was over. Popcycle received positive feedback from student brands, people who shopped at the event and publications on campus. Instead of enjoying the compliments, Ensley’s mind was focused on how he would put together a second event.
“I didn’t want to be a one-hit wonder. I needed to prove to myself that the first one wasn’t a fluke,” Ensley said.
The second event was an even bigger success than the first one, Ensley said, and this was an “aha” moment for him and his entrepreneurial experience.
Adore Ellis, a junior fashion design major, is one of the students who sold her work at the second pop-up.
Ensley discovered Ellis’ brand, Love Adore’s Versions of Everyone (LAVE) on Instagram and messaged her asking if she would participate. Ellis said she felt honored that Ensley took a chance on her when her brand didn’t have much recognition at the time.
“I was in awe at how nice and organized Jackson was, he let me know what he needed from me and when I needed to set up,” Ellis said. “Seeing my stuff on the rack was incredible, I was very grateful to be included.”
After the second event, Popcycle went through many changes. All of SU was sent home due to the pandemic and Goldsmith graduated from SU the following year in 2021. He decided to pass along the CEO role solely to Ensley after graduating.
Popcycle took a brief hiatus during this time. Ensley put together an online platform for students to sell their clothes, but he said nothing compared to having student designers and shoppers come together in one space.
“I honestly didn’t think that I was going to be doing Popcycle again because I started to focus on other businesses,” Ensley said. “But, we got to this year, and I’m like, ‘Screw it, I want to do another pop-up.’ So we did the third one.”
Ensley shared that the third pop-up event was very much thrown together. It was the first in-person pop-up since the start of the pandemic, and Ensley decided it would be a good idea to donate all the money raised to a charity.
He reached out to Callisto to collaborate and has partnered with the organization ever since. Ensley will again partner with Callisto at Popcycle’s next event on April 28 and has been helping their team with marketing campaigns for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Although Ensley has the past three Popcycle events under his belt, he said he still feels incredibly nervous going into the upcoming one. In the past, Ensley has gotten help from Goldsmith or other friends who have volunteered. This is the first time he will be putting an event together all on his own.
“The days have definitely seemed shorter because I have so much to do,” Ensley said. “It’s definitely taken a little toll on me emotionally, but I’m ready for it.”
Next week’s event will take place in Bird Library. There will be 18 student-run and local brands including VintageU, Ecodessa, Sweats by Sofie and Izy Collective as well as a Parade table. Some proceeds from the event will go to Callisto, which Ensley said he is very excited about.
“Pairing with Callisto has been the most rewarding aspect of Popcycle for me. Being able to say that we raised a couple thousand dollars for charity always makes me feel good,” Ensley said.
Lauren Levin, a senior entrepreneurship and management double major, will be selling items from her brand VintageU at the upcoming Popcycle event.
This will be Levin’s third Popcycle since she started working with them in 2019. Levin said she appreciates the opportunity to sell her clothes in person because her brand normally functions online.
“Reaching people in a new way and giving them a new shopping experience is something that I’ve had trouble doing just me as an individual on my own,” Levin said. “I was able to introduce pieces from schools other than SU because of the exposure.”
As a senior, Ensley doesn’t know if this will be his last Popcycle event. He is currently applying for different jobs but is considering doing a fifth year at SU where he would continue putting on events.
Regardless of where Ensley ends up next year, he said he is proud of where Popcycle has ended up since the original idea of owning a store in Marshall Square Mall.
“I definitely imagined Popcycle being very different in the beginning,” Ensley said. “But, 19-year-old Jackson would look at me now and think that what I’ve done is great.”
Published on April 20, 2022 at 9:18 pm
