Gap Is the Harvard of Retail

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Todd Barket, founder of Unionmade men's store in the Castro got his start there. So did Jessica Lee, founder of clothing line Modern Citizen, and Jillian Bremer, who created vintage jewelry online retailer Sweet and Spark. And then there's the founder of Chubbies shorts, Rainer Castillo, and Erick Joule, president of Alternative. All of these ambitious entrepreneurs graduated from Gap U, and they tell the Chronicle it was an amazing training ground for a successful career in retail.

Lee says:

Whenever I read articles in Women's Wear Daily, I see that people always started their career at Gap. If you are in retail, you probably worked at Gap at some point.

But whether it's Gap's culture, the company's large size, or the inherently entrepreneurial spirit of the Bay Area, the cream of the crop tends to move on to starting their own thing, or to other, perhaps more exciting opportunities. Most spend just a few years at Gap after graduating from the training program—many go to tech where Joule says "the idea that talent matters" is alive and kicking.
· Gap Alums Rule the Fashion World [SF Gate]
· George Kotsiopoulos is Styling Your Next Gap Outlet Outfit [Racked SF]
· We Tried Gap's Reserve-in-Store Service and It's Pretty Great [Racked SF]