Ilan Orgel has always had an entrepreneurial drive – and a sense of style.

Before coming to the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School and beginning his finance degree, Orgel lived in New York City, where he’d often wait in long, early morning lines to buy sneakers he would later resell at a profit.

While at Smith, he put his entrepreneurial spirit and his sense of style to work, launching his own fashion company, Fusion100. He says the name of his streetwear brand comes from the concept of always giving 100% – which Orgel does.

The brand quickly caught on, and has drawn a following. Soon the brand’s designs became worn not just by students across UMD’s campus, but also by NBA stars on ESPN’s SportsCenter and NFL stars.

That success came relatively quickly for the brand launched in 2019 with the brand growing to 180,000 Instagram followers. But it wasn’t always easy, Orgel says.

In the beginning, he struggled to achieve the manufacturing quality he wanted. So he dug in, asked more questions, and networked throughout the industry until he could find a more reliable manufacturing team. There were other challenges as well, and Orgel says he addressed them the same way, solving problems and learning more about accounting, marketing, and social media.

As a entrepreneur Orgel says his biggest reward is seeing his designs worn by friends, students and celebrities. “It’s the community. I’ve got friends across the United States wearing it and now it’s expanding globally,” he says.

These days, Orgel is focused on scaling Fusion100, and working to gain more exposure for the brand, with the help of other NBA players and celebrities. There are also plans to launch a podcast and an NFT collection.

Orgel, now in the final semester of his undergraduate studies, credits Maryland Smith for helping him expand his business acumen. “Learning in classes like accounting and finance and being able to apply them to the business has been very helpful,” he says.

He says he’s been encouraged as well by Maryland’s student community and broader networking community. And these days, he’s keen to extend that encouragement to other students and potential entrepreneurs.

“Be willing to take risks,” he tells others. “Don’t be afraid to fail. When you fail, you learn.”

Orgel hopes to return to New York after graduation for a job in finance.

Fusion100 can be found at https://fusion100co.com/

–By Phillip Reamer. Reamer is a 2023 MBA candidate and Smith Fellow originally from Sykesville, Md. He worked for three years in the horticulture industry before beginning his MBA studies, most recently with Walt Disney World’s horticulture team.