Alison Cariati, HAVERHILL Incorporated, Winner of the Entrepreneur Track

After several years of thinking about starting her own business, Alison Cariati finally decided to start HAVERHILL Incorporated.  HAVERILL Incorporated is a fine jewelry company Alison co-founded with designer Haverhill Leach in 2013; it is also the recent winner of the Entrepreneur Track at the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition.

Alison was always inspired by her father, who owned his own business and gave her the encouragement to start a business of her own one day.  Her many years of working as a consultant in numerous different industries, as well as her positions as Director of Marketing and VP of Business Development, gave her the experience she needed to open her own business.  Once she teamed up with Haverhill Leach, Alison was ready to get started.

“It’s all about vision, timing, and, for me, the right business partner…The decision to launch the business is all about sharing the commitment and drive to create and build this company together,” Alison said.

According to Alison, the most challenging part about putting together the business plan was being thorough for each portion of the plan.  They spent a long time working through strengths, risks, resources needed, and many other pieces key to building their business.  Even though they have been able to put their business strategy into a comprehensive plan, Alison believes that every business plan will change, and she has not stopped adjusting her own plan since its creation.

“As an entrepreneur, you also have to be ready to adjust, rethink, always question and change when necessary.  The business plan is a process, it’s not about a week or a month of writing – it’s about research and viewpoints and rewrites and updates,” Alison said.

Through all of her research, Alison determined that women need a brand that is accessible, distinctive, and classic.  Haverhill and Alison worked together to come up with a jewelry line that is easily wearable and that holds real intrinsic value.  The designs they came up with combine quality and style to create accessories that are timeless, hence their slogan “Statement Jewelry for Every Day.”

“HAVERHILL is a new lifestyle accessories brand with the cornerstone product of fine jewelry.  Designed by Haverhill Leach, the HAVERHILL jewelry collection is clean, bold, modern style that is beautifully crafted in sterling silver and gemstones with 18k gold accents.  It’s easily wearable from work to play,” said Alison.

Alison is very proud to be the winner of the Entrepreneur Track at the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition.

“We won the competition within two weeks of launching our jewelry collection.  The momentum, the recognition, and the cash are all very much needed and appreciated at this juncture of our new venture.  For all the people working with us to build this business it offers great validation,” said Alison.

With all of her years of business experience and the lessons learned from her father, Alison has plenty of advice to share with those just starting out.  Alison recommends that business owners “stick to [their] vision and [their] dreams, but be sure to listen and take in all the advice [they] can get.”  She believes that growing a company requires a strong team of skilled workers, and advises that anyone starting out has a group of friends, family members, and coworkers to rely on.

This summer, Alison and Haverhill are officially launching their jewelry collection.  They already appeared at the JCK tradeshow in Las Vegas, and they will soon be exhibiting their collection at JA NY July 28-30^th.  They plan on meeting with many buyers to get their product in the market and build a retail base.

Leave a comment