Greg Autuori, middle right, stands with Ezra Okon, Juan Arbelaez and Tyler Morin during a fund-raiser for Oklahoma tornado relief held in June 2013. Mr. Autuori’s clothes company, Hio Happiness, promotes the positive through random acts of kindness. —Lauren Swett photo
Enough with the negativity, it’s time to do the right thing.
That’s the message Greg Autuori, a 2006 graduate of Ridgefield High School, is trying to spread through his new company, Hio Happiness, a clothing business that also promotes random acts of kindness.
“There’s an increasing amount of cynicism in our society with people saying things like ‘Our country is going down the tubes’ and focusing a lot more on the negatives than they should,” he said. “I’ve always been an optimist and I’ve always wanted to make life better for others, so this idea started to form in my head about starting a company that would give others the means to do the right thing.
“The only way that negative mind-set is ever going to change is if we’re proactive.”
Mr. Autuori, who graduated with a finance degree from the University of Connecticut, officially launched Hio in December 2012 after mulling over the idea for about a year. The company makes shirts and sunglasses that carry the business’s brand name and logo, which is an acronym for Mr. Autuori’s favorite phrase — “hug it out.”
Despite not having a retail space, Hio was a success in its first year, using the funds it made from its apparel to help raise money for Oklahoma tornado victims and the RiseUp Leadership Development Program in Hartford.
The business also used its profits to prepare and serve breakfast to the homeless at the Open Door Shelter in Norwalk the day after Thanksgiving.
A broken circular saw used by the Appalachian Service Project in Ridgefield was replaced, and the Boys & Girls Club in Stamford was supplied with dozens of water bottles in the summer — all thanks to Hio’s donations.
Although all sale profits go toward paying for additional projects and covering new apparel costs, Hio isn’t technically a nonprofit.
“When I set it up, it was founded as an LLC with the plan of having a parallel nonprofit organization, but we may switch entirely over to being a nonprofit — it’s too early to tell,” he explained. “It’s a socially benefical company with the intention of developing a nonprofit arm, as of now.”
Mr. Autuori, along with his co-founder, 2007 RHS graduate Leigh Maneri, created the logo and designed the clothing.
“Leigh has more of a fashion and graphic design background than I do, and she’s been on board since day one with the vision of creating an optimistic organization that does random acts of kindness,” he said. “She’s done Web design for us, and I don’t know where I’d be without her.”
The other member of the team is UConn student Dan Kretzmer, who’s the company’s brand manager.
“He’s a big help with community outreach as well as working with us to further develop the brand,” Mr. Autuori said.
After taking what he called “baby steps” in 2013, he’s ready to turn up the dial a bit in the new year.
For starters, Hio is going to partner with a new nonprofit each month.
In January, the company is working with the Dress for Success, which collects clothes and gives them to underprivelaged people who can’t afford professional clothing for job interviews.
“We figured a new year meant new beginnings,” he said. “The monthly focus will allow us to be timely with our events and have a general outline of what we’re doing, like in September we plan to donate backpacks to schoolchildren who don’t have them.”
Also coming this year is a new apparel line that will feature tank tops, sweatpants and hoodies.
“I wasn’t always sold on the idea of it being a clothing-based company like a ‘Life Is Good,’ but after thinking about it, I realized the best way to spread who we are and what we’re about is with fun shirts that both genders can wear,” he said.
Mr. Autuori, who works full-time for Mercer in Norwalk and lives in Stamford, refers to Hio as his “personal side project.”
How does he have enough time for both ventures? “I don’t sleep a lot,” he said.
“For now, this is a night and weekend project, and it’s been managable so far,” he said. “The plan is to keep plugging along and see where it goes, but things are really good right now.
“We’re looking to add more local calendars throughout the year.”
He added that if Hio is successful on a national level, or even internationally, he may switch over and make the start-up business his day job.
“It’s a passion project for now, but if the opportunity presents itself I’d probably jump on it — it’s more about the idea and spreading the message than the clothing sales,” he said. “The things we do may feel like small gestures, but it really makes someone’s day, and people have came up to us and told us they appreciate what we’re doing.”
One of the many highlights of 2013 included the “Black Friday Breakfast” in Norwalk.
“Many people came up and asked what we we’re doing there,” he said. “We only had one answer — it’s the right thing to do. …
“You can be a good person and it doesn’t have to be hard.”
Mr. Autuori concluded that he was “incredibly happy” with Hio’s progress in its first year.
“Don’t know where we’ll be at the end of 2014, or in 2015 and 2016,” he said. “All I can hope for is that people keep having an interest in our cause. We will just have to wait and see what happens next.”
Those interested in shopping for Hio’s apparel may go to www.hiohappiness.com or email Mr. Autuori at contact@hiohappiness.com.