My name is Joe Nicholson, and I am told that I am a "serial entrepreneur." I think that’s a pretty nice term for people who have never really been able to work for others. I’m 50 years old, live in New York City, and have spent almost 30 years starting companies that primarily design and build software in the financial services sector. Technically, I’m also retired, although I seem to have misunderstood the finer points of that concept.

My latest enterprise, DFDesigns, is about as different from my previous endeavors as you can imagine. DFDesigns brings you "Pookies, Sleepwear that goes EveryWear" and "Laissez-Wear," the answer to where men (and women) can find sexy, comfortable clothes for hanging out, traveling, visiting, or just sleeping.

For me, the Story is as important as the product lines. It’s about bringing together a group of great people with diverse talent and skills, some of whom I’ve known for years, and letting them do what they do best. It’s about everyone owning a piece of the company, so that if it succeeds, everyone profits. It’s about taking an idea direct-to-the consumer via the power of the Internet, which allows us to offer the kind of high quality clothing you find in upscale stores and boutiques, at prices that are accessible to everyone. But most of all, it’s about having fun.

So, while I don’t blog, I decided to tell the story (think of it as one long blog entry) as part of the web site. I hope you read it, enjoy it, and that you enjoy our clothes and the other parts of the site which we are building to make shopping DFDesigns a fun experience, not just an online catalog.

In early 2007, I was, for the first time in a few years, without a new start-up of my own. Instead, I was overseeing back office operations for my longtime investor business partners while also helping them launch a new hedge fund. (In other words, I was a retired guy with two full time jobs.)

I had just bought a new Manhattan apartment west of Sixth Avenue in an area that had recently become home to many of the "big box" stores that the rest of America takes for granted. Amongst them, a full-size Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Shortly after I moved in, I saw that I needed a placemat of some kind to protect the kitchen’s curved stainless steel island countertop. One day when I was bored and looking for something to do. I decided I would see if I could make the placemat. I wasn’t daunted by the fact that I had never even sewn on a button. I figured if I could write software, how hard could stitching a placemat be? And, after all, weren’t sewing machines computerized now? So much to the amusement of all my friends and business partners, I bought a sewing machine.

Why did everyone find this amusing? Well, let me put it this way; when I was growing up, I built model rockets. Mine always flew unique trajectories due largely to the fact I had no particular skill in working with my hands and even less patience. So sewing did not seem a likely pastime for me; and adding to the irony, as one of my partners pointed out, I live across the street from a large Bed, Bath & Beyond, where there are plenty of placemats for sale.

In early 2007, I was, for the first time in a few years, without a new start-up of my own. Instead, I was overseeing back office operations for my longtime investor business partners while also helping them launch a new hedge fund. (In other words, I was a retired guy with two full time jobs.)