SMITH: We were producing independent films with our company, Thousand Words. We made 11, including Requiem for a Dream and A Scanner Darkly. They were movies we wanted to go see鈥攖hat was our criteria.
WEST: It鈥檚 a difficult business, and we were fortunate鈥攊t was working. But the independents took a massive hit in the recession, and we鈥檙e still reeling.
SMITH: Making movies is a lot of fun, but you climb the mountain over and over again. It鈥檚 hard to build on something.
WEST: We had an itch鈥擶hat else can we do? We were into snow sports and were both frustrated with the offerings in outerwear. There was nobody delivering apparel for weekend warriors who also want something with an urban aesthetic. We created Aether () to bridge that gap.
SMITH: We launched in the fall of 2009, after the economic meltdown. It helped us get 颅attention, because other brands weren鈥檛 launching.
WEST: Our biggest realization was that producing a film and manufacturing a garment are very similar: you鈥檝e got a ton of balls in the air, and you have to bring them all together at the right time, at the right place, on budget. We come up with the concept and work very closely with our designers.
SMITH: We are now in 75 specialty stores in ten countries, and e-commerce represents more than 50 percent of our market. We鈥檙e on a really good track.
HOW YOU CAN DO IT: Many gear professionals have degrees in industrial design or mechanical engineering. Freelancing as a tester-consultant is a good place to start. Look for job postings at (and see 鈥淕ood Thrill Hunting,鈥 opposite). Salaries start at $50,000.