How a $98 sweater helps Naadam bring in $100 million a year in cashmere sales

In 2014, business partners Matt Scanlan and Diederik Rijsemus drove into Mongolia’s Gobi Desert with $2.5 million tied up in plastic bags. Their goal: purchase 50 tons of cashmere wool from nomadic goat herders for their new clothing company, Naadam. Today, Naadam brings in more than $100 million per year selling relatively affordable cashmere clothing. Its lowest-cost — and most popular — cashmere sweater sells for $98.