Along with his mother, Susan, and younger sister, Devyn, Derek Moses (The College of New Jersey, 2013) launched DEMED scrubs in 2016. Brother Moses envisions a new era for medical scrubs — a product that has stayed relatively the same for decades — one that brings professionalism and comfort to the medical professional workplace.
“If there’s anything I’ve learned through this process, it’s patience and perseverance. I had patience to understand that some things can’t happen right away and perseverance to push through. The greatest gift I’ve been given is the ability to see the future of DEMED together with my team who is also my family.”
His mother, a practicing chiropractor for more than 30 years, longed for the day when scrubs weren’t so poorly constructed. However, raising two children and running a practice came first, so the idea remained just that.
In his last semester at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), Brother Moses’ independent study required him to write a business model for a company, so he used his mother’s idea about producing higher quality scrubs. However, it wasn’t until a 2014 entrepreneurship seminar that he decided to work on the business full-time.
“While I was at TCNJ, AEPi was my collegiate experience. There, I found my place in college. I didn’t have a Jewish identity prior to my freshman year but found it in the Alpha Eta chapter.”
All entrepreneurs know that starting a business isn’t easy. There were a lot of moving parts and finding the right fabric proved to be the hardest piece of the puzzle. “Most scrub companies make a product that’s cheap so they can sell as many as possible. Nobody thought to make anything with quality.”
Brother Moses started working in the manufacturing industry to find the right fabric and decided on a high-quality athletic fabric that keeps wearers warm in cold hospitals but cool in hot temperatures. Unlike most scrubs, DEMED products are moisture resistant and subtle in color.
His favorite activity is going to trade shows to interact with consumers on a more personal level. “When people see the product and try it on, they understand what we’re trying to do. It’s not about the money. We want to help the people who work so hard to save us. One thing that really catches their eye at these trade shows is seeing us throw water on the product and it rolling right off.”
Moving forward, Brother Moses hopes to see the product go beyond the medical field. “It’s crazy to think of where we’ve come from in the past few years. There’s a momentum now, and we’re excited for the future.”
Brother Moses is offering a special discount to brothers who place an order and use the code AEPi. For every purchase, 5% of the sale will be donated to the AEPi Repair the World Fund and Official Philanthropy Program (OPP). Visit DEMED scrub’s website.