Pittsburgh entrepreneur says business stole her idea and launched it without her
A business in Pittsburgh is accused of stealing an entrepreneur's idea and launching the venture without her.
The founder of 1989 Vintage and Thrift says Construction Junction recycled her idea of an on-site thrift store.
Construction Junction, a well-known building materials resale store in Point Breeze, sells things like kitchen cabinets, toilets and plumbing appliances. With Billie Vaughn's background, the founder of 1989 Vintage and Thrift thought teaming up would be a perfect fit.
The two non-profit organizations started talks about a joint venture, including education workshops on repurposing and a thrift store.
In the late summer/early fall, Vaughn set up three pop-ups at Construction Junction to test it out. And in the new year, Vaughn and Construction Junction talked about making it permanent.
But that's when the potential partnership went sour after she was asked to manage Construction Junction's thrift department.
"That turned my whole thinking off because that takes away the ownership that I built," Vaughn said.
KDKA sat down with Mike Gable, the founder and executive director of Construction Junction. He acknowledged that Vaughn brought the company the idea. He said she asked to lease the space, but Construction Junction had a different vision due to struggling finances.
"I was concerned that running an operation out of that space was not going to move the needle enough for Construction Junction," Gable said.
KDKA's Mamie Bah asked, "So, offering her employment was more feasible than being in partnership or her leasing the space?"
"Again, I wouldn't characterize it as we were just offering her to be an employee," Gable said.
Now, Construction Junction is moving forward with its own thrift department and partnering with Goodwill. They announced it on social media and are asking for $15,000 to make it happen.
"Wow, they went along with the vision," Vaughn said.
"What's your response to the discourse online that you guys stole the idea?" Bah asked Gable.
"I do not believe that we stole the idea because we were familiar with the idea," Gable said. "When she brought it up, we let her know that we've known and seen other operations like CJ implementing and using this idea."
Vaughn said, "It was a lack of integrity because they had no interest in doing thrifting until they seen the success of the pop-up."
Gable said there is a way forward, as Construction Junction still wants to work with Vaughn. He said she can lease the space in the back for her thrift shop, while Construction Junction operates its thrift area on the main floor. Vaughn said absolutely not.
