Timo Weiland immersed himself in investment banking right out of college. As an analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities, he spent long hours at the office pouring through information and meeting with leaders of publicly traded companies. There was just one problem: "It wasn't what I was most passionate about for my life," he told CNBC.
What did he have a passion for? Turns out, it was fashion. Although Weiland had no formal training, he'd picked up the interest and sewing skills from his mother while growing up. He bolted from banking to start a creative consulting company. Through it, he met Fashion Institute of Technology students Alan Eckstein and Donna Kang. In 2009, the trio founded his namesake-clothing brand, Timo Weiland.
Today, their men's and women's lines are sold through about 100 retail locations, including Barneys New York.
The global menswear market is seen growing to $430.4 million by 2016, an increase of 13.9 percent from 2011, according to a report from research firm MarketLine.
Read more on Timo Weiland's job shift below, part of CNBC's "Escaping The Cube."