Hardware Podcasts

Title Nine: Missy Park

How I Built This · 18 Oct 2021 · 1h 23m

What this episode covers

Missy Park, founder of Title Nine, explains how she bootstrapped a $100 million women's athletic apparel company without outside investment, starting with a mail-order catalog in 1989. She details the early struggles of sourcing manufacturers like Moving Comfort, the pivotal discovery of the sports bra as a key product, and the cash flow crises that nearly bankrupted the business. Park discusses the strategic decision to remain independent to preserve company culture, the failure to pivot to digital in time for the 2014-2015 downturn, and the resilience required to survive the pandemic's retail shutdown.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up and established companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Title Nine, Lululemon, Athleta, Nike, The North Face, Fisher Mountain Bikes, Moving Comfort, Pearl Izumi, Outdoor Voices, U.S. Women's National Soccer Team

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Product Startup · 49m

    044: Turning customizable jackets into a multi-million dollar business, Elyse Daniels of Exodus Wear

    Elyse Daniels, founder of Exodus Wear, explains how she turned a niche idea for fully customizable senior jackets into a multi-million dollar business by rejecting online customization tools in favor of hand-drawn student designs. She details her bootstrapped journey from a $6,000 investment to scaling production, emphasizing the critical importance of maintaining a diverse network of manufacturers in China to mitigate risk and negotiate better terms. Daniels also shares her sales strategy, which relies on aggressive cold calling and a premium pricing model that avoids discounting to preserve brand value and customer loyalty.

    Manufacturing partners & offshoringDirect-to-consumer & e-commerce
    9 chapters

  • Product Startup · 49m

    006: Customizable swimwear with Kelsey Duffy of Versakini

    Kelsey Duffy, CEO of Versakini, explains how she pivoted from the failed Mix Bikini to launch her own interchangeable swimwear brand after appearing on Shark Tank. She details the challenges of manufacturing, including early errors with overseas factories and the importance of building personal relationships with reliable partners in Colombia. Duffy also discusses her strategy of collaborating with Project Runway alumna Amanda Perna to design collections while maintaining a lean team and focusing on direct-to-consumer sales to control brand identity.

    Industrial & consumer product designManufacturing partners & offshoring
    8 chapters

  • Product Startup · 31m

    095: Solve End-User Pain for Consumer Product Success

    Dan Soviero, founder of Signature Athletics, explains how his company achieved $10 million in sales by focusing on solving specific end-user pain points rather than chasing trends. He details the failure of a 'fidget spinner' accessory, which lacked utility, and contrasts it with the success of their durable lacrosse ball, pro-strung sticks, and Quick Connect goals. Soviero also discusses the strategic decision to abandon white-labeling for major brands like Under Armour to maintain direct consumer feedback and drive innovation in safety, visibility, and performance.

    Validation & product-market fitStarting a product company
    6 chapters

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 30m

    Founder Feature: Tabi and Meena Hoshmand of Tursh

    Tabi and Meena Hoshmand, co-founders of Tursh, discuss bootstrapping their Afghan-inspired green chutney brand from their respective homes in New York and Los Angeles. They detail the product's development based on their mother's recipe, the strategic decision to hire an external designer to translate their cultural vision into commercial packaging, and their cautious, slow-and-steady approach to scaling into boutique retail. The sisters also reflect on the emotional journey of reconnecting with their heritage and the operational realities of running a two-person, side-hustle CPG business.

    Starting a product companyPricing, margins & unit economics
    7 chapters

  • People of Packaging · 46m

    339 - Beyond the Dieline ep 1 with Tom Seymour and Jessica Kwon from Moka Energy!

    Tom Seymour interviews Jessica Kwon, founder of Jack & Friends Jerky and co-founder of Moka Energy, about her journey from a Cornell food science background to building CPG brands. Kwon details the operational challenges of bootstrapping, including 3 AM kitchen shifts and hand-packing orders after a New York Times feature, and the technical pivot from DIY Photoshop designs to custom-printed packaging via Wagon Design Studio. The conversation highlights the importance of owning manufacturing mistakes with partners like Seymour’s company and the strategic decision to launch Moka Energy with an experienced team to skip early-stage hurdles.

    Packaging designManufacturing partners & offshoring
    8 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by How I Built This. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.