# Title Nine: Missy Park

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2021-10-18
- Length: 1h 23m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-10-18-title-nine-missy-park

## Summary

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.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-10-18-title-nine-missy-park#t=0) Introduction: Missy Park and Title Nine
- [4:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-10-18-title-nine-missy-park#t=273) Early Life, Title IX, and Yale Athletics
- [14:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-10-18-title-nine-missy-park#t=853) Moving to California and Early Careers
- [26:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-10-18-title-nine-missy-park#t=1567) Founding Title Nine and the First Catalog
- [38:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-10-18-title-nine-missy-park#t=2334) The Sports Bra Breakthrough and Cash Flow Struggles
- [49:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-10-18-title-nine-missy-park#t=2973) First Profit, Hiring, and Retail Expansion
- [1:08:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-10-18-title-nine-missy-park#t=4109) The Digital Pivot Failure and 2014 Downturn
- [1:13:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-10-18-title-nine-missy-park#t=4432) Pandemic Impact and Recovery
- [1:17:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-10-18-title-nine-missy-park#t=4666) Succession, Legacy, and Final Reflections

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)

## Most relevant to

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

## Mentioned

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

## Related episodes from other shows

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- [006: Customizable swimwear with Kelsey Duffy of Versakini](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-04-19-006-customizable-swimwear-with-kelsey-duffy-of-versakini) (Product Startup)
- [095: Solve End-User Pain for Consumer Product Success](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-09-29-095-solve-end-user-pain-for-consumer-product-success) (Product Startup)
- [Founder Feature: Tabi and Meena Hoshmand of Tursh](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-11-14-founder-feature-tabi-and-meena-hoshmand-of-tursh) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [339 - Beyond the Dieline ep 1 with Tom Seymour and Jessica Kwon from Moka Energy!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2026-02-05-339-beyond-the-dieline-ep-1-with-tom-seymour-and-jessica-kwon-from-moka-energy) (People of Packaging)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-10-18-title-nine-missy-park. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.