Hardware Podcasts

HIBT Lab! Universal Standard: Polina Veksler

How I Built This · 11 Aug 2022 · 47m

What this episode covers

Polina Veksler, co-founder and CEO of Universal Standard, explains how she and co-founder Alex Waldman identified a $100 billion market gap for size-inclusive fashion after realizing the industry segregated plus-size women. They launched the brand in 2015 with a capsule collection of 8 pieces, financing the initial 3,000-unit production run with personal funds and navigating manufacturing constraints in Peru and China. Veksler details their direct-to-consumer strategy, including using Shopify, leveraging press from Refinery29, and acquiring customers through grassroots pop-ups and free product samples to build loyalty before achieving profitability.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Universal Standard, Bloomingdale's, Refinery29, Nordstrom, Old Navy
Tools
Shopify
Also
Peru, China

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