Hardware Podcasts

Vuori: Joe Kudla

How I Built This · 2 Oct 2023 · 1h 07m

What this episode covers

Vuori founder Joe Kudla explains how he built a $4 billion men's activewear brand by pivoting from a failed wholesale strategy to a direct-to-consumer model focused on versatile, non-technical clothing. Kudla details the initial rejection from investors who doubted men's interest in yoga apparel, the bootstrapped launch with friends and family, and the critical decision to invest remaining cash into digital advertising. He describes how testing static Facebook ads revealed that men valued the product's versatility for activities like running, hiking, and surfing, leading to rapid growth and eventual profitability before a major SoftBank investment.

Most relevant to

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

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Lululemon, Vaco, Planet Earth, K2 Sports, Patagonia, Nike, Adidas, Prana, Globe, REI, Rhone, Outdoor Voices, Norwest Venture Partners, SoftBank
Products
Sammy Joe, Fiore, Audio Footwear
Also
Chip Wilson, Rebecca Bray, Nikki Siquilio

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