Hardware Podcasts

American Giant: Bayard Winthrop

How I Built This · 1 Jul 2024 · 1h 21m

What this episode covers

Bayard Winthrop, founder of American Giant, explains how he built a 100% U.S.-made apparel brand by reverse-engineering a domestic supply chain for cotton, knitting, and dyeing, starting with a flagship hoodie. He details the operational crisis of a three-year order backlog following a viral Slate article and the strategic decision to acquire Eagle Sportswear to secure sewing capacity. Winthrop also discusses the complex seven-year journey to produce a yarn-dyed flannel shirt and his partnership with WeWork co-founder Miguel McKelvey to scale the business while maintaining ethical labor practices.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
American Giant, Atlas Snowshoe, Freeboard, Chrome, Carolina Cotton Works, Clover Knits, Parkdale Mills, Eagle Sportswear, Slate, Under Armour, WeWork, PepsiCo, Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette, K2 Sports, WebChat
Also
Farhad Manjoo, Miguel McKelvey, Paige Ashby, Philippe Manu, Don Kendall

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