# UNTUCKit: Chris Riccobono

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2025-06-23
- Length: 1h 13m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-23-untuckit-chris-riccobono

## Summary

Chris Riccobono, co-founder of UNTUCKit, explains how he identified a gap in the market for shirts designed to be worn untucked and built a brand from scratch despite having no fashion industry experience. He details the disastrous first production run from a Polish factory, the strategic pivot to direct-to-consumer sales and targeted advertising, and the company's rapid scaling through physical stores. Riccobono also recounts the near-collapse of the business in 2020 when a potential $750 million acquisition fell apart due to the pandemic, forcing the company into a survival mode that eventually led to profitability and a new wholesale expansion.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-23-untuckit-chris-riccobono#t=0) Introduction: Chris Riccobono and UNTUCKit
- [4:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-23-untuckit-chris-riccobono#t=250) Early Career and Failed Startup Ideas
- [15:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-23-untuckit-chris-riccobono#t=957) Identifying the Shirt Problem and Validating the Idea
- [27:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-23-untuckit-chris-riccobono#t=1623) First Production Run and Quality Failures
- [36:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-23-untuckit-chris-riccobono#t=2205) Bootstrapping, Marketing, and Early Growth
- [48:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-23-untuckit-chris-riccobono#t=2908) Scaling to Brick-and-Mortar and Raising Capital
- [59:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-23-untuckit-chris-riccobono#t=3541) The Failed Acquisition and Pandemic Crisis
- [1:09:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-06-23-untuckit-chris-riccobono#t=4160) Recovery, Profitability, and Future Plans

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)
- [Quality & yield](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/quality-and-yield)

## Most relevant to

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

## Mentioned

- UNTUCKit (product)
- J.Crew (company)
- General Electric (company)
- Kleiner Perkins (company)
- Vineyard Vines (company)
- Banana Republic (company)
- Nordstrom (company)
- Macy's (company)
- Stitch Fix (company)
- Boomer and Carton (company)
- Howard Stern (other)
- PricewaterhouseCoopers (company)

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- [Founder Feature: Sean Knecht of Tantos!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-05-08-founder-feature-sean-knecht-of-tantos) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founders Feature: Lucy Dana of One Trick Pony](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-11-21-founders-feature-lucy-dana-of-one-trick-pony) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Maria Covarrubias of Cien Chiles](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-06-21-founder-feature-maria-covarrubias-of-cien-chiles) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [044: Turning customizable jackets into a multi-million dollar business, Elyse Daniels of Exodus Wear](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2017-03-14-044-turning-customizable-jackets-into-a-multi-million-dollar-business-elyse-dani) (Product Startup)

## Citing this page

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