The Exchanges

Q Um, probably easily a billion dollar brand by that point. And, um, there were others, Athleta and other brands that were just growing. And, I mean, were you, you weren't really even competing with them at that point, right? I mean, you were just so small compared to them. Were you worried? Were you looking at those companies and just thinking, you know, we're always going to be small?

A I wasn't thinking we were always going to be small, but I wasn't overly focused on them either. I always looked at Lululemon as an inspiration and as the, you know, the company that made it ok for women to buy a hundred dollar pair of leggings. And I felt like they paved the way, and I'm, I'm grateful to them for that. You know, and there were, there were times when Lulu faltered, and there were times where Beyond grew. I remember when they had the whole, you know, sheer pant debacle. I don't know if you remember that, but that was a moment, because at the time, I think we were the number two brand carried on. Equinox. But Lulu was, you know, the lion's share of the space. We were a very distant number two. And the minute Lulu had to pull their product, my buyer from Equinox called and said, hey, we've got a situation. What do you have in black leggings? And I was like, we got you. And I shipped everything we had, and we sold through what we had. And so that was a moment for us to step up and Our product got a little bit more floor space, and we sold through when we performed, and so that, you know, in turn gave us more floor space in the future.

AI assessment note: “I wasn't thinking we were always going to be small, but I wasn't overly focused”

Q beginning was wholesale, right? To go and to basically sell to stores, which a lot of early brands, um, kind of bulk at, certainly now, because obviously you've got to sell at a discount, and then you don't always have control over how they are sold In the stores. But that was a strategy that you guys pursued from the get go. Can you talk a little bit about why?

A So I'm a huge fan of wholesale, and I've always looked at this as a way of reinforcing your brand. I think of wholesale as marketing that you get paid for. So anytime somebody goes into a yoga studio and sees your product, they're discovering you. You know, we had a really diverse distribution network too, which I think was one of the things that we did really well. So we sold to, you know, the mom and pop yoga studios and the boutique fitness places. We sold to regular boutiques that weren't fitness-based. We were on the cool websites like Revolve and Shopbop. And when people would see our products at all of these different places, it was brand validation and reinforcement.

AI assessment note: “I think of wholesale as marketing that you get paid for.”

Q Yeah, tell me, tell me how that, sorry to interrupt, how did that start? Because I, I know that you started sort of a t-shirt business, but did it, was the intention to turn into a business initially?

A No, it definitely wasn't. Um, so when I first moved to New York, I was living with my best friend from college, and I, it was her birthday, and I was trying to think, what could I get Lauren, the girl who pretty much has everything? So I made this really cute illustration of Lauren, and I bought a t-shirt, and then I put the picture of Lauren in the center, and I gave it to her for her birthday. And then very quickly, all of my friends were like, I want an illustration of me. And so throughout that time, I started creating this collection, you know, different women doing different activities, different shapes, different sizes. And I would put the pictures up on my wall in the cubicle at People Magazine. And I had a really good cubicle because I was right outside of the publisher, um, Kathy. And so people were always waiting to talk to Kathy, so they'd hang out at my cubicle, and they'd be like, oh, what are these cool illustrations? And then I'd tell them, and then people would be like, oh, well, your friend Rachel looks like my friend Rita, or, you know, could you do one of me? And so I started selling people my t-shirts while I was working at People, and then I started going to holiday bazaars, and I would walk Up and down the streets of New York, and I'd go into different boutiques, and I would sell them my t-shirts, and I remember, um, one of my favorite ones that I got int…

AI assessment note: “No, it definitely wasn't. Um, so when I first moved to New York”

Q And was she in the apparel business, or was this just a new thing that she wanted to do, sort of like what you were trying to do?

A She was just getting started with this. She had been in the apparel industry a little bit before, but this was her, she was doing this on her own, and she needed some help, and she said, like, I'd love if you could help me. Um, I didn't have any money, so I was looking for side work, so I was happy to help her, and then very quickly, I I fell in love with the idea of Beyond Yoga, and Beyond Yoga is the whole, the whole reason Beyond Yoga exists. It's created to make clothing that are for women of all shapes and sizes, and to make, show, you know, show people that every body is beautiful, and all bodies are good bodies, and I remember hearing Jodi on the phone with this designer that she was working with in the very early days, and she was getting frustrated because the designer wasn't capturing Her intention. And I turned to her, and I said, you know, I know how to do this. I was like, do you want me to fix those sketches for you? I know exactly what you're talking about. And she was like, yeah, I do. And so I said, oh, just forward me the files. I'll work on it, you know, over the weekend. And then that night, I fixed the sketches that she had, and then I had some other ideas for things that would be great for Beyond Yoga. And I sent it back to her. And then the next morning, she called me, and she was like, Our relationship is about to change. And pretty much from that point …

AI assessment note: “She had been in the apparel industry a little bit before, but this was her”

Q I know that you formally stepped down from the company in February of twenty-twenty-four, and also Jesse, your husband, stepped down as well. And so, what did it feel like after, you know, 20, almost 20 years of that was your daily job? I mean, that was what you lived and breathed every day for 19 years, to all of a sudden, it just ends.

A It was really hard. Um, Somebody gave me some really good advice. They said, you know, your first day that you're not going into the job, wake up on vacation. And so we, Jesse and I, we decided we were going to go to Mexico, which is Cabo, which is like our favorite spot. And it was weird that first day though. Like I wanted, you know, I'm so used to being in constant communication with my team and there were no emails coming in. And I actually spent that entire day just laying at the beach listening to episodes of How I Built This. The thing that was the hardest about this whole time, though, or this whole step down, was just not being able to talk to the team, and it wasn't that I couldn't, but I think I had this crazy idea that, like, I was still gonna be coming to the office and, like, bringing people coffee and going out to lunch with everyone, and I realized that I just needed to give everybody a little distance in the beginning, and, um, and I needed to give myself that distance, too, You know, I have two small children that I want to be able to volunteer in their classroom, um, but I've also gotten this incredible opportunity to just meet so many female founders and get involved in the, you know, the female founding community in LA, and when I was running Beyond Yoga, I was so heads down and so focused on running the business. I, I Barely ever talk to people outside of,…

AI assessment note: “It was really hard. Somebody gave me some really good advice.”

Q Um, but I want to get to that in a moment. So you go to the trade show, um, obviously looking to see if maybe boutiques would do, would put in orders. And, and there was, uh, somebody who, who was this person that came, came by and started talking to you?

A He was another vendor. He had his own product he was selling. His name was Brad, and he came over, and he was just very friendly, and he was like, I'm really impressed with this business you're building, and so I stayed in touch with Brad, and I was like, hey, do you know anybody who, you know, needs a designer, and he said, um, actually, I just met this Incredible woman, and she has this idea for an activewear company, uh, but she's just getting started with some of her, like, trademark, um, and, you know, that information. How did you do all of that? And I was like, oh, I just, you know, went online and did it. He's like, would you be willing to help her? And I was like, of course. So then I went over to Jodi's house, uh, or her apartment.

AI assessment note: “He was another vendor. He had his own product he was selling. His name was Brad”

Q So, all right, so you, and, and I guess you also took classes at UCLA Extension, which is like their adult classes, right, to kind of learn about business. Is that right?

A Yeah. I took accounting classes. I really wanted to understand what was going on with our finances because, you know, in the early days I was so focused on sales and product design and marketing, you know, and in the beginning we were doing so well. Like, I think when you're doing well, some of the, the important things might get glossed over on the financial side of things. So in 2006, that was the first year we were shipping. We did Um, 1.1 million. Then the next year we did around 2.2. Then the next year we did, I think we were around 4.5. Then the global financial crisis happened and everything kind of bottomed out all, you know, at that point we were primarily wholesale and we dropped in 2009 by almost a million dollars, which was a large percent to go backwards. And you know, that was a big, that was a big setback

AI assessment note: “Yeah. I took accounting classes. I really wanted to understand what was going on”

Q So when you, I mean, when you were working on getting into some of these places, you mentioned YogaWorks and some of these other places, how did you, what was the, the, the pitch? How did you get into some of these places?

A We, our pitch was that we are, you know, the softest, most inclusive activewear line. I'm obsessed with fabrics, and I love the touch and feel, and I spend hours, you know, just going through showrooms and, and feeling every fabric, and that was really important. So, you know, we were made in the USA. Everything was machine wash and dry. We tried to make it as easy care as possible, and then It was also this concept of it's for your everyday life. It is for your active lifestyle. So we were among the first to do this active layering and transition clothing. So you could get up in the morning and get dressed, and maybe you weren't necessarily going to the gym, but you had all these things that you were going to do, and you needed to look chic and put together. And then you At some point, you're hoping to slide into a class, or be able to sneak off and go for a run, or whatever the case may be. So we tried to create these layering pieces that made the outfits look pulled together, and then you could just pull off this top, and voila, you were ready to go to the gym.

AI assessment note: “our pitch was that we are, you know, the softest, most inclusive activewear line.”

Q How were you able to, because I know that, that you also, like, made some Important hires, like somebody came from Under Armour and, and from Tom's, like, how did you afford them? I mean, even then you were still a pretty small business, so how could you afford to bring on those people who had so much experience?

A So first of all, I wasn't the person who was paying the highest salaries. I definitely know that people took a little bit of a pay cut to come and work with us, but I think that people really believed in what we were doing, and once, you know, one or two people come on board that are really passionate about it, that are great, like, I, I really believe that A players want to work with A players, and so Your team becomes your recruiting tool, and you know, when, when this amazing marketer came over to our team, you know, I didn't just hire her and say, I'm going to give you the biggest salary that I have. I said, look, I can afford to pay you this, but I also know you're going to need some people around you, and we invested in building a team around her, and you know, the same is true for what we did with, You know, the woman from Under Armour, because you have to give people resources once they come on board. And people also loved the fact that we were primarily all female. It was funny, um, you know, Jesse was pretty much the only white male in our company for the majority of the time that we were in existence.

AI assessment note: “I definitely know that people took a little bit of a pay cut”

Q Tell me a little bit about how did you, when you sort of started to make your hires, right, and certainly your, your, you know, initial hires, how did you, like, what, because I read the first hire you made as a production manager, so how did you put those pieces together on who to go to first and how to build the team out?

A You know, in the beginning, I did as much as I could. I was originally sketching everything in the collection. Eventually, we brought on designers who did that. But I will say, I think one of the most important hires I made was when I ended up hiring, um, my COO, CFO, who happens to be my husband, Jesse. Um, you know, he started, we started dating in 2009, and he was in and around the business For many years before we actually got married, and I think it was like, 2000 and 14. And, um, one of the things that, I mean, there's so many things that I want to share with you about, um, how Jesse impacted the business, but one thing that was really helpful was when he joined me and he was really looking at our finances, he's like, you're actually not spending enough. You're not investing enough in your team. And in marketing. And I was so nervous, and I think because of, you know, what happened to my dad and seeing him lose his business, I was always very nervous to get out ahead of our skis. And so when Jesse came on board, and he's somebody who I trust implicitly, and he said, you, you really need to lean in and, and bring on some great talent, that's when I started spending more on the people who were on our team. And I think that was a huge turning point.

AI assessment note: “one of the most important hires I made was when I ended up hiring, um, my COO, CFO”

Q What makes it different? What made it so unique? And why wasn't it being used in other apparel by other brands?

A I don't think other people were using it because it was so expensive, and I wanted to make something that was going to feel amazing for people, and I don't think people at the time were willing to spend that type of money to Get fabrics made, and it was two different yarns, and it was weaved together in a certain way, and it had a brushed hand. There's just something about the way that those two fabrics came together, and then ultimately, you know, I worked with the mill to really work on how to get it as soft as possible, and there's some trade secrets there, but it's fantastic, and it feels really good. It Has four-way stretch. It has amazing recovery. It holds color in a fantastic way. You know, initially, when I first found it, I thought that it was just going to be a seasonal fabric that we were going to use, you know, once, and then we'd move on, and as soon as my team felt it, and as soon as the sales reps got it out, and our customers were touching it, they were like, you're going to have this forever, right?

AI assessment note: “I don't think other people were using it because it was so expensive”

Q robust manufacturing base in Los Angeles. Furniture's made there, and it's not just like a city of Hollywood. Um, there's still things that are made there, but that's more expensive. Um, was there ever, I mean, as you saw other brands and apparel brands moving their Manufacturing, or even starting their manufacturing in Asia, which was a fraction of the price. Did you ever look at that option or possibility?

A I very much enjoy making product in LA. I like the idea that I know the people, that I can go down and pop in and see what's happening at any moment. And if you, you know, all of a sudden realize that something's selling really fast, you, you can ramp it up. And if you, on the flip side, realize that you're heavily investing in something and it's a mistake, A lot of times you can just pull it from the line, but it's also extremely rewarding to get to know the people and feel like you're supporting your community. Um, one of our, one of our contractors, she started off as a sample house, and she wanted to do more production for us, and she did phenomenal samples. Um, and we said, as soon as you get your manufacturing license, we will start you with You know, some small quantities, and let's help you build your business. We built our business side by side with so many of these partners, and that woman who was our sample house, she ultimately now has three different manufacturing factories in downtown LA. Her daughter runs one of them. You know, it's very rewarding to get to work with people and see those types of impacts on their lives.

AI assessment note: “I very much enjoy making product in LA. I like the idea”