Even among this year's impressive crop of Forbes 30 Under 30 retail and e-commerce stars, Tyler Haney stands out.
The 27-year-old is taking on Lululemon,
Growing up in Boulder, Co., Haney was a jock: she ran cross country, played basketball and even considered going to college to pursue hurdles.
She couldn’t shake an interest in fashion, though, and matriculated at New York’s famed Parsons School of Design, where she soon found a way to marry her two interests.
“I was working out in these other brands where there were bright colors and macho perforations, and I started to want to wear something more simple,” Haney told Forbes in a video interview (above).
As part of her degree program, she created a five-piece collection of essential activewear. Outdoor Voices was born. The brand’s memorable name “comes from when you're little and your mom's like, ‘Use your indoor voice,’” she said.
So far, the workout apparel company’s minimalist, technical aesthetic and digital-first strategy has earned it $8.1 million in venture backing, with its October Series A led by General Catalyst Partners, investors in such category game-changers as Warby Parker and The Honest Company.
Funding didn’t come easy; she says her team met with, and was turned down by, somewhere in the region of 70 investors. Said Haney: “I don't have experience on my side, but I have persistence.”
Outdoor Voices is sold online, at select J. Crew stores, at the company's Soho, New York pop-up, and at its Austin, TX store.
To learn more about this year's 30 Under 30 across 20 different categories, see here.
The Full 2016 List of 30 Under 30 Retail and E-Commerce:
