02:09:47 · John Coogan, Jordi Hays, Marcus Milione
[02:09:47] S0: Take us [02:09:48] S1: take us through but like before we get there Yeah. Like kind of the key moments along the journey. You start out, you're just making videos. At what point were you like, oh, I can quit my like when did you quit your job? [02:09:58] S0: I gotta make some money this. [02:10:00] S4: Yeah. So it was like month eight of kind of after we started. It started January 2021, and then by month eight, we had kind of had four large releases under under my belt, and it was starting to become too much to try to juggle between real work and not like letting anything like slack there because obviously that paid the bills. But I remember talking to my dad and trying to figure out, okay, what's, you know, a good exit plan? And so we came up with like a revenue number that we would hit over the next three months. And if we hit that, then you know what? We're gonna take the jump and and quit our job. And so then very next release, we hit it in like five minutes. And I remember I remember being at home and being like, well Yeah. [02:10:51] S0: I guess we're just gonna [02:10:53] S1: Well, that was nerve wracking quitting, right? Because it was a drops based approach and so Yes. You have super spiky revenue so it's, you know, you're thinking like, okay, well, if this drop goes well and this drop goes well and this drop goes [02:11:05] S0: well doesn't feel like a paycheck every two weeks. [02:11:06] S1: Yeah. Doesn't Yeah. Doesn't feel like it's streaming in.
02:11:06 · Jordi Hays, Marcus Milione
[02:11:06] S1: Yeah. Doesn't Yeah. Doesn't feel like it's streaming in. [02:11:09] S4: No. I mean, you're also you're betting the farm like the entire time. Every single drop, I would just run the bank account to $0 on production and hope that it went I guess at any point, like, it could have blown up in my face and gone to zero. [02:11:23] S1: Yeah. So that that happens. What what when when you when you're looking back, what was the next like significant moment? You're like, okay, this seems like a real business people like what we're doing [02:11:35] S4: I would say that that following Christmas, like that December, so twelve months in, we had like the largest release of of the company's history. It was like going into Christmas season and holiday season, and we released. And I remember being like so blown away by the number on the screen, but then also realizing like, okay, all this inventory is in my parents' garage, and we have to ship all this out as fast [02:12:00] S1: as possible. [02:12:01] S4: Yeah. So I need all hands on deck. I've got like I've got my brother, my sister, my mom, my dad, like everybody is there packing, and I'm like, this is going to take us two days. It's like no problem. And it took us like six days of packing every day, like through Christmas. Might have ruined Christmas, I'm not even sure. But it was so new. Everyone was so excited that like, I mean, obviously toward the end we were definitely getting on each other, but it was so new and exciting for everybody that, yeah. It kinda just it was a blur.
02:12:01 · Marcus Milione, Jordi Hays, Immad Akhund
[02:12:01] S4: Yeah. So I need all hands on deck. I've got like I've got my brother, my sister, my mom, my dad, like everybody is there packing, and I'm like, this is going to take us two days. It's like no problem. And it took us like six days of packing every day, like through Christmas. Might have ruined Christmas, I'm not even sure. But it was so new. Everyone was so excited that like, I mean, obviously toward the end we were definitely getting on each other, but it was so new and exciting for everybody that, yeah. It kinda just it was a blur. [02:12:34] S1: And then and then this whole time, like running is blowing up. Running got running got cool. You you clearly thought it was cool before you started the brand, but I think a lot of people realized that maybe it was cool, you know, around 2022. Is that like when it when you felt like it was really becoming part of popular culture in in a bigger way? [02:12:57] S4: It was I mean, yeah, it was really becoming part of my life then too. I think I probably started in '21, and then really picked up and wanted to start racing racing. [02:13:06] S1: What were you running from? [02:13:09] S4: Honestly, a lot of different things probably, [02:13:11] S5: now that I [02:13:12] S4: think about it. But Yeah. I mean, like it started like everybody else. You sign up for a half marathon, you're like, okay, I gotta train and I'm gonna give myself a time goal. Then like anything else, it's a sickness and then it just gets worse and worse.
02:13:12 · Marcus Milione, Jordi Hays
[02:13:12] S4: think about it. But Yeah. I mean, like it started like everybody else. You sign up for a half marathon, you're like, okay, I gotta train and I'm gonna give myself a time goal. Then like anything else, it's a sickness and then it just gets worse and worse. [02:13:24] S1: Did you start do you still feel pressured? Were you feeling pressure to be the best runner out of your customer base? Like, mean, like, I feel like you're you're you're you're kind of running two races, you're building a business, and then I can imagine it really gets in your head because you start sharing some times that you're running and then Yeah. You're competitive and you want to improve. Walk us through that that journey. [02:13:52] S4: Yeah. I mean, the beauty of posting on the Internet is that you get to hear commentary from everybody on the Internet. So I always approached it as if we're going to make a performance running apparel, I better have some half respectable times. I'll never be elite. I may never be sub elite, but I at least put in the time and effort and try to run fast. Yes. [02:14:21] S1: And then, at what point did you start getting approached, to do, you know, big partnerships like this drop this week? Because these type of things are typically, you know, you you brands need to like meet in the middle. The best Mhmm. The best partnership, right, is like a win for, you know, sort of like legitimizes the rising brand and then makes the the this maybe the more legacy brand like, you know, cooler and more relevant and and, but timing matters a lot for these things.
02:14:21 · Jordi Hays, Marcus Milione
[02:14:21] S1: And then, at what point did you start getting approached, to do, you know, big partnerships like this drop this week? Because these type of things are typically, you know, you you brands need to like meet in the middle. The best Mhmm. The best partnership, right, is like a win for, you know, sort of like legitimizes the rising brand and then makes the the this maybe the more legacy brand like, you know, cooler and more relevant and and, but timing matters a lot for these things. [02:14:52] S4: Yeah. I I think it was toward the 2022. So we you know, coming to the end of our second year, I got an email from Jason over at Saucony who kind of heads their it's called energy, but partnerships. And it was really cool. I mean, they the email started out just lifestyle because at this point, the brand wasn't as heavily focused on the performance running piece, it was a lot more menswear and jewelry and stuff like that. So he wanted us to work on a lifestyle shoe that kind of fit into that world. And then when they brought us up to Boston, I kind of pitched the idea of, well, we should do a running shoe too because we run and we're also making performance apparel. And so it was lifestyle first, then the running shoe came, and then now we've had two running shoes. [02:15:45] S1: And then and then how are you thinking about beyond beyond running? Like what are there other are there other categories that you're particularly excited about? Or do you want it to be a brand that can exist anywhere that your kind of like idealized customer goes?
02:15:45 · Jordi Hays, Marcus Milione
[02:15:45] S1: And then and then how are you thinking about beyond beyond running? Like what are there other are there other categories that you're particularly excited about? Or do you want it to be a brand that can exist anywhere that your kind of like idealized customer goes? [02:16:04] S4: Yeah. I look at I mean, an athlete spends a lot of time outside of sport, and so I think that being able to provide products, like, as I call them, off court is important. But from, like, a performance sporting side of things, I think we're really focused on running right now. But I'm I'm interested in a lot of the endurance sports. You know, cycling is very interesting. But for right now, just just the running piece.