Aviator Nation's Bootstrap Success
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Sam Parr shares a story about a successful bootstrapped clothing company called Aviator Nation.
"This woman Paige Mycoskie taught herself how to sew on YouTube and started going to fairs like Venice Beach flea markets. She would sew interesting stripes on old vintage sweatshirts - nothing breathtaking but kind of cool. She would make 5-10K a day when she would go.
She bootstrapped this business for 16 years and owns 100% of the company. In 2020 it did $70 million in revenue, 2021 did $110 million, and 2022 it's going to double again to north of $200 million. Last year she paid herself a $50 million dividend check.
Forbes estimated she's worth around $350 million, but she said the number is at least double that. She recently acquired her 9th property - a $15 million lakeside house in Austin. She has other homes in Malibu, Venice Beach, Marina Del Rey, and an Aspen ski chalet.
The interesting thing is her items are just sweatpants that cost $160. My friend Joe told me his kids wear it because they'll see girls in school wearing it. It's become this status symbol."
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.