How I Built and Sold an Underwear Company
A story of diving into an industry, creating something amazing, and then, exiting.
I successfully created the comfiest underwear for men.
That is a bold statement which I strongly stand by. Hundreds of happy customers would say the same thing, and their words are more important than mine.
In 2019, I founded a company called Unity Underwear Co. I had designed boxer briefs for men made from 95% bamboo fabrics. This made them both incredibly durable, and comfortable.
However, before that, I was in the nightlife industry and had never worked in retail, fashion, or any other industry which would lead me to start an underwear company.
Like anyone else’s entrepreneurial journey, this one is a mess.
How and why I founded Unity Underwear Co.
In 2017, I was working at my nightclub and joking about the Harambe meme (the gorilla who got shot at a zoo, RIP) with some of the security team.
I thought it would be funny to buy the security underwear with Harambe on it. However, when I looked online, I couldn’t find any.
My entrepreneurial spirit couldn’t resist. I had to try and create them myself.
So, I started looking online for manufacturers which led to me scrolling through hundreds of options on Alibaba. I started ordering samples from the ones that appeared the best.
When I received the samples, I realized that none fit great. However, a few of them had this 95% bamboo, 5% spandex fabric that was incredible.
I immediately started wondering why no other underwear companies made good-fitting underwear with this fabric. That would be a game-changer if they did!
At the time, I wore Calvin Klein. They fit great, but within a few months, the fabric ripped or was no longer comfortable.
They were awful.
I decided to scrap the Harambe idea and instead, create some basics with this fabric.
The design process
I had never even tried to design any clothes in my life. So, the process of perfecting the design took over 2 years.
I tried about 15 different brands of underwear to figure out what I liked and disliked about them. Everything from Saxx to Fruit of the Loom.
Some of the pairs were too long, or short. Others were too tight in certain areas, and too loose in others.
From there I got together with a local designer and gave him my favourite pair, but asked for adjustments based on what I liked about the others. I sent that design to the manufacturer of my choice.
By this time, I had picked my manufacturer. The working conditions, communication and the consistency of their samples were the biggest factors in my choice.
Issues arose however when they sent me the samples from my finished design. I wasn’t perfect yet. I had to make a few adjustments going back and forth, getting new samples each time.
The reason it took 2 years was because of the number of adjustments I had to make, and the fact that shipping overseas for each sample took so much time.
Sure enough, in November 2019 I got my first inventory shipment - 2000 pairs of underwear in black, white and grey were now stocked up in my basement and ready to sell.
Growing the business
I had no idea what I was in for. It turns out that it is incredibly difficult to convince people to try a different brand of underwear than what they were used to.
I believe that is because there are so few good brands, that when you find something decent, you don’t want to even bother trying any others.
In a sense, I did have some luck. When I first started selling I had a lot of support from friends, family, and many people who came out to my nightclub.
Marketing the brand
When the first set of people bought it, they all loved it. Many wrote good reviews, some sent in videos of them talking about it, and almost all of them told their friends.
I was always running Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest ads. None of those ads were too profitable, but I was starting to sell through word of mouth.
Influencer marketing was another route I explored.
The issue with influencer marketing though, is that more than half of the people who would agree to do some posts or take some pictures, wouldn’t even do it once they received the product. Then they would just screen me.
I once embarrassingly made the mistake of paying one up front on top of that.
Maybe one day I will release a list of influencers who are thefts.
After a few months, sales started to dry up and I stopped focusing on the company.
Immediately after that, the pandemic started and I lost most of my other businesses. With the spare time I now had, I decided to start focusing on the company again.
The women’s line
While analyzing some data, and going through reviews, I noticed that most of my sales were actually wives, and girlfriends buying underwear for their boyfriends and husbands.
With this information, I decided I should design a women’s line so that the women shopping can buy for themselves while they buy for their spouses.
The design process for the women’s line took about a year. Luckily it was shorter than the process for the men’s line because I already had a good manufacturer, and knew how to make the design.
The biggest hurdle was figuring out which product would be the best to launch. I got those answers by running a lot of polls and surveys.
Asking women what kind of underwear they prefer is a lot easier than I thought it would be. Most were very willing to talk about it because just like men, they were not happy with the majority of their options.
I ended up settling with a Calvin Klein style thong and bralette set. The design was essentially a better fitting, more comfortable design of theirs.
The best part of selling a women’s line is that it is much easier to work with women influencers.
Most of the women influencers were excited to wear the underwear, post pictures, and talk about it. I only had 1 not post, out of 20+. In comparison with the men which was around 12 out of 20+.
PR agency
One of the best things I did was hire a PR agency. I worked with a fully women-run agency out of the US that was excellent.
They contacted numerous publications for me and got articles written about the brand in Forbes, Apple News, LA Weekly, Fashion Week Daily, and numerous TV shows.
This was awesome for social proof and also helped the business rank on Google much higher.
I wish I had done this sooner. Unfortunately, by the time I started paying the agency, my funds were running low.
The struggles
Unfortunately, I could never get the sales as high as I hoped. I was never able to make the marketing profitable and it just got to the point where it was taking more time than it was worth.
Truth is, I probably could have improved it with more time, patience and a little more money.
After a few years though, I no longer had the passion for the business, and new more exciting opportunities were popping up. All of this led to me deciding to part ways with the business.
Given that I had about $20,000 worth left in inventory, the website, social media profiles, publicity, IP, and loyal customers, selling seemed possible.
The sale
I can’t get into too many details as the company is still operating nicely. What I can say though, is that the sale did not happen in the way that most businesses sell.
I posted that I was running a closing sale on the social media pages and within a couple of weeks, I had numerous customers contact me asking if I would sell to them instead of closing.
After going through the details with all the potential buyers, it was narrowed down to two.
The reason I sold to the new owners was because of logistics, and the fact that I already knew him.
This made me much more comfortable with letting go of the company.
My main concern is I didn’t want to tarnish the reputation of the company. It wasn’t that big, but everyone who tried the product absolutely loved it. Luckily, the buyer had the same thing in mind.
So, in mid-2022, I transferred all ownership to the new owners, sent him the digital design patterns for all the products, and helped him load up the inventory.
Key lessons
This was the first business I operated by myself, that had sales and operated for more than a year. I learned many important lessons that I could take into my future endeavours.
I want to share those lessons quickly with you.
Be careful with influencers, and budget high. A good influencer, with a good attentive following, has incredible dollar value. Unfortunately, it is very, very difficult to find them.
Things almost always take more time than you think they will. That’s okay if you are mentally prepared to take on any issues. There are always issues.
Don’t overestimate the power of your following. Just because you have followers, it doesn’t mean you have customers.
Remain consistent with your brand and stay true to it. Real brand power starts to come over time and when you have it, it pays off.
Listen to business advice, but don’t always act on it. Everyone will have something to tell you, and maybe 5% of people have a clue what they’re talking about.
Listen to customer reviews, but remember that your product isn’t for everyone.
There are always knowledgeable people willing to help. If you go looking for them, and ask, they almost always say yes. Over 90% of people in the industry I messaged, ended up on phone calls with me for free to give advice.
Closing Remarks
Diving headfirst into a new industry allowed me to learn a lot in a short amount of time. Although this business didn’t make me a millionaire, it helped me gain valuable knowledge and experience that will carry over into my future businesses.
If there is anything I want you to take away from this, it is that you can learn quickly, find solutions, and adapt as you go.
So, don’t be afraid to try something new. Even if it has nothing to do with what you’ve done in the past.
The worst case scenario is it doesn’t work out, and you’re back where you started with new knowledge, ready to give the next big idea a shot!
Thanks for reading!
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