From Side Hustle to Swimwear Empire: The Andie Swim Story with Founder Melanie Travis

About this episode

Melanie Travis shares her journey from a frustrating swimsuit shopping experience to founding Andie Swim, a successful swimwear brand.

Melanie Travis didn’t go to fashion school. She didn’t work at a legacy brand. She didn’t have a co-founder, a warehouse, or a team. What she did have was a miserable experience swimsuit shopping for a company retreat and a hunch that other women felt the same. In this episode of Unfinished Business , Melanie joins Alex and Lee to share how she turned a universal frustration into Andie Swim , a nationally recognized brand that’s sold millions of swimsuits and recently expanded into new categories through strategic acquisition. We talk about: – The origin story: from BarkBox employee to Kickstarter campaign to CEO – How she taught herself the fashion supply chain using an Airbnb “fashion tour” – Why she believes the classic DTC playbook no longer works – The truth about raising $30M and still struggling to reach profitability – Her approach to omnichannel growth, from Nordstrom to private label deals – What she looks for in brand acquisitions (and how she bought her first) – How she’s building a multi-brand portfolio while juggling two young kids Melanie keeps it brutally honest about fundraising, scaling, hiring, and growth. This episode is a masterclass for consumer founders and…

People in this episode

Hosts: Alex, Lee

Guest: Melanie Travis

Topics covered

• entrepreneurship
• fashion industry
• direct-to-consumer
• fundraising
• brand acquisition
• omnichannel growth

Keywords

• swimwear
• entrepreneur
• DTC
• fundraising
• brand growth
• fashion supply chain
• Kickstarter
• omnichannel
• acquisition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Andie Swim, BarkBox, Nordstrom, Kickstarter

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