Transitional Swimwear Startup

b. side swimwear
@bsideswim

Tiffany dreamed of changing the swimwear industry. It was a personal pain point to improve the design of women’s swimwear and make it easier to shop for swimwear online. In 2014 (two years out of college), with the help of many friends and mentors, she designed, produced, and sold two swim-tops and bottoms that could be worn up to 10 different ways! A dream became a reality, and a tech-driven business was born. After a year in design, planning, and fundraising, Tiffany launched an eCommerce website on Shopify that was the first of its kind. A customer took a simple quiz that produced results of their recommended swimwear design and how to wear it. The idea, brand, technology, sales, and customer base grew, but at age 25, Tiffany admits she was naive to think that she could fundraise and manage a business simultaneously. With the support of her investors and two employees, tough decisions to exit were made. To this day, it’s plainly understood that Tiffany’s career would not be the same with the B. Side.

• Launched with $11,000 Kickstarter and $10,000 personal investment

• Raised an additional $100K on a $2.5 million valuation in convertible debt

• Ran Bsideswim.com in under $80K direct costs for $25K revenue in 18 months

• 3,000+ swim separates sold to over 2.5K customers with an AOV (average order value) of $115 and CAC (customer acquisition cost) of $38 on a 78% Gross Margin

• EXIT Year 2 - partial sale of digital IP, 2 Patents, inventory, and exclusivity rights