How I Built This with Guy Raz
Title Nine: Missy Park (October 2021)
Apr 7, 2025
Missy Park, founder and CEO of Title IX, shares her inspiring journey from a college basketball player to the creator of a $100 million women's sportswear brand. She lovingly recounts the challenges of launching her mail-order catalog in 1989, driven by her frustration with ill-fitting athletic apparel. Missy reflects on Title IX's pivotal role in shaping women's sports and her unique approach to business, focusing on incremental successes and customer loyalty. With humor and heart, she emphasizes the need for representation in athletic gear, as well as the broader impacts of her $1 million donation to women's soccer.
01:20:24
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Quick takeaways
- Missy Park founded Title IX in 1989 to address the lack of functional athletic wear tailored for women, filling a critical market gap.
- Despite early challenges, Park focused on sustainable growth without outside investment, prioritizing company culture over rapid expansion for long-term success.
Deep dives
The Birth of Title IX: A Vision for Women's Sports Apparel
Missy Park's frustration with inadequate sports apparel for women led her to establish Title IX in 1989, one of the earliest brands exclusively catering to women's athletic wear. At a time when sports bras were barely recognized, Park recognized a gap in the market and decided to create a solution that resonated with the unique needs of female athletes. Despite a rocky start, including a dismal response to the initial mail-order catalog, the essential demand for well-fitting, functional sports gear became clear through customer feedback. This realization marked a pivotal moment for Title IX, signaling the beginning of its journey to address the specific needs of women in sports.
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