1012: Joe Kudla- How to Build an International Fashion Brand in 5 Years

Apr 18, 2019

Joe Kudla, founder and CEO of Vuori Clothing, shares his remarkable journey of building an activewear brand recognized for quality and style. He reveals his 'overnight success' story, including unexpected guidance from a psychic that inspired him to take risks. The conversation dives into the importance of creating unique, versatile products and the challenges of scaling a brand. Joe also discusses the balance between comfort and style, while emphasizing community support and innovation in the competitive fashion market.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ADVICE

Prioritize Product Quality

Focus on creating high-quality products.
Good products are essential for success, especially with limited budgets.

INSIGHT

The Tipping Point of Business Growth

Business growth, like Vuori's, often involves steady effort before reaching a tipping point.
Once momentum builds, the focus shifts from pushing to steering.

ANECDOTE

Small Wins Lead to Big Success

Vuori experienced several small successes rather than one defining moment.
These included breaking their e-commerce site and outperforming competitors at large retailers like REI.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In this episode, Sal, Adam and Justin talk with Joe Kudla, founder and CEO of Vuori Clothing. Five years ago Vuori was just an idea. Today Vuori can be found in Nordstrom, REI and shipped worldwide when ordered from their website.

Joe has a fascinating story of multiple business ventures, some successful, others failures that have led to Vuori Clothing's "overnight success." Joe tells a good story and in this episode he tells of a strange run-in with a psychic woman who nudged him to take a leap of faith that ultimately catapulted the company. Even if you don't believe in psychics, this story may just make you believe a little bit...

Vuori Clothing is the preferred attire of the Mind Pump Team. It looks, fits and feels amazing. You can check it out at vuoriclothing.com/mindpump (Be sure to use the code on this page for 25% off your first order... a Mind Pump exclusive discount!).

Mind Pump recommends The Jordan Harbinger Show. (3:38)
How if you don’t make good products in this day in age, what’s the point. (6:45)
What was their defining moment of success? (7:57)
The MASSIVE compound growth over the last 5 years. (10:31)
Setting out to make clothes that other people cannot find. ‘Built to move and style for life’ mindset. (13:10)
Putting their money where their mouth is and making GREAT products. (15:34)
Have they experienced any growing pains or challenges? (17:14)
The great debate on entering the ‘Athlete Market.’ (19:24)
What goes into the process of creating a product? (20:30)
Do they do any outsourcing when it comes to design? (22:39)
How do you know, as an entrepreneur, when to stop or change gears? (26:28)
His early ventures, failures and the life lessons he learned along the way. (28:32)
Going all-in on Vuori. (32:33)
A chance encounter with a psychic woman that propelled him to take the leap of faith and invest in clarity. (39:00)
Becoming in alignment and how Mind Pump found the brand. (47:38)
Building the relationship directly with the consumer, shifting their message based on customer feedback and being versatile. (51:08)
How your culture is your brand. (56:00)
What does he see for their future in the space? (59:05)

People Mentioned

Jordan Harbinger (@jordanharbinger) Instagram
Todd Herman (@todd_herman) Instagram
Wim Hof (@iceman_hof) Instagram
Michael Stromsness (@enlightened_savage_101) Instagram