Emily Oberg, the founder of Sporty & Rich, transformed her journey from Calgary to a streetwear mogul into a multi-million-dollar brand. She shares how her Instagram mood board evolved into a lifestyle empire, driven by community engagement and strategic pre-orders to manage rapid growth. Oberg discusses navigating uncertainties and the importance of risk in her entrepreneurial journey. Additionally, she explores blending luxury with accessible fashion and hints at her brand’s expansion into new territories like sexual wellness, reflecting on authenticity and personal fulfillment.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Emily's Leap to LA
Emily Oberg fell in love with LA after visiting a friend and experiencing its lifestyle firsthand.
This emotional connection motivated her to quit her job and relocate to pursue her brand.
question_answer ANECDOTE
COVID Surge Challenges
During COVID, Sporty & Rich did $600,000 in pre-orders in one day, surprising Emily.
The unprecedented demand exposed production and logistics challenges for the brand.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Pre-Orders Manage Risk
Use pre-orders to avoid financial risk when scaling a fashion brand.
Pre-orders improve cash flow by financing production with customer payments in advance.
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Emily grew up far away from the fashion world in Calgary, Canada. After moving to New York for a role at the media company Complex, Oberg quickly built her profile as a tastemaker in the streetwear scene.
But eventually, she got the entrepreneurial itch and leveraged her experience to turn Sporty & Rich, which started as a mood board on Instagram, into a multi-million-dollar brand with a dedicated community following.
"I think people want to be part of anything that's aspirational. Our sweatshirts are $150, it's not like we're selling a $10,000 handbag, but I think that shirt represents the lifestyle in the world that we have built."
In conversation with BoF founder Imran Amed, Oberg reflects on her unconventional path, her strategic business choices, and the significance of creating an aspirational lifestyle through her brand.
Key Insights:
Sporty & Rich started as an Instagram mood board where Oberg began experimenting with different products like magazines, hats, and crewnecks to gauge interest for a brand. To scale without raising capital, Oberg turned to pre-orders. "If we didn't do pre-order, we couldn't have run a business," she says. “We did a crewneck and it made $600,000 in a day,” she says of a drop during the pandemic. “That was a big moment for us because we were like, 'Wow, we can really scale this with just one product.'”
Oberg thrives in uncertainty and credits her ability to adapt as one key to her success. “I think I like risk because where it scares most people, it kind of excites me and it gives me that feeling of being uncomfortable – I really like that feeling,” she explains. Reflecting on her experience moving to LA and launching Sporty & Rich, she adds: “I was excited and I had a trust in myself that I would always figure it out. So I think when you have that, you know that you'll be okay and there's like nothing to really worry about.”
Oberg is candid about her business blind spots.She surrounds herself with experts in operations, production, and finance to keep the business growing. “I don’t know how to do everything,” she says. “I just know what I like and what I want things to look like.”
Sporty & Rich isn’t just about clothing. Their New York flagship includes a café, spa, — and soon, a gym — offering a full expression of the brand’s values. “It's not necessarily about the monetary things and money and the rich lifestyle. That's a part of it but I think there’s this greater sense of living a full life and I think anything that's aspirational people want to be part of,” she says. “Our sweatshirts are $150; it’s not like we’re selling a $10,000 handbag, but I think that shirt represents the lifestyle and the world that we’ve built.”
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