Episode 223 - How Bear Handlon Built Born Primitive Into An Apparel Standout

Bear Handlon is a former Yale football player, Naval Officer, and the Co-Founder and CEO of Born Primitive, one of the hottest brands in the fitness, athleisure, and outdoor apparel space. Bear’s story is truly unique and full of valuable insights. 

Bear had a simple idea, $4,000 in the bank, and was about to ship off to officer candidate school, but he decided to launch a company anyway. He parlayed the success of his initial product, custom-made compression shorts, to build a large and diverse brand with a wide array of products.

Here’s a look at what we cover:

• When to focus vs. when to expand your product offering. 

• Born Primitive’s 3 keys to building a growth flywheel.

• How to turn mistakes into extreme customer loyalty.

• How getting the product right fuels everything else. 

• Why being face-to-face with customers is the key to product innovation and marketing. 

• While products can be replicated, a strong and unique “brand identity” cannot.