What Helped Wild Rye Land 100+ Retailers and Raise $1 Million

0:00I don't think we would exist if we didn't have a combination of really strong product, really strong purpose, and a really strong brand that makes people feel happy and have fun and have fun and have fun. people in. Welcome to Shopify Masters, your companion for starting and scaling a business. I'm your host, Serena Smith. When Cassie Abel looked around at the outdoor industry, she saw a lot of technical gear designed for men and not much else. So in 2016, she launched Wild Rye, a women-led brand creating stylish, high-performance apparel for skiing, biking, and beyond. Women want to look good, they want to feel good, and they want to perform good.

0:40Wild Rye has since grown 30 to 50 % year over year, built a very loyal community, and landed shelf space at REI and Title IX, as well as more than 100 specialty retailers. Approaching business relationships like you would any other relationship has gotten me and Wild Rye to where we are today. Founder and CEO Cassie Abel is here to share how she built a brand that's reshaping the outdoor apparel industry for women and the lessons she's learned along the way. Welcome to the show, Cassie. Thanks for having me. Thanks for being here. So I know 2016 feels like it's probably a lifetime ago, but it is actually recent history.

1:17What was it that the outdoor apparel landscape was looking like before launching Wild Rye? Oh, man. Yeah, it does feel like ancient history at this point. Almost 10 years ago now. But let's see. Honestly, it was really high quality technical product, but it was designed from a men's first lens. So oftentimes products were then, you know, designed for men, but then adapted for a woman. Usually that led to not great fit, lackluster colors and prints and et cetera for women and features that didn't cross over. You know, women have hips. We have boobs. We have all these other shapes and needs. We also really like to carry a lot of snacks and have our phones handy for selfies and whatnot.

2:12So it just wasn't thought through from the viewpoint of a woman. And that was starting to wear on a lot of women who spend a lot of time moving in the mountains. Why, when I would imagine women make up a not inconsiderable proportion of the outdoor recreational community, why was this community underserved for so long? I mean, it was all men at the head of every major outdoor brand for forever. And, you know, that trickles down. It was historically men leading the product departments, the marketing departments. You know, the outdoor industry was widely dominated by men. Not to say that there weren't great women contributing and creating meaningful change.

2:54But when you have men in all the decision-making seats, women's product is pretty easy to deprioritize. What was the number one thing that spurred you into action? Was it like the lack of stylish components? Was it where the technicality was lacking? Was it the silhouettes? What was it where you were like, I have to do something about this? I can't handle this any longer. Yeah, I mean, I'd say it's the collision of all of those things. And so there were these cool younger, like fresher brands popping up for men that merge contemporary style and technical features. But there wasn't anything coming on the market for women that fit that bill.

3:36So, you know, women want to look good, they want to feel good, and they want to perform good. And so all those things need to be true at once. And it just simply wasn't there. There were brands that were creating highly technical product. There were brands that were making really like fashion forward product that didn't necessarily perform in the elements. And so we needed to fuse those three things together to bring women really what we want and need. Do you think you nailed it out of the gate? Hell no. I think we were on to something. But yeah, no, I mean, we've definitely stumbled a lot over the years.

4:14We launched with a four-piece mountain bike collection in summer of 2016, and two of our pieces came back so highly flawed that we had to hire third-party seamstresses to un-sew and re-sew every garment in order to bring them to market. So to say there were a few stumbles in year one would be an understatement. Now, in 2025, you're teetering right around the$5 million revenue mark, which is amazing for any small business. And also a tiny fraction of the outdoor apparel market, which, you know, I've seen valued around$17 to$38 billion in 2024. That's globally. that given what's been your philosophy to growth and if growth isn't the north star for you what is i mean growth is super important but we were b corp certified brand so we're not a growth at all costs kind of brand we have been methodically investing in our community sustainable practices you know one of our core values is that we give a damn and so growth is definitely important.

5:25We do have outside investment and, you know, I owe them a huge bout of gratitude, but also I owe them their money back and then some at some point. So growth is definitely a big part of our North store and where we need to get to. But we haven't taken any venture capital, so we don't have as much pressure to grow at rates that feel unsustainable. And so we've been growing, you know, like you mentioned earlier, 30 to 50 percent, you know, in 2021, I think we grew about 300 percent. And that was hair on fire, crazy, overwhelming and stressful. You know, in the COVID hangover, we continued to grow when no other brands were really growing and or very few were growing.

6:12So we're just trying to be very realistic with what we can do with the resources that we have. We're a small team. We don't have a ton of outside capital. So putting one foot in front of the other. And I was actually just talking to my designer today. I was like, we're building our plane as we fly. So we're not doing it all right. But every year we need to be better. Our processes need to be more defined and more effective. And our revenue needs to grow. We need to be closer to profitability. There's baby steps. Why do you think you continue to grow when there was a down slope for other brands in the post-COVID universe?

6:53I think we had it a little bit easier as a smaller brand. But more than anything, I believe the core of our success is due to the strength of our brand. I mean, no question. We have such a loyal community of fans and followers and customers. You know, we stand up for the things we believe in. We're more than just product. And so people, when they're being more selective about where they shop, they're going to shop in accordance with their values, first and foremost. And at least that's how our community has shown up. I attribute it a lot to brand. Great product, too. I mean, our product is built to last.

7:30We have a resale platform on our site now that allows people to invest in new wild ride products and sell their old products right there on our site. And that's been a nice unlock for us to keep customers in our funnel and coming back for more. You know, it feels like especially in more recent years, there's been a considerable uptick in, especially for younger purchasers, like the interest in purpose-driven brands. Have you seen a shift in the landscape and the bottom line of your company? or is it because, you know, the world that you're in tends to cater to people who've always cared about this?

8:17A little bit of both. We definitely have become really good at turning lemons into lemonade and, you know, and that is on the micro level, on the macro level. We've taken really strong stances for reproductive health care for women and women's rights. We've taken strong stances and vocal stances in the fight for public lands to keep public lands in public hands. And those are genuine stances that we believe in, but they also have a financial upside because it amplifies who we are and what we believe in and introduces new people to the brand. It also strengthens our relationship with our core customer base.

9:04So yeah, Yeah, and I do think the outdoor consumer, average consumer does care potentially a little bit more than the average U.S. consumer. So we're in the right industry to be a brand that sticks its neck out the way we do. To just give you your accolades for a second, you're a certified B Corp. You're climate neutral. You're a member of 1 % for the Planet. You have donated sums of money to Planned Parenthood. I think sometimes the assumption can be that leading a purpose-driven brand can actually come at the detriment of profit. You seem to be suggesting the opposite, that there's a financial upside to it.

9:46Is there also a financial downside in moments? There's definitely financial downsides. I mean, we've had to invest in these certifications and organizations. Not had to, but we have continued to do so even though we're not a profitable brand. And so it hits our bottom line to some degree. But I believe that the financial upside is far greater than our contributions at this stage. So someday, I very much so hope to be a highly profitable brand where we can make an even bigger impact with these organizations. But for now, we're doing what we can. And I mean, that's the best you can ask of any human and brand out there.

10:27So yeah. And from a messaging perspective, how are you communicating that commitment to these ideals to your potential customers? In so many different ways. I would say that these stories and relationships are woven throughout everything we do. you know, a great example, actually, we sent out an email introducing the fabric in our new ski outerwear that is recycled nylon from fishing nets. And we actually have an athlete on our team who's a guide in Alaska and total badass skier. But in the summer, she's a commercial fisherwoman. And so being able to tell that upcycled fishing line story in a really relatable way, where it's Carrie actually uses these nets that we then are able to upcycle into a product.

11:21And it just made it feel closer to home. And we weren't yelling about our sustainability practices. We weren't tooting our horn about B Corp necessarily, but making these real life examples of how we think about things available to our consumer. The ski line is your most recent launch. And And alongside your commitment to these ideals, I know that you're a very quality and design-driven brand. You want to talk a little bit about what it took to bring that line to life? Yeah, I am so in love. I'm so proud of this line. I'd say I've been dreaming about it for 10 years. We have been, you know, scouting the market for almost as long, trying to find the right timing.

12:11We've been in development with this line for at least four years, trying to narrow in on the right fabrics and factories. And we pretty much were starting our ski brand from scratch because we needed a different manufacturing partner to bring this to life, different suppliers. So, yeah, it's been in progress for four plus years. And then because we are a highly technical brand, we needed to build in time for really active testing for our athletes, for our team members. so it's taken a whole lot but I'm so proud of of the line that we've brought to life because it's so high quality it's so innovative from a fabric standpoint it fits well it looks really cute and it's built for hard-charging women who do need to move in the mountains and need something that performs beyond you know opre and the the ski lifestyle if you will.

13:09It's built for people who actually really ski. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know how else to put that, but yeah. You early on, uh, had landed on a U S manufacturing partner and then pretty quickly had to pivot. Can you tell me what it was that happened? Yeah. So I referenced this a little earlier, but we launched as a USA made brand in 2016. And we found the lead up to actually getting our product back was highly challenging. They delivered product about four months late. They weren't very communicative. They took zero accountability for anything. We clearly didn't matter to this particular partner. And then we got our bulk production back and by back.

14:03I mean, we got it to my business partner's garage in Lake Tahoe. And we found that the product, at least two pieces of our four-piece collection were so flawed that we had to hire third-party seamstresses to unsew and re-sew the garments. And then, yeah. So, I mean, it was, the writing was on the wall pretty quickly. It also made our margins impossible to sell through wholesale. So, you know, we also found out pretty quickly that as an underfunded brand with not much money to spend on paid marketing or performance marketing, wholesale was a channel we needed to be in to allow women to touch, feel, and try on our clothes and a discovery avenue.

14:47We went back to the drawing board and tapped our network for other suggestions for manufacturers overseas. And so our second spring season, we were manufactured out of Asia. Do they remain partners of yours today? I believe we worked with one partner for about a year and then moved to a more sophisticated partner in 2018 or 2019. And we've been with them ever since. So it was pretty early on that we found what I hope to be a forever partner, but the trade policies right now are making things a little more challenging than I'd like. Certainly. I mean, I think when quality is of paramount importance to Wild Rye or to another small brand, the notion of being able to keep a close eye on quality control when your manufacturing partner is so far away is a big question that comes up.

15:40Have you found that to actually be a challenge and how have you navigated it? Honestly, I have not found it to be a challenge. We have landed with a highly skilled manufacturing partner in China. And I've found time and time again, as we've looked into, you know, new manufacturers elsewhere, that the Chinese quality is super, super high. We're working with highly sophisticated factories. They're skilled laborers. They have top-of-the-line machinery. They take their role in this process very, very seriously. They are a genuine extension of our team. So they call out anything that's gone awry. I mean, we had a color fastness issue on a piece of fabric, and our factory brought it to our attention before product delivered, or even they'd even cut and sewed.

16:30So they're then testing every single fabric before they even cut and sew the product to make sure that it lives up to their standards because they don't want to put their name behind anything that isn't going to work. And so I found so much more success with our Chinese partners than I think we could ever have here in the U.S. And I've also found that as a smaller brand that is still producing just over minimum order quantity requirements, China has been a really great solution for high quality, highly technical, and willing to produce at a small brand scale. How did those early lessons learned impact your search for the right production partner with the ski line?

17:17Early lessons learned are that we don't know what we don't know. So we actually worked with a third-party consultant who has worked for much larger ski brands for many, many, many years, like decades. And he knows many suppliers, many factory partners. And so, yeah, we worked hand in hand with them to help find, you know, the best possible fabric partner, the best possible factory partner. And I think admitting that we're not the experts in everything is like the easiest first step to be successful and find a partner that does know better than us. You know, it's a bit of a mixed bag because on the one hand, I think the making of mistakes earlier on can be, and frankly, probably throughout the entire trajectory of any small business, right, can have a lot of value, right?

18:13You learn from them. And also, so often we say, if I only knew then what I know now, I could have avoided that. Do you have any pieces of advice for aspiring or early-stage founders in terms of how to navigate this manufacturing piece early on? Because I think it is something that can be so mystifying to people.

18:39Manufacturing specifically. I mean treat it like a long-term relationship and if you don't get that in return it's going to be a pretty obvious answer that they're not the right partner um I knew that these partners were the right partner our current current primary factor is the right partner when they said they wanted to come visit us in Idaho and it was like a one and a half person team at the time I'm shipping everything out of a second story, tiny little office. And they came and sat across my desk with me and said, yeah, we want to help you grow. Like we have showed up in tiny Sun Valley, Idaho from China to tell you how much we believe in what you're doing.

19:22And we want to be partners with you long term. And, you know, we will work with you. We understand the challenges of small businesses and we vow to give you the best quality possible. So I think that's the most important thing is having a really good relationship. I mean, these people are genuinely part of our product team, our production team, our supply chain. I'm saying team making us sound way bigger than we are, but our people talk to these guys daily. I mean, they are in it with us. Yeah, I think that's a really important point that it isn't just the team that you build internally at the company, but that your other production partners and third-party collaborators and vendors are having an enormous impact on the long-term success of your business.

20:14And it's lovely to hear that you have that commitment coming back in the other direction as well. What does the internal Wild Rye team look like today? Okay, so we have about 10 full-time employees and I have a VP of people in ops who I hired. Gosh, she's been here almost four years now and she's like my right arm and sometimes also my left arm. She's good at all the things I'm not good at. She's, you know, far more empathetic than I am. She's really good with the details and logistics, whereas I'm moving fast and breaking things. and the ideas person. And then we have a marketing director who's actually sat in that group of ski industry women when I stated, manifested that someday I wanted to be full-time Wild Rye.

21:10And so she joined our team almost two years ago. And then we have a product department, so a senior developer. We have a contract designer who we've worked with since pre-launch, which is Wild. We actually found her on Craigslist in about 2015, which is wild. And she's still with us today. We have a, let's see, a national sales manager, an e-commerce manager. Is your team still entirely women? Our team is entirely women today, with the exception of some consultants and contractors. But yeah, our full-time team is all women. Is that by design? Honestly, yes and no. I mean, we had a business analyst that was a male for a long time.

21:58Our contract CFO is a male. But a lot of the roles from a product perspective, because we want to design for women first, it makes so much more sense to have women in those seats. Same with from a marketing perspective, because part of our initial thought of starting Wild Rye was shifting the narrative around how women or people are expected to play outside. So coming to the outdoors with a much more feminine voice. And so, you know, there are certainly roles where men could slot in and we're not, you know, unwilling to hire great men. But it's just shaken out that the best candidate for our needs has ended up being women most of the time.

22:42How do you think having an either all-female team or at least overwhelmingly majority female team impact the culture of the company? I love it. I mean, I think that we have each other's back. We have a sense of teamwork. Women just get done like in a way that is amazing. Just what women are able to accomplish while thinking about 5 ,000 things at once and juggling family and, you know, all that, you know, it certainly makes it harder. We're more emotional in some capacities. There are communication breakdowns that we need to like be sensitive in the way that we work through. But I believe as a by women for women brand, it's just the secret sauce that makes us very special.

23:27I want to talk a little bit about fundraising. You have foregone the maybe more traditional route of venture capital and instead have gone the route of angel investors. You recently did some equity crowdfunding. Has that always been intentional on your part or was it to some degree by necessity? It's a little bit of both for sure. You know, I started with a friends and family round and then started with a round that was more, you know, one degree of separation. And a lot of industry folks stepped up and wanted to be involved, which was really, really cool because it means that I have great expertise and people have been there before on my team.

24:10on my greater investor team. And I'd gotten words of caution about going the VC route, especially with a physical products company, and even more so with an apparel company. And because I believe so strongly in building something enduring that was very purpose forward, it became pretty clear that it wasn't going to be quite the right mix. We weren't going to be able to get the returns that a VC partner would expect at the speed at which they would expect them. And so I certainly talked to plenty of people in VC seats over the years through the learning process and ultimately never quite felt like the right fit for me.

24:53And I mean, our equity crowd raise was something that we talked about for a really long time because we have such a strong community and had explored, dipped our toes into the thought process of, is this right for us? And it kind of scared us a little bit. Does it signal that we're weak in any way, shape, or form when that's not what we're going for? But the tariff news of 2025 definitely forced the issue a little bit. We have, by design, been very transparent with our customer base since day one about everything behind the scenes. And this was an opportunity to be very transparent about the fact that, hey, we're a super strong brand.

25:36We're growing like crazy. This is a hurdle that we need your help getting over. And that combined with the fact that we are community forward and the opportunity to open up the ownership to our community was something really special and, you know, giving our customers a share in the upside that we hope to see someday. So how did it pan out? We've raised just shy of a million dollars since we launched our WeFunder,$600 ,000 directly through the platform and then additional funds on the side as a result of us making our raise fairly public in nature. And our representative at WeFunder has said that we're one of the more successful consumer products brands on the WeFunder platform.

26:28So I'd say it panned out really well. Amazing. I'm happy to hear that. What kind of companies do you think equity crowdfunding is right for? And what kind of companies do you think that might not be the preferred route? I'm definitely not an expert, but based on my experience, I found that we were super successful because we've already built a brand recognition, a strong community, you know, an email list to invite to join our WeFunder. So, you know, I'm sure there are brands where it makes sense to launch a WeFunder earlier on, you know, super high growth brands that want to open up a piece of their raise to the general public.

27:11But for us, I think it made a ton of sense for us to wait later in the phase of fundraising to open it up to our community because we had a community to open it up to. I mean, to the extent that you can qualify it, what do you think is at the crux of your customer loyalty? Why do they stay with you? Why do they come back time and again? Why do they love you so much? I don't think we would exist if we didn't have a combination of really strong product, really strong purpose, and a really strong brand that makes people feel happy and have fun and draws people in. So I'd say the combination of those three things are what has been our, you know, the other piece of our secret sauce.

28:02Don't tell anyone. Your secret's not safe with us. You also launched Women Lead Wednesday. Can you tell me a little bit about what is it and why'd you bring it to life? Yeah. So in 2018, my former business partner and I were talking about when to launch our holiday sales. And there's got to be something that encourages shoppers to shop women-led. Turns out there wasn't. And in my digging, I learned that American Express had completely manufactured Small Business Saturday coming out of the recession in like 2008, nine, to infuse economic success into smaller communities. And so my unhinged behavior was like, oh, well, if American Express could launch their own holiday, surely we can launch our own holiday.

28:56So in a matter of about a day, I built a website from scratch and sent an email to everyone I could think of and was like, hey, what women-led brands want to join us in this initiative. We're going to try to encourage the public to shop from women-led brands this holiday season because we get, you know, 2 % of venture funding, 30 % less in bank loans. So, you know, our consumers showing up during the holidays is infinitely more important for women-led brands. And so, yeah, it started as like a silly little like, you know, random Tuesday in October, about a month before the holiday, has turned into a day that we just celebrated our eighth annual Women Lead Wednesday.

29:45And we have more than 900 brands involved. And it's just turned into a really, really special day to celebrate women in leadership and encourage the public to shop Women Lead. Yeah, there's the obvious upshot of getting consumers to shop women-led, as you said. But I would imagine there is this other benefit, secondary benefit, of the ways in which it connects female founders with each other. Yeah. I mean, that's become the most impactful part of it for me personally is just seeing all these women-led brands show up and give shout outs to other brands in their industry that they believe in that are led by women.

30:30And it's just a day where you really do feel the effect of a rising tide lifts all boats and these women showing up to amplify each other, shine the spotlight on each other, even in borderline competitor situations where we just want more women-led brands to succeed because there's a million reasons why you need women to have money in their bank accounts to invest in their communities and give back and make the world a better place. Have those connections and relationships also helped you in moments make decisions about Wild Rye? Oh, yeah. One of my mentors, the founder of Title IX, a women's activewear retailer that's been around, is probably one of the first ones.