Investors Didn't Take Her Seriously. Then She Built Outdoor Voices, Activewear's Next Big Thing. Tyler Haney has a motto: "Doing Things." And it's how this runner kept going, despite the setbacks.
This story appears in the October 2017 issue of Start Up.
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In 2015, Tyler Haney showed up at the Crosby Street Hotel for one of the biggest pitches of her life. She was meeting David Fialkow, of General Catalyst, to add him to a Series A funding round for her startup clothing brand, Outdoor Voices. And she was bringing two unexpected things to the table: a photo of Girls star Lena Dunham jogging in head-to-toe Outdoor Voices wear, and a shiner.
The night before, Haney, a former track star, was jogging her usual route down Manhattan's West Side Highway, her favorite place to clear her mind, and a spiritual path of sorts for her company: It was on this same road, four years earlier, when Haney first hatched the idea for Outdoor Voices. This time, however, she tripped over a dog.
"So I have this shot of Lena and I'm like, "Here's a win,' and" -- pointing to her eye -- ""Here's a loss,'" Haney recalls with a laugh. "It was perfect."
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