w/ Mary Bemis, Reprise Activewear
Reprise Activewear founder Mary Bemis takes us through her incredible journey from launching a Kickstarter campaign to building a sustainable activewear brand that has caught the attention of Self Magazine and The View. She opens up about the gritty realities of bootstrapping—dealing with shady manufacturers, losing thousands, and balancing a day job while building her brand. This episode is a deep dive into the world of sustainable fashion, offering inspiration and practical advice for entrepreneurs looking to make a difference. Listen in to hear how Mary turned her passion for a healthier lifestyle into a thriving business.
Kurt Elster
Ah my friends, welcome back to the unofficial Shopify podcast. Where's my sound effect? I'm your host, Kurt Elster. Jack Nasty. And today we are talking about a A sustainable lifestyle brand of activeware that is run by a real deal entrepreneur. This is a a bootstrap sustainable activeware brand that started on Kickstarter. was featured uh on the view and then won self magazine's uh award for best of active wear. Okay, this sounds legit, this is cool, but uh genuinely bootstrapped by Mary Bemis, who if you listen to we had a past uh bonus episode about uh Shopify features and one was Shopify Magic media editor. And that was uh Mary Bemas from Reprise ActiveWare. So joining us again to now tell us her story about how she got here, her journey, and uh the challenges along the way. Welcome to the show. Mary, how you doing?
Mary Bemis
I'm doing well. Thank you so much for having me back. It's great to get to have another conversation with you.
Kurt Elster
Yeah, after we like we recorded the bonus episode first, you know, and like I have to talk about the Shopify features, but you know, to me it's like I've already used these. I know this. You know, I spend eight to ten hours a day. in Shopify. And I'm like, no, we gotta record a second episode because I need to hear your story. Like that's the oh, I get excited about that. So tell me about reprise activeware. What is it?
Mary Bemis
Yeah, so um it is a line of plant-based activewear. And really what that means and sort of why I started the business was I learned that currently over 60% of clothing um in the market is made with plastic based materials that come from fossil fuels, but that number is actually probably closer to 95% of activeware. And really just I had a moment where I thought about sort of, you know, I'm eating better, I'm using clean beauty and personal care products yet. I'm wearing stuff that's still highly plastic and covered in chemicals, shouldn't I find something that's more natural and made with natural materials? And um to be honest, when I first started it um six years ago, I couldn't find anything on the market. So I figured you know, that's such a big need for something that's sort of cleaner, better for your skin, um, and really fits in with like the wellness practice. So we make everything from Tensel, which is a tree-based fabric. Um it's all non-toxic, breathable, and as plastic free as possible.
Kurt Elster
So there was a larger trend going on in your life where you're like I A I want to live a healthier life in general. And that manifests as like I should be working out. I should eat better. And then that starts to extend to purchasing decisions, right? or like you know um and and decisions just around um I think being more more conscious about our choices. So Was there like that's one thing, but is there a specific moment where you said, oh I'm going to go start an activewear brand. Like there's a big jump bef from I'm going to eat healthy to now I own an activeware brand.
Mary Bemis
Yeah, definitely. I'll say, you know, I always grew up in a very environmentally minded household. I grew up in Minnesota and my family was always really conscious of Um, I was actually like the kid that ran around and turned off of like the unused light bulbs and things like that. So it isn't a huge surprise. I sort of always had an environmental uh mind and I always also grew up very active. Um I had three brothers and so I did a lot of sports. I played hockey, I played on the boys' football team. I actually still compete in boxing and powerlifting, so I love to stay active and compete in sports. So those two parts of the, you know, adventuring into a business around those two things are sort of no surprise to me. But Um, I never thought I would actually start a company. I had a really interesting this moment that you're asking about. I actually was um I was in my mid twenties, so I was sort of young and having a pivot. I wor worked in finance previously and um I just got really burned out to be honest and I quit without any job lined up. It was sort of a moment where I was like, I've just I've had it, I'm tired, I'm done and like I just I can't do this anymore. And so that break, um, I only had about two months of rent saved up, so I had to kind of make a decision sort of quickly. And um that break really allowed me to look into, you know, if I'm gonna change industries. what do I want to do and what do I like and what am I passionate about? And I think I went from this huge, large investment bank that was very corporate and very structured and I just felt like I kind of want to do my own thing. Like I'm smart. I know what I want to do. I love, you know, I love learning. I love um I love being active. And I actually was had a moment where I was going through and cleaning out my closet and that's when I learned that all my clothing was made with plastic. I was trying to resell it on um this uh resale shopping app called Poshmark and I was writing all the details and I was like What is polyester? It's in everything, but like I don't even know what this fabric is. And when I googled it, that's really when those stats that I listed at the the top of the episode around, you know, 60% of clothing and 95% of activewear. That was like the light bulb moment of like, oh my God, I had no idea. Um, and really just sort of I watched documentaries, I went to night school, I just couldn't stop thinking about this fact and sort of felt like the more I learned the more there was an opportunity and so it wasn't a right away decision. It was more of like a let me learn more before I dive in Um, but the more I learned, the more I just became really passionate about the topic and sort of felt like there's a need here and um I'm now exploring this new sort of career path. And it just was a great timing of all those things together.
Kurt Elster
So let's go you mentioned you grew up in in Minnesota. You're more uh environmentally minded, you think, and so I get the the interest here where they're experiences or influences, peers that made you um that you think sparked your entrepreneurial spirit
Mary Bemis
Absolutely. Yeah, my dad. Um he uh when we were growing up he worked more in the corporate space, so less that an he ran a business, but it wasn't necessarily something that he was passionate about and started. And then um Probably he was ahead of me, so maybe 10 years ago, he started a nonprofit. Um, he's very involved in the like drug and alcohol rehabilitation space. And so he started an app for Teens, um early signs of substance use. It's an app to connect parents with teens, to have conversations, understand sort of why a teen might be choosing to um to drink or uh use s substances for the first time. And so it's something he's incredibly passionate about and he's helped a ton of people. through this app. And so I think I just saw him, you know, following his passion and putting so much work into um it. He was always working kind of nights and weekends. And it's funny because it was much later in his career, like in his late sixties, um, and he's just about to turn 70, but just seeing someone so dedicated to something that is a big part of his life, I think I was really inspired by that. And um though we're working in very different fields, I think it was definitely uh impactful for me to see that um and realize that that's an option for my path as well.
Kurt Elster
So yeah, I think it as a kid, the experiences that we gain or that parents can, you know, provide for kids You know, often it's not about whether or not they could, you know, whatever the experience is, whether or not they can master it. It's just exposing them to the idea that this is a possibility. Like this is a legitimate thing you could do. And so hopefully they internalize it. And later as adults, like you go, okay, this is a path that I could do. Um, so you don't just deny yourself unknowingly. And so, you know, p moving moving forward a little bit. What uh you said you had to quit your job to get this going, um, but what was your your background before starting Reprise ActiveWare?
Mary Bemis
Yeah, so I um I was a big math person in college, so I um I studied econ and I made uh minored in math Um, and I really sort of always wanted to go and do finance. I wanted to do the New York Wall Street thing. I think I had a bit of a glamorized view of it, but I also just loved the work. Like I loved working in Excel and with numbers and things like that.
Kurt Elster
And um I did it and Oh you're a rare breed.
Mary Bemis
I know. It's like embarrassing to admit that still sometimes but Um, I I mean I I I enjoyed it for the first couple of years, but like I said, I just got really burned out. It was very, very long hours and um that just wasn't I wasn't enjoying it the way I thought and I just felt like I just didn't I kind of saw what the career path looked like and how those hours and stress kind of they don't really go away. It's not like you put in a couple of years, um and it gets better. And so I think that was um That was just like I said earlier, just a moment where I was like, I don't want this anymore. And it honestly led to a bit of a a quarter life crisis at twenty-five, which is Let me just look back and was so much younger, but um I think really trying to understand what I wanted and I ended up taking um and I actually have been working at um a large ad agency on the analytics team. for uh the past, it'll actually be eight years in September, while I've built the business and it's allowed me to continue to bootstrap the brand. But I pivoted over to like the analytic side. I could kind of keep that um a numerical and analytical mindset, um, which pivot to an industry, a new industry, and they've been really they've been really great and supportive of me and the business. Um and ultimately ultimately I would love to do my brand full-time. Um, but until then, it's been really great to be able to um find time to do both. They've been really supportive, but it's allowed me to really build the business. um hire people, um do other things that wouldn't put such quite a financial burden um on me.
Kurt Elster
Yeah, when you're bootstrapping You know, you're you're building from scratch and you're not borrowing versus you buy a business and you borrow to do that or you you borrow to build the business and then you you can move quicker, but and you're also potentially digging yourself a hole very quickly. Some people are are more risk averse. I am risk averse. I bootstrapping is what I I prefer. But again, you know, I'm not saying there's a a wrong or right way. It's whatever works for you. And so in this case, I'm on board with your approach. Well, let's talk about the the conception of the brand. It's like you you saw the problem, you wanted something, something better for yourself, namely because a lot of clothes are nylon and polyester, um, which not not sustainable fabrics at all. The and so sweaty. Oh.
Mary Bemis
Polyester. Yeah, you get used to the breathable natural fabrics and you're like, wow, this actually is so much better to wear, especially it's almost a hundred degrees in New York and humid today. And so you're like, what can I wear? Um and not sweat. But I know now that I've gotten used to that feeling, um, putting on like a polyester pair of leggings just feels so construct constricting and um not breathable. So it's funny that you get used to the other way, but I'm glad you know that.
Kurt Elster
Tell me about the the story behind that initial conception of the brand. Like when does reprise activewear come to life in your head?
Mary Bemis
So I am trying to remember after I really started to learn about the fabrics and the issue, my actually biggest concern at the beginning was more of the microplastics issue, again for more of the environmental um side of things. Um when you wash uh clothing that's made with plastic based fibers, tiny microscopic bits of plastic are getting into the environment. It's got they've been found back in our water and back in our bodies as well. And so Microplastics. Microplastics, yeah. Um, so that was a big concern of mine. So I actually went to a um fabric trade show. I can't remember who forwarded it to me or how I found out about it, but it's free to attend. It's twice a year in New York City in January and July. And I had the n like a name of the brand and so I just I applied to attend. Um, I said I was attending under my brand even though nothing but the brand existed. And it's amazing when you walk in, it's just I mean, I don't know, I think it's amazing 'cause it's like new to me and I've never had to go like as part of a job I get to go for fun, but Um, it's just this huge uh jab at Center convention of fabrics and everywhere you look there's beautiful beaded fabrics, you know, like natural fibers, really high performance things and I just started talking to people. Um, which is funny 'cause I I tend to be more on the introverted side, but I think I was just so excited about this idea and exploring something new and getting a chance to learn and do it on my own and It's part of the sustainability sphere is sponsored by a company called Lensing. And they're the ones who own the trademark for the fabric that we use called Tencel. And they make a bunch of other really great, very sustainable um fabric solutions and they're based out of Austria and I got speaking with them and they were like, you know, Tensel is actually really great for active wear It is very absorbent. It's resistant to odor and bacteria. It's antimicrobial. It's really, really, it always kind of feels cool to the touch, which I love when you touch one of our t-shirts. It sort of has that. cooling feel naturally. And the more I learned about it, the more I was like, this is exactly the fabric I want to use. It's plant-based, it's clean, it's non-toxic, it's high performance. Why hasn't someone been using this before? I really couldn't understand that. Um, and so that's really what got me um, you know, I found the fabric and then I started to go to Our advertising office, my day job, was actually across the street from the Fashion Institute of Technology. And they had night classes and they had one that was uh sustainable design entrepreneur like a non-credit certificate program. And so I was going to night class from 6 to 9 PM four nights a week because I just again just was so excited to learn. And I learned all about um More fabrics. I learned a lot about local production. We were in the Garmin District. So it's really great to learn from people who are producing locally in New York. sustainable marketing and sort of how to market a sustainable product, uh legal basics 101, things like that, really everything I needed. And I think the more I learned, the more I just got really excited to build this and was sort of like, you know what? It's now or never I really am ready to launch a brand. I have the ideas. You know, I work out a lot. I know the space. Um I met all these people who can kind of connect me with the people I need to know to do it. Um and I'm ready to take it on.
Kurt Elster
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Mary Bemis
Yeah. It was just one of those when you think you're on the right path, just things kind of fall into your lap like that. And it was just sort of one after the other. I was meeting people that they were like, I can connect you to a factory or Like this moment of meeting um the t uh lensing tensile representatives, it just was very cool and I was very sort of motivated by those things all kind of falling into place.
Kurt Elster
Now that you've got that lined up, we still don't have a product and we still have to launch the brand. What are those initial steps to launch reprise?
Mary Bemis
Yeah. So I had met another person who was able to connect me with um a pattern maker uh garment factory in um in Manhattan in the Garmin District. So it was really lucky because again it was very close to my office. So I would sort of sneak out during my lunch break and go meet with them and I wanted to start with just a very basic sports bra and legging. I felt like, you know, keep it simple. But I did not know how to sketch and I still don't. My artwork is terrible. Um and I didn't have a design background. So I actually just brought some of the pieces from other brands that I loved. And, you know, basic black legging, there's only so many ways you can design that. I knew what the waistband height was and I knew the length that it wanted to be. And we went from there in the sports bra. I tried to keep it really simple and again brought a couple designs with me and told them, you know, I like the length of this one, I like the width of this one. Um and they they sort of went with it. Um we had to do a couple of rounds of revisions because obviously that way of designing is is very like. a little bit of a game of telephone, but we ended up with um I ended up doing five different designs for the Kickstarter. Um And we launched with that. And then we launched with the crowdfunding campaign. And that allowed us to f afford the first round of production. We worked with a different production facility, but it's in the Bronx in Manhattan. So I was able to or sorry, in the Bronx. Um, so I was able to take the train up there and see see them. Um and I still work with them to this day. Um, and that was sort of how I learned just Asking for help, uh, making connections with people, and I think working with people local, getting a chance to establish relationships, show them what you're doing, they get to meet you and hear the story. It's really helped me um feel like I have a really strong supply chain. It's changed a lot now. Um we still work with some of the same partners, we have new partners as well, but um It was something that I think was really important to me to like learn and see the process and be able to be there. Um, there was a lot I didn't know, and so it was really helpful to be able to learn um sort of while in person.
Kurt Elster
So the wait, so your manufacturer is in New York with you?
Mary Bemis
Yeah, so we have one in the Bronx. Um, and then we actually just pivoted um to have our new manufacturing facility in Portugal. Um, I really wanted to work with a uh European-based facility. It's women-owned, which is exciting, but they have very high. uh standards for different sustainability uh metrics like chemical usage, water usage, and then labor standards. This one is just they fit a lot of our sort of brand ethos. But I also still work with the factory and the Bronx as well. Not that they don't also have those things. It's just a very um big component of the other factory. And Um, it's nice to have someone local for some smaller designs that we do and test things. And um, he's been a great partner for the the last six years as well.
Kurt Elster
That's really cool. So the I found your Kickstarter. Oh yeah. Not exactly tough. Um but the Yeah, I think we're the only reprise on there.
Mary Bemis
Yeah.
Kurt Elster
I just Typed Kickstarter reprise as first thing. But okay. You most Kickstarters, it's like one item with variations or a couple items. You had uh a tank top, a t-shirt, a sports bra, and then it looks like uh shorts and leggings. Yeah. Yeah. So five you have five products and then those have to have sizes. Uh I don't know if they had it looks like they might have been different colors or they were all black.
Mary Bemis
Uh the bottoms were all black, the tops were all white, or like some of the yeah, it was just one option for color, sizes. Um Yeah, you're hitting on the point.
Kurt Elster
There's a lot of skews here.
Mary Bemis
Yeah. But I think I learned a bit in hindsight and someone who was um advising me really gave me the advice like I really would really just start with two styles and keep it simple, but I felt just naively compelled to do at least a full set of things. And um we actually what's sort of funny is we end up scaling back to just two of the products after the Kickstarter. Um, not that I didn't think all the products were great, but it was just a lot to manage and get feedback on that first round and um look at all the SKUs and afford rounds of production for all these things. And so I realized what are the two things that we're getting the best feedback on? And it really was just the sports bra and the leggings and let's just keep growing from there with just those two. It's a lot easier to manage as a set that goes together. Um and we've expanded since over the past two years, but um it's funny you you noticed that because that was something I was advised to do. I wanted I was a little headstrong and I went forward anyways. And kind of learned the lesson after the fact.
Kurt Elster
You survived. Uh so once you that Kickstarter was funded, what next? Right? You gotta fulfill those orders, but then you also gotta keep it going.
Mary Bemis
Yeah, that was a really interesting um pivot. The Kickstarter was amazing and I recommend anyone who's interested with product. It's such a great way to build an audience and tell the story. I had people backing me from When I was I was reaching out to like anyone and everyone I could have ever met in my life. I was pretty um set on having this happen. And so um But it was really it was a lot of work. I was exhausted after those uh 30 days. So it's nice to have a little bit of time while the product was being made. Um we did have a bit extra, and so we did, I did continue to make, I made extra product. um which was really nice. We had a little bit of extra fabric and extra product so I could continue to sell with that. So I would take those to just anywhere and anywhere that would let me sell within the city. Um, I would go to work on events or yoga studios and just I had like a traveling suitcase that I brought with me every weekend to just like places in within uh New York that I could find that would let me just come and sell. And um it was a lot of work, but that's sort of how we built the initial couple of years was just showing up to lots of different kinds of events, mostly trying to find free ones that would let us do that. Um And working with bit and like partnerships and things, but it was a lot of showing up and telling people sort of what is the difference, what is plant-based even mean. Um, why are our products great? People want to get a chance to try them on. Um so that was really how we sort of continued to sell beyond friends and family um post-Kickstarter.
Kurt Elster
I love that you did in-person events. That's been a recurring thing we've heard on the shows early on, you know, advertising budget is expensive. It's fit in for a bootstrap brand, often prohibitively so. Uh, but in-person events are high impact, uh, but you have to put in the time and show up. But they're low cost outside of the time investment. But more importantly, you get to talk to the customer face to face. Yeah. And it just, especially early on, getting that real-time feedback and reactions. You, I think ultimately you end up honing your pitch, your messaging, your positioning, how you describe the product. Because you know what questions people are asking, you know what the pushback is. Oh, yeah. Did you have that experience?
Mary Bemis
Yeah, that was actually one of the biggest takeaways, other than just getting a chance like some of our early customers who still buy from us now. um were people that I met at those events, I think again, they just really connect and you find the right people, they they understand the mission behind the brand. But one thing that was really interesting, I think I mentioned that at the beginning. I was very focused on the microplastic issue. For me, the biggest risk was more of the environmental side of non-sustainable fashion. So, you know, the oil usage and the shedding of microplastics into the environment, the high chemicals, and what's been super interesting is over the past year actually especially has changed even more. But when I was testing that messaging, people were not giving me the response that I I was hoping. A couple of people, like people who shared a very um a strong uh passion for the environment, but just not everyone there was and no one wanted to feel guilted into buying something, you know, or that their other products were uh you know s brands that they already owned were having um contributing to an issue so I really had to test that a lot and see what people resonated with. I found that instead of microplastic free, plant-based was really more interesting, people were like What does that mean? What is my current clothing made out of? Is that better? Is it cleaner? So we were using that for a while and then um last year the Center for Environmental Health came out with a study where it had tested Many major Activoir brands, all sort of big names that you'd be familiar with. And they found over 40 times the safe limit of BPA in these Activoar brands because they're working with a plastic-based fabric. Um, and that caused a huge shift in customer sentiment of really looking for non-toxic activeware. And so That's really sort of the messaging we lead with now, which is interesting because nothing has changed about the product. Our product has always used TENCL, which is non-toxic and it carries a certain certification that allow us to say that. But it was really interesting to finally see that shift and what it became about sort of what are we putting on our bodies and what is the risk there and the health implications of wearing stuff that's um high chemical load. Uh it was a total it's it's honestly helped the brand. We um doubled last year, more than doubled last year and on track to to do it again this year. And um we don't spend any money on paid advertising. It's all just from sort of great media moments, um, really great product and word of mouth. Um and trying to really just meet people sort of what they're looking the type of product they're looking for now. And it's been exciting to see through all these years finally that shift is is happening.
Kurt Elster
Yeah, it's been Um, I feel like this year is the first year where we see mainstream awareness and people questioning forever chemicals like BPA uh and the the prevalence of microplastics in at this point everything just straight up everything. So well, I mean it it depresses me. So w how you mentioned you know you've got the the media coverage. How How do you end up on the view? That's a pretty that's a good media placement.
Mary Bemis
Yeah, so it's actually it was this um daytime show called uh CBS has a show called The Talk Um, but it actually was it's been cool. A couple of the um media that we've gotten that I've been most proud of was actually just um people that I've reached out to on like LinkedIn or I would follow writers in the space um and I would follow them on all social media looking for like any kind of connection and Actually one of my favorite stories that I just think is interesting to share. Um I would I had Google Alerts, so anything for sustainable fashion that would come up. um would be sent to my inbox once a uh to stay blocked more specifically would come uh once a week to my inbox and I would look at sort of who's writing in the space and I would make sure I would follow them on you know, every channel and like I said, look for any kind of connection. And one um uh editor who works for Well and Good had recently published a roundup of best leggings. And I really Well and Good would be like a perfect uh uh publication for us and so I was really excited and I looked on her page and the first thing that I saw was a picture of this girl, her and this girl that I went to college with and I was like, no way. So I didn't know the the girl very well, but I reached out to her on um social media and I was like, do you know this girl, Allie? Like I know this is kind of weird, but It looks like she writes for Well and Good. I have a sustainable leggings brand. I would love to meet her. I would love for her to write about us. Um and that's how we got sort of our first big feature in Well and Good. And that was just a funny totally random moment, but I think it just took a lot of being really resourceful and scrappy and looking for kind of a connection anywhere. Um and the But that's such a good
Kurt Elster
Like did you read a book with this advice? You figure this out? Because what you're what you're describing is a genuine PR strategy.
Mary Bemis
Yeah. I think I've probably read articles I Like I said at the beginning, I was so excited to just learn. I probably read the strategy somewhere or started to kind of pick up on like, yeah, how do you even connect and do it yourself? Um and then the talk, the TV show, was actually just a random Instagram message. I actually thought it was spam. I got a message from one of the producers, was like, you know, hey, I'm one of the producers on the talk. We're doing a big Earth Day special. Um and I saw it in the request folder, which usually you gets kind of missed because you don't follow someone and He actually I think originally had commented on a post and was like, Hey, it's, you know, so and so from the talk. And I was like, this looks like spam and then he wrote the.
Kurt Elster
Oh yeah, whatever.
Mary Bemis
Yeah, it was like really cool. It's like, you know, someone from, you know, Shark Tank reaching out or something. And um I uh Ye So I messaged him back, what's there to lose, you know, see if he responds back and he did and he actually ended up being totally legitimate. Um And so that was amazing. I actually still to this day don't know how, unless they just did searching on social media, uh, how they found us, but it was so cool to see the brand on Daytime TV. um for Earth Day and that led to a huge um I think we like our average monthly uh sales volume like tripled that month. Um so it was a really cool moment but just kind of I want to say pure luck, but I know there's a lot of work that goes into being discoverable and things like that. Um but yeah, we've tried to really keep uh we do now have someone that helps with PR, um, but for the first until what this year was a very, very bootstrapped, resourceful, kind of scrappy uh effort along the lines of the story I told at the beginning. And I think it's possible it just takes A lot of work.
Kurt Elster
Was that a pivotal moment in you know the early days of getting this brand growing? Or was there if you would you what would you pick as like the a pivotal inflection point where you went, yeah, this is gonna work?
Mary Bemis
Oh man, there have been so many. Um I think I think the biggest one honestly was the the Center for Environmental Health finding that study. It was the first time that we weren't having to go out a lot of the brand it the work that we do is educating people. I'll say plant-based clothing and so many people are like, what? You can make clothing from plants? And I'm like, well cotton has existed for like thousands of years. So yes. But and I, you know, I don't not to be facetious, but it's just funny, like we're so disconnected from it. And so there's always been a very long sort of educational process of finding new customers. Like teaching them about the issues of p um plastic and polyester and nylon based clothing, the chemicals and the things. And we always try to do it again, like I said, in an uplifting way. I never want to like scare tactic people or overwhelm them. And so really trying to find ways to like educate on that. But when that study came out, there were so many people sharing that news and kind of talking about it and sharing brands and they were looking for brands that they could share. And so that's actually how we got featured in Fast Company. I saw the article and I just again just reached out to the editor. um cold email and I said like hey this article is totally taking off. It's all over social media. Everyone's freaking out. I know a list of six brands including ours that are natural fiber based and clean and non-toxic Would you be willing to do a follow-up article with with you know these brands listed? So I actually did sort of a solid for all of our like, I don't like to be like competitor, but like peer set of natural fiber activeware brands. Um, and we they they uh posted a roundup. And so since then we've been featured in a ton of, you know, other uh people and like leaders and uh influencers in the space talking about clean brands and Um so yeah, I would say that that moment was really such a shift in people like listening because it wasn't just coming from the brands, now it's coming from regulatory bodies, it's coming from influencers, news, press, everyone's talking about it and looking for it. And that's when I'm like, this is the moment I've been waiting for after six years of trying really hard to kinda like manually make it happen and um like I said, the brand has totally taken off since then and um all naturally um So and is that do you think that's like the defining moment?
Kurt Elster
of of your business success. You're like, this is it, this is the inflection point.
Mary Bemis
Yeah, so far, I mean I hope there's more. We continue to grow and I'd love to see another inflection point of a ton of growth continued. But so far that's been the biggest one that's really made me feel like You know, there were a lot of times before it's tough, six years, and for the first four or five, it was a very, very small bootstrapped effort, and there was no way it was gonna become my full time. And I think Um I loved it and so I stuck with it. But there were a lot of times where I'm like, is this worth doing it anymore? It's not really working. And I think ever since that moment, the momentum has picked up a lot and it's given me a lot more um sort of just like reinvigorated my hope that this is the next category and people really do are looking for um cleaner and non-toxic products the same way clean beauty became huge over the last few years. I believe that clean fashion is next and so yeah that one definitely helped me realize like the timing is now people are looking for it we put in all this work we have great product we have our partners we're ready for it um so it was an exciting one
Kurt Elster
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Mary Bemis
They do. I still so it's such a small brand still and it really it's mostly just Um the team is just me. I have two amazing marketing coordinators who do our social media and email. They're both students studying fashion and design. So they've been incredible and they've taught me a lot and then a fractional CFO who helps me keep the book straight, which is always one of the hardest parts. But so those wins are still so huge to us because it's like it's such a small team and we it means like we all made that happen. Um, I actually still actually until this week, so it's kind of an exciting week for me, um, handled all of the fulfillment. Um we just opened up with a fulfillment center um for the very first time. So I'm like couldn't be more excited, but I would literally Every order was I would go to a storage unit because my very small studio apartment in New York couldn't hold the product. And I would pack up and ship and walk to the post office every single order. And so I think things like that, they do mean a lot, but it was always like this double-edged sort of like with success and growth comes more work for a small team. And um so not to say I wasn't always excited, but it was always a little bit of a like you know, okay, we gotta get ready for this. Like this is exciting, but it's gonna put a lot of um just a lot of work on it. But I still loved it's I loved seeing orders come in, I still do getting to pack them up and have that connection and I'm just excited to expand with this new partner and be able to, I think, hopefully reach more people. with some of that time back of being able to scale with a a fillment partner. So it's been an exciting week to kind of get all that set up and see see some of that time back so we can continue to to grow the brand and reach more people.
Kurt Elster
And the obviously uh reprise act of wear is on Shopify. When did that happen? What was that decision like?
Mary Bemis
That was an easy one. I did that right after the Kickstarter. I knew I think we had um there's a company called Backer Kit that allowed us to continue to collect orders um while we were getting the products made. It was just sort of an easy transition while I built the Shopify site. Um I did everything for Shopify and had a pre-built template and just kind of put our colors and sort of started from there. Um but it really there weren't I think it was Square or Shopify were really the two I was considering and everyone had just said for e-commerce capabilities Shopify is sort of a no-brainer. Um so that decision was easy and they made it so easy to get set up. There's tons of help articles and communities you can turn to. And I've continue to think that it's sort of the best best option out there.
Kurt Elster
I w I would agree, but I'm I'm slightly biased. Uh so what are we heard about your challenges, we've heard about your successes. I want to hear about how you messed up. Give me what give me a a story about a a a total fail, a setback, and a and you're still here how you overcame it.
Mary Bemis
Oh man. There's so many that come to mind with terms of like I but I think the biggest one was I had decided I wanted to work with a new manufacturing partner. There was a another local one in New Jersey. that was women owned and I had connected with one of the investors in it and I love this idea of supporting women-owned factories. We didn't really have an issue with our current one, but I just I wanted to partner with this new person. I had really, you know, enjoyed our meeting them. And so I was working with them for about a year. And then it turns out they were sort of a um a tech company with manufacturing on the side. They were more like supply chain logistics and um a plug-in tech component so you could really understand and track sort of where your product was in the life cycle. And they decided to pivot. They said they're not making money from the manufacturing the cut and sew side, who actually is uh and that they didn't want to do that business anymore. So Instead, they referred me to their in-house pattern maker. He and his wife were going to open up the factory and continue to work with all the clients that were sort of now being um left behind when they made this pivot. So I said, okay, I'll go ahead and work with him too. I I now know him through, you know, the year that we've worked together and um I'll move with him. That's fine. I had an order coming in. So and again I'm I'm still working full time. I'm kind of sometimes it's like whatever the easiest path forward is, it just let's just go ahead. And I ended up working with him and he said, okay, like we have your fabric, we'll get started on it, and we'll be in touch in four weeks. Uh, four to six weeks. six weeks come and I'm checking in on the orders and we always do pre-orders because um as a small brand it really helps with aging demand and cash flow and things like that. And um, you know, I'm I'm checking in with him and he's like, I'm supposed to avoid my calls. And I'm like starting to get nervous and I'm calling a bunch and calling a bunch. He's like, one more week. We're almost there, but one more week. I'm like, okay. And so one more week goes and then he is shipping me two of the finished goods, just two, two pairs of leggings. Oh. And they arrived to me and they the quality was Not good. It was so bad. And the samples I had seen were fine. So this was like, I started to get really worried. And he's like, we'll come deliver to you. five more of them tomorrow. I'm like, five more? What are you doing all day? Like this is this is really concerning. And so he did and I just I couldn't I couldn't sell them. I was like, this isn't gonna work. And so He I was like, what uh what stage is everything else in? Like what's happening? I'm super confused. This is the first, it's like now we're two weeks late. This is the first that I've heard that nothing was even done. So he kind of avoided me and I decided, I'm gonna go there. Like I need to go see what's going on. And so I took The path to the bus to an Uber because I just couldn't afford like an Uber all away from the city. It was like $300 something. It was like kind of in a random part of New Jersey. And I showed up to the factory unannounced and this was like very, very factory centric part of town. It was like warehouses and things. I think I showed up and they were all like, Who is this? And what is she doing here? Um, and I went to go see the things and everything I am so thankful, but everything was just cut. It wasn't sewn. Um so I actually ended up just taking everything with me. I said, that's it, I'm done. Like I don't want you to touch it actually because the sewing was so bad. I'm taking all of the cut pieces with me. I'll like it's like all the puzzle pieces of like individual leggings. Um I put them in the back of an Uber and I took them home with me and um I uh took them to my other factory in the Bronx and he was a huge savior and was able to sell everything and and finish the order, but I actually ended up losing all the money that I had paid um that factory he or like they require, you know, 50% up front and I had paid that and I never got it back. And um, you know, it's like six or seven thousand dollars, which for a small bootstrap b brand was like everything I had in the bank. And that was really stressful. And I ended up trying to get it back. And I put him on a payment plan and eventually had to get a lawyer involved, but he was so behind because nothing had been done that um you know, he couldn't pay. And I literally was this is always a funny story. My friends love that I was you know, he had all this factory equipment. They decided they had to close down the factory. They obviously that that didn't work and He was like, you know, I don't have any money to pay you back, but if we can sell the factory equipment that you know, that that's some money back. And so I was he had him send me photos and I was listing them on Craigslist to try to at least like help him sell the thing so I could get some money back and it didn't work and I had to eventually just have it as a loss and it took a while to rebuild because I just didn't have the cash flow um that I I thought I would and it took a lot longer to make the product so That was a a really tough moment. I I think I we for the next six months just we put things on sale to try to make money. I had to put some personal money in. But realizing like it's really hard to work with new suppliers and you can't just kind of you need to do your vetting and make sure you're working with it and you know, I'd already had a great person going and I loved what this woman is building, but it was a a lesson in like really valuing your supply chain and doing your due diligence and making sure you're working with the right people and losing that money was it really, really affected us for a couple of months and I had to s you know cut back so I could put more into the business um personally and so yeah that was a that was an interesting lesson. Just kind of a crazy story, but um I think just yeah, making the wrong partner.
Kurt Elster
You were able to pull out of it and save it, which is great. And again, it was just by like by literally showing up and and trying to work it out. But this whole time, you're also working a full-time job during this. How do you balance reprise, especially when you're dealing with stuff like this, while working a full-time job?
Mary Bemis
That was really hard. You know, I I will say that um they have been incredibly supportive. I not that I'm not, you know, I'm st I'm there working nine to five every day. I've found that I do a lot of great work in the morning. So usually I'll wake up you know, two hours before I need to be in the office and I'm sending out emails and trying to get organized and figure out what I need to do during the day. Um and then it's a lot of like nights and weekends and I think I'm just really passionate about it. And It's gotten harder. I'm now in my mid-thirties and I'm like, you know, this is a lot of work. I don't know if I can do two full-time jobs forever. But um I that was hard. I think there were days where I just Would say I'm leaving early that I think that specific day I took a sick day for half the day and I had gone from work when I realized this is what was happening and would um, you know, just having to balance the time. But now having team members to be able to help out with some of that work, it's allowed me to stay working in my job so I can afford to hire other people. Um, and that's another reason sort of why I've continued to stay until I really feel like, you know, we have people doing things that I like my my strengths are not social media and not um like financial planning and budgeting. And so that's where I chose to sort of hire those people that the business could afford before trying to go all in and cover expenses living in New York are are high and really trying to figure out sort of what that can look like for me to to do it full time, which I think is very soon. But um Yeah, it's been a it's been a balance, but I think finding you can't do it all. We're a small brand, just learning, you know, you're doing as much as you can and we trying to really prioritize the most meaningful projects and partnerships just given that constraint on time and space until uh we grow and can do it full time or have more people working with us.
Kurt Elster
And your entire journey, this entire discussion has been such great advice for entrepreneurs who are looking to start something and you know very likely bootstrap it because I think that's gonna be the majority of folks. And so For for you, hindsight being 2020, what advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs who are at the start of their journey?
Mary Bemis
Oh, I always say to do it. I think it's been one of the most fruitful experiences the past six years. You grow so much as a person, how much you learn, like all these situations I described today. I never I jumped in so naively, I never thought that those would be experiences that I would have. But you figure out sort of how to navigate, how to problem solve, how to learn new technology, how to communicate with new people, your network is greatly expands with all these new um, you know, you need email marketing, you need advisors, you need production and you just l you meet a ton of cool people. And I think not every brand needs to be in the millions of dollars if you just want to learn and do it and have you know, a couple hundred thousand in revenue or whatever it is just as a passion project, that still can be a success. I think a lot of people get um hold back because they're like, you know, I need to go raise venture money, but I couldn't do it and I need to do and sort of what you had mentioned, like I I'm not of that mindset as well. And I think there's so much you can do kind of bootstrapping in and learning on your own and being smart and being resourceful and um even if you only do it for two or three years and you decide not to do it anymore after, those two or three years you're gonna learn and grow a ton and that alone is I think always worth it. So I always recommend to do it if you have uh it in your mind too.
Kurt Elster
You know, I've asked variations on that question dozens of times and that was one of my That's one of my favorite answers. Because your advice was like whether or not you're going to succeed doesn't matter. If you want to do it, do it because you will not regret the sheer number of skills you gain in the process.
Mary Bemis
Yeah, absolutely.
Kurt Elster
That's cool. All right, so what what's next for Reprise Activeware? Where where do we go from here?
Mary Bemis
Yeah, well we actually just had a really exciting product launch. Yesterday there was a new sports bra style that we launched with and um we're working on a really exciting um new line for uh September it will be one of the very first lines of fully biodegradable um performance activeware and so um that means that you could essentially go and compost it and it will um biodegrade within five years where normally um polyester takes in the hundreds of years to biodegrade. So it won't biodegrade on your skin. Um it has to be in the right conditions. But I'm really excited about sort of having a more high performance but same non-toxic sustainable line. Um so always working on uh innovating the material innovation space is my favorite. Um and if you are interested you can follow it on our uh we're heavy on uh Instagram at reprise activeware.
Kurt Elster
I mean just Google it. Reprise ActiveWare, but I'll include the links uh in the show notes. And uh Mary, where can where can people go to learn more about you?
Mary Bemis
Yeah. Um I also post a lot on um Instagram. I try to share a lot of behind the scenes of building the brand. And so um I'm at Mary B612. I was have my Minnesota roots still in my Uh can't I can't ever escape it.
Kurt Elster
I will include that one in the show notes as well. Uh thank you so much, Mary Beamus, uh founder of Reprise ActiveWare. And Man, you you did it. You you bootstrapped a successful, sustainable apparel brand. How many people can say that?
Mary Bemis
Oh man, I know. It takes it's really a different journey than I thought, but I appreciate that. That makes me excited and I feel like we're just getting started. There's a lot more I want to do with it. So it feels really great to be where we're at, but I also see such a bigger future for us. So we'll have to stay tuned. Hopefully more to come.
Kurt Elster
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