Ep #9: Alex Faherty
Faherty
If you’ve been paying attention to the apparel industry in the last few years, you’ve likely see Faherty at every turn, and that’s no accident. Alex and Mike Faherty are twin brothers who have the incredible journey of taking a lifelong dream and turning it into reality in their namesake brand. Mike spent his career at Ralph Lauren while Alex went the business/finance route. 6 years ago, they came back together to launch Faherty to tap into their evolving perspective on casual surf lifestyle and the lack of brands catering to that customer. Today, they have four of their own stores, a strong online presence and are in 250 of the country’s top retail locations. There were some pretty incredible stories Alex shared, including launching their website while on a surf trip in Puerto Rico to being one of the first DTC brands to launch a catalogue several years ago and the risk/reward that involved. There’s a lot to unpack here but if I could call out one thing to pay attention to throughout this discussion, it’s the incredible sense of authenticity throughout every single part of Faherty’s story as a brand and what Mike, Alex, and Alex’s wife Kerry bring to the table every day. Why has Faherty become so popular in such a tough industry with so many competing brands? Their authenticity and extraordinary product. Alex and Kerry run their social media on Instagram @FahertyBrand so shoot them a note, give them a follow, and go check out their awesome product the first chance you get.
Show Notes:
- 4:20 - Faherty’s origins were in a college essay
- 5:20 - The market opportunity for Faherty
- 9:55 - “I’m done!” – quitting jobs to start the company
- 11:45 - The first three weeks after quitting – happiness meets how hard it becomes
- 14:25 - Launching Faherty while surfing in Puerto Rico
- 22:50 - The importance of people loving coming to work
- 27:30 - Renting their apartment out on AirBnB to make money in the early days
- 30:15 - Learning more from Friday Night Lights than working in finance
- 32:30 - Exercise and Dad life
- 36:00 - The sacrifice of not spending time with friends
- 38:25 - The first DTC/DNVB catalogue
- 45:00 - Ask for help
- 55:20 - Keep perspective in mind
- 58:22 - Let My People Go Surfing