How Vuori’s Joe Kudla went from accountant to fashion industry success

Founder Profile and Background

• Joe Kudla is the founder and CEO of the activewear brand Viore.
• His educational background includes an accounting degree from the University of San Diego and a tenure at Ernst & Young.
• He spent two years working as a model in Europe following an internship offer, a period that sparked his interest in creative endeavors and product building.
• Prior to Viore, Kudla launched two apparel ventures: "Sammy Jo" (a women's contemporary brand) and a men's line; both failed due to lack of scale and the 2008 financial crisis.

Viore Launch, Valuation, and Financial Milestones

• Viore launched in 2015 with the tagline "Built to move, styled for life," targeting a West Coast aesthetic in the men's performance apparel market.
• In 2021, the company received $400 million in investment capital from SoftBank Vision Fund.
• This SoftBank deal valued Viore at $4 billion, marking one of the largest private investments ever in an apparel company.
• The company initially raised $400,000 from Michael Magerman (founder of Odyssey Golf) and a Series A that valued the business at approximately $6 million.
• Viore maintained profitability for most of its early history, only raising $2.5 million in its first two years and avoiding further external capital for working capital needs until a $45 million secondary offering in 2019.
• The 2019 and 2021 rounds were 100% secondary offerings, meaning existing shareholders sold equity rather than the company raising new capital.
• As of the interview, Viore employed 1,500 people and operated approximately 35 physical stores.
• The company plans to expand its retail footprint to nearly 50 stores by the end of the year, with an additional 20 openings planned for the following year.
• Viore launched a women's line in 2018, which now comprises 50% of total business revenue.
• The company has recently opened its first international locations in China and Korea.

Strategic Pivots and Business Model Evolution

• The initial distribution strategy relied on wholesale channels (gyms, yoga studios, and Pilates centers), which proved ineffective due to poor sell-through and an inability to convey the brand's ethos.
• Viore pivoted to a 100% direct-to-consumer (DTC) model to regain control over marketing, storytelling, and customer relationships.
• The original branding focused heavily on yoga; however, the company shifted its messaging to reflect "versatility" and "agile lifestyle" as customer usage patterns broadened beyond the yoga studio.
• Kudla identified a market gap where 30% of the 80 million yoga practitioners in the US were men, a demographic underserved by aspirational premium activewear brands at the time.
• A key community-building strategy involved converting a third of a consignment furniture shop into a retail/gallery space, which established the brand as a local community hub before official expansion.
• The company is prioritizing a low-impact supply chain and the adoption of low-impact fibers for future production.

Leadership, Team, and Culture

• Early leadership included Rebecca Bray (Head of Design), who previously worked at Rip Curl and Reebok, and Nikki Sicilio (Head of Marketing/CMO), who joined despite Kudla's lack of prior apparel success.
• The founding team aligned on a "North Star" vision that emphasized building the highest-quality product and avoiding the "turbo-like" technical aesthetic of competitors.
• Kudla cites a "lack of naivete" about apparel industry constraints as a strategic advantage, allowing the team to challenge established price points and category silos without industry bias.
• The company culture emphasizes strong alignment with values and the "why" behind the business to navigate complex decision-making.

Key Decisions and Future Outlook

• Kudla attributes the company's success to making difficult, aligned decisions over time rather than chasing short-term trends.
• Two pivotal decisions identified by Kudla are the pivot to DTC and the repositioning of the brand from a yoga-centric label to a versatile lifestyle brand.
• Viore plans to avoid distractions into adjacent categories like beauty or digital fitness, maintaining focus on apparel excellence.
• Future growth strategies involve expanding globally and deepening community engagement in new markets through field marketing outposts within stores.
• Kudla emphasizes that "great businesses exist at the eye of the storm," prioritizing culture and stakeholder relationships over marketing "sizzle."