Kyle Bergman, founder of Swoveralls, shares his journey from traditional retail merchandising at Bloomingdale's to launching a unique apparel product in the ecommerce space. Discover how his deep retail experience informed product development, branding, and navigating the direct-to-consumer landscape, including leveraging platforms like KickFurther for funding. This episode offers valuable lessons on transitioning skills, identifying market gaps, and building a brand from the ground up.
Key takeaways
Leverage past industry experience: Kyle's retail merchandising background at Bloomingdale's provided invaluable insights for product development and understanding consumer needs for Swoveralls.
Product innovation can stem from simple observations: The concept of Swoveralls (sweatpants + overalls) emerged from identifying a gap for comfortable yet functional apparel.
Crowdfunding platforms like KickFurther can be crucial for inventory funding in early-stage product businesses, enabling production without significant upfront capital.
Direct-to-consumer allows for direct feedback and stronger brand narrative control, which was vital for Swoveralls to establish its unique identity.
Perseverance is key—building a product-based business from scratch in a competitive market requires overcoming numerous challenges, from product development to market penetration.
On today's podcast, I'm pleased to welcome one of the people I've helped out through KickFurther, Kyle Bergman. Kyle started out in the tough retail industry, working as a merchandiser for Bloomingdale's, the Macy's Crown Jewel until he came up with the great product of his own, Swoveralls -- a mix between an overall and sweatpants. However, getting to this point in business didn't come easily. Tune in to find out how Kyle started in ecommerce, how he used his experience to succeed in the world of retail, and how he came up with his own product.
Leverage past industry experience: Kyle's retail merchandising background at Bloomingdale's provided invaluable insights for product development and understanding consumer needs for Swoveralls.
What does this episode say about product & merchandising?
Product innovation can stem from simple observations: The concept of Swoveralls (sweatpants + overalls) emerged from identifying a gap for comfortable yet functional apparel.
What does this episode say about founder & leadership?
Crowdfunding platforms like KickFurther can be crucial for inventory funding in early-stage product businesses, enabling production without significant upfront capital.
What does this episode say about finance & fundraising?
Direct-to-consumer allows for direct feedback and stronger brand narrative control, which was vital for Swoveralls to establish its unique identity.
What does this episode say about dtc strategy?
Perseverance is key—building a product-based business from scratch in a competitive market requires overcoming numerous challenges, from product development to market penetration.
