Albuquerque, New Mexico--(Newsfile Corp. - February 14, 2023) - Both& Apparel, a start up serving the trans masculine and non-binary communities, recently announced the closing of a one million dollar seed round.
Commenting on the closing of the seed round, Finnegan Shepard, Founder and CEO of Both& Apparel said, "We faced a steep climb in terms of fundraising. I was a first time trans founder, based in New Mexico, with no background in fashion or business, raising money for an unknown market size at the height of the pandemic and supply chain crisis. Top that off with the fact that VC has predominantly turned away from D2C models, and there's almost a perfect headwind. I was a true outsider, fighting for a vision and community that most people who can write a big check neither knew nor understood."
Despite the challenges, Finnegan feels that it was this very 'otherness' that ultimately helped to achieve the objective of raising one million dollars by appealing to mission-aligned investors. This included women and members of minority communities. Many of those contributing identified with the company's goal to empower the transgender community and helped the fundraising campaign to gain traction.
Finnegan's persistence paid off, driven primarily by three groups of investors, with the balance coming in from angel investors who were inspired by the compelling clothing line, story, and vision.
The funds raised through the seed round will expand the collection of styles available, allow the employment of new talent, and increase marketing efforts to boost brand awareness. To date, the company has achieved its success primarily through word-of-mouth marketing. With more funds available, Both& Apparel has ambitious plans to expand. In 2021, when the company first launched, it only sold t-shirts. In 2022 the company added swimwear, pants, hoodies, and button downs. Finnegan says that 2023 holds a lot in store. The firm is also working on collaborations with other trans creators, designers, and celebrities from the transgender community.
Concluded Finnegan Shepard, "We're growing aggressively. 2020 was the year of research, where we surveyed thousands of people in the community to find out what were their biggest struggles and what they most wished existed. In 2021 we launched our first three t-shirts as a test. In 2022 we had 4x the revenue and launched four new product categories. Since closing our round we're seeing an average of 20% MoM growth, with a lot of exciting capsule drops in the pipeline."
About Both and Apparel
Both& Apparel is a company that is pioneering the concept of non-binary fashion, starting with apparel for trans men. The company is powered by the belief that trans masculine, non-binary, and gender non conforming people deserve gender joy through access to products and spaces where unique needs are prioritized.
Media Contact
Name: Finnegan Shepard
Email: finnegan@bothandapparel.com
Website: Both& Apparel
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