These are the most comfortable pants of my life. They’re also soft, flattering…
And it turns out that some venture capitalists think sweatpants and workout clothes make for a good investment.
Outdoor Voices is raising a $34 million Series C round led by GV (formerly Google Ventures). This also includes an investment from Mickey Drexler, former CEO of J.Crew. Drexler is Chairman of Outdoor Voices. The company has raised over $56 million in the past three years from General Catalyst, Forerunner Ventures and others.
Clothing may not seem like a typical venture portfolio company, but there are plenty of firms now investing in retail businesses, especially with a direct-to-consumer (online sales) platform. Outdoor Voices also sees itself as innovative, touting the research and development behind its durable athletic clothes, which it calls “technical apparel.”
Outdoor Voices has an online presence, but like many in the retail space, it’s expanding offline, too. Co-founder and CEO Tyler Haney talked about these plans on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt last year. She also discussed how the business has grown through word-of-mouth. Outdoor Voices attends races and other sporting events to reach its targeted demographic.
It’s, of course, a competitive landscape for athletic apparel. And the “athleisure” casual everyday wear trend could eventually change.
But for now, Outdoor Voices is hitting the ground running.
