Rhone Apparel is a small startup with big ambitions.
Nate Checketts, the company”™s co-founder and CEO, said the niche activewear brand for men is already growing nationally. Founded about 18 months ago in New Canaan as a side business, Rhone Apparel will soon close a Series A round of funding.
The clothing is made with odor and bacteria-blocking technology and is designed to double as lifestyle wear, differentiating the company from larger brands, Checketts said. The tops, bottoms and accessories can be worn to work out and hang out, he said.
“None focus on men or men”™s leisure,” he said. “We”™ve really got a first-mover advantage in what we”™re doing.”
- Nate Checketts at a sidewalk sale in Darien. Photo by Danielle Brody
Checketts, who said he has always been an entrepreneur, launched mobile software in college purchased by the San Francisco 49ers; worked at a growth equity firm specializing in sports and media companies; and most recently worked in sponsorships for the National Football League.
He saw an opportunity while at the NFL when the various fitness apparel brands he tried all smelled bad after 10 wears. He realized most athletic clothing uses a chemical-based spray that washes out, leaving the synthetic material to absorb bacteria.
“If there”™s any group on earth that needs odor and bacteria protection, it”™s men who work out,” Checketts said.
He discovered NASA and the U.S. Special Forces use melted silver in uniforms to limit odor and bacteria. Checketts said he wanted to take the technology to a bigger market. With no apparel background, Checketts, his brother-in-law and his brother-in-law”™s former colleague started the company.
Checketts became full time in September and said the other co-founders are getting closer to making Rhone Apparel their job, as well. The company has an office in New Canaan with 10 full-time employees.
Checketts said he based the business model on other direct-to-consumer startups Warby Parker, an online glasses company, and Harry”™s, an online men”™s shaving products retailer. Rhone Apparel has no retail locations ”” its products are sold at events, online, in 30 Equinox gyms, 20 Bloomingdale”™s locations and come fall, in two Nordstrom stores.
Rhone Apparel is predicted to grow six times this year over last year, Checketts said. The startup did more sales in its first year than Under Armour, another athletic-wear company, did in its first four years, he said.
Still, maintaining a local presence is important to Checketts, who ran a table at the Darien sidewalk sale in July, greeting neighbors, friends and customers. As a customer purchased shirts for her spouse, he warned her, “Don”™t be surprised if your husband is 10 times more attractive after.”
Fairfield County is where Checketts grew up, lives and where he and his co-founders raised their first round of capital from friends and family. According to Hearst Media Group, the company raised $7.8 million in a sale of equity, the largest amount raised in the state this year.
Although that”™s a sizable fund, Checketts said that is nothing compared to startups in California. He said not many people launch startups in Connecticut, so his company stands out.
“We feel lucky to have a smaller pond from a startup perspective,” he said.
His company warrants some comparison with Mount Kisco-based Tommie Copper, a compression and activewear brand that uses copper in the fabric for what it says are performance and recovery benefits. Checketts said he stayed away from using copper, which has a negative connotation with the Environmental Protection Agency. Tommie Copper is more activewear than a blend of workout and lifestyle gear, he said.
The closest brand comparison to Rhone Apparel is Lululemon, a lifestyle and activewear brand for women and men that is most known for its women”™s clothing. Checketts consciously decided to specialize in men”™s apparel using neutral colors and design and and a masculine brand identity.
Rhone clothing appeals to the “weekend warriors” ”” those who care about their health and wellness as much as their work and family. Most customers live in New York, Connecticut, California, Chicago, Texas, Colorado and Utah, Checketts said.
Checketts said the apparel, priced from $68 for a short-sleeve shirt up to $98 for a hoodie, is named for leaders or nature and has inspirational quotes like “Never mistake motion for action” printed on the inside hems. These touches are meant to positively impact men during moments of reflection, which often happen while working out.
He plans to have pop-up stores in New York City and Nantucket and open bicoastal stores next year. The company is developing new products for fall made with Icelandic seaweed that is EPA-approved and emits Vitamins E and A.
The company has spent time perfecting the clothing product, website and shipping, Checketts said. Now it can focus on marketing and growing the business.
He is still getting used to the design-to-production process, which can take six to eight months. Even so, he said Rhone Apparel can move faster than large companies.
“The biggest challenge is trying to get ahead,” Checketts said.
