Ep 272 | Michelle Wahler

Written By Yasmin Nouri

Beyond Yoga Founder: How Starting a Side Hustle Ultimately Led to a $400 Million Dollar Exit to Levi’s

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Michelle Wahler is the co-founder and former CEO of Beyond Yoga, a company that’s on a mission to give every body the luxury-level comfort they deserve from activewear.

Coming from the fashion world, Michelle realized the need for a body positive brand with pieces that flatter a wide range of women’s bodies. After creating her own line which started as a side hustle, she met and then partnered with Jodi to build Beyond Yoga in 2005. Michelle has built the product and brand from the ground up and served as its CEO for nearly 20 years. What started as a mere concept led to a global wholesale business, ecommerce site and opening of six retail stores, selling tens of millions of units around the world. She also led the negotiations and her team through the brand’s acquisition to Levi Strauss & Co in 2021 for a reported $400 million dollars.  

In this week’s episode, we talk to Michelle about her entrepreneurial journey, starting with the lessons she learned from witnessing the highs and lows of her father's business and her early work experience at People Magazine and Harper's Bazaar, which inspired her to start her first clothing line as a side hustle. She explains how the idea for Beyond Yoga started, the initial challenges and investments involved in getting it off the ground, and the importance of staying profitable and reinvesting in the company for long-term success. Michelle shares insights into the early strategies that led to incredible success, including the introduction of their popular space dye fabric, and the lessons learned from partnerships they pursued. She also walks us through how Beyond Yoga lost over six million dollars in revenue in one week and how she navigated the business (and her mental health) through such challenging times. Michelle also offers valuable advice on avoiding burnout, how they ended up selling to Levi’s despite never wanting to sell the business, and so much more.

Show Notes:

  • The importance of slowing down and giving yourself grace. [03:42]

  • Sustainable and profitable growth of Beyond Yoga. [05:15]

  • How having an entrepreneur father influenced Michelle’s views on money and risk. [07:40]

  • Her mom’s struggle with self-image during Michelle's upbringing. [08:54]

  • Working at Harper’s Bazaar and People’s Magazine, and starting her first venture, Unsweetened. [09:50]

  • Meeting her business partner, Jodi. [11:05]

  • The biggest learnings Michelle had from her first apparel business. [16:54]

  • Funding the business and finding the right contractors locally. [20:14]

  • Early success and creating brand awareness. [24:32]

  • One of the biggest inflection points in the business: Introducing space dye fabric. [29:16]

  • Hiring her husband, Jessie, as COO/CFO. [31:31]

  • Michelle’s growth and learnings as a leader. [36:19]

  • Michelle’s experience of motherhood. [39:15]

  • How Michelle saved Beyond Yoga during the COVID and millions in lost revenue. [46:03]

  • Selling Beyond Yoga to Levi Strauss & Co for $400 million. [54:03]

  • Re-investing in the business and her first experience with investors. [59:39]

  • Advice she would give her younger self. [01:02:26]

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