From Garage to $1B

Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

🌟 Editor's Note:

Welcome to Behind the Books! A 3-minute read with stories, tools, and lessons from real companies—what worked, what didn’t, and what founders can learn.

💪 The Story:

In 2012, Ben Francis was 19.

He was delivering pizzas by night. And sewing gym gear in his garage by day.

That side hustle became Gymshark.

Now valued at over $1 billion, built without a single VC check.

How?

He didn’t chase investors. He chased attention.

→ Sent free gear to early fitness YouTubers before influencer marketing had a name

→ Turned fitness expos into fan meetups

→ Focused on identity first, product second

He wasn’t just building an apparel brand. He was building a movement.

The Lesson:

Most founders start with product → marketing → community.

Ben flipped it:

→ Build the tribe → Earn trust through relevance → Let them pull the product forward

When your customers feel like insiders, you just need to keep showing up.

From Behind the Books:

If your customers don’t see themselves in your brand, you don’t have a brand.

Your weekly prompt:

Are you trying to reach more people… or rally the right ones?

Choose your next move accordingly.

See you next Friday,

– Yan

P.S. Gymshark wasn’t built by followers. It was built by belonging.