Steady As She Goes

- Michael Andor Brodeur

In 2015, Tyler Haney showed up at the Crosby Street Hotel for one of the biggest pitches of her life. She was meeting David Fialkow, of General Catalyst, to add him to a Series A funding round for her startup clothing brand, Outdoor Voices. And she was bringing two unexpected things to the table: a photo of Girls star Lena Dunham jogging in head-to-toe Outdoor Voices wear, and a shiner.

The night before, Haney, a former track star, was jogging her usual route down Manhattan’s West Side Highway, her favorite place to clear her mind, and a spiritual path of sorts for her company: It was on this same road, four years earlier, when Haney first hatched the idea for Outdoor Voices. This time, however, she tripped over a dog.

“So I have this shot of Lena and I’m like, ‘Here’s a win,’ and”—pointing to her eye—“‘Here’s a loss,’” Haney recalls with a laugh. “It was perfect.”

It also worked. The meeting, which resulted in a $7.5 million round led by General Catalyst, sent the right message about the brand—a line of apparel with an emphasis on a playful, “human, not superhuman” approach to everyday fitness—and about Haney as a competitor: “I’m out there, I’m determined, and I’m running so hard that I fall on my face.”