How I Built a Baby Clothes Brand Moms Can't Resist

More than a decade after founding her eponymous children's clothing brand, Kate Quinn was still struggling to make a name for herself in the world of fashion. So, in 2018, she did what many in the sector have done of late and placed a bet on direct-to-consumer.

- By Graham Winfrey

KATE QUINN • CEO: KATE QUINN

CATEGORY: RETAIL

THREE-YEAR REVENUE GROWTH: 1, 2 9 4 %

Pivoting to a strategy that cut out the middleman turned her Seattle-based company into a cult brand, thanks in part to moms' penchant for sharing cute pics on social media. Quinn's prints of jungle animals and botanicals on everything from onesies to quilts are in such high demand that some products fetch many times the retail price on mom-run secondary markets. Now, the company faces a fun new challenge: How do you acquire new customers when brand loyalists snap up your products as soon as they drop? -AS TOLD TO GRAHAM WINFREY

I went to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles wanting to start my own company, but I didn't graduate. It was really expensive, so I went for a year and chose classes I thought would serve me in running my own business. One of the things I learned at FIDM is that baby clothes are much less sensitive to the economy than women's stuff. People are always buying baby gifts, even when the economy takes a turn. That set me on a hunt worldwide for manufacturers.