How Missy Park Built Title Nine

"If I want Title Nine to outlast this generation of leaders, I need to be able to answer that question... my goal is to get it in the hand of the next generation of female owner-operators."

• Missy is focused on leadership succession rather than exit strategy.
• She aims to pass the company to future female leaders.
• Founders should consider long-term succession planning.

"If Title Nine were a publicly traded company, someone should fire me right now... The fact is the sole purpose of a publicly traded company... is to maximize shareholder value... I haven't done that..."

• Missy prioritized creating value beyond financial gains.
• She focused on broader impacts and company culture.
• Founders should align their business with personal values.

"Sales drop like a rock. We're in the middle of what should have been our busiest season... We had six weeks of cash on hand..."

• Missy's bootstrapping experience prepared her for cash flow challenges.
• She adapted quickly to changes and focused on sustaining the business.
• Founders can apply lean principles to survive tough times.

"First we just had people who would help us out and volunteer... I had a teammate and I said, 'Hey... would you be up for minding the store while I go home for Christmas?' And she said, 'Sure.'"

• Missy relied on her community and teammates to support her business.
• She built a team of passionate individuals willing to go the extra mile.
• Founders can leverage their networks to build a dedicated team.

"So we put those catalogs and then I'm just waiting for the phone to ring... and waiting and waiting. And I think we got a whopping maybe 15 orders, maybe 7 of them were from someone that I did not know."

• Missy faced initial disappointments but analyzed results for insights.
• She adapted her strategy based on limited feedback.
• Founders should persist through setbacks and adjust tactics accordingly.

"The way we did it is the old-fashioned way, you know, we went to a lot of races and tournaments and we would sell stuff like our excess inventory, we would sell there, and we would build up our mailing list by doing that..."

• Missy used on-the-ground events to market her products.
• She built customer relationships directly and expanded her mailing list.
• Founders can use grassroots tactics to grow without large budgets.

"I would say that at Title Nine, I have—I think we all have always measured this idea of value creation much more broadly, and I think my philosophy can probably be summed up with one of my favorite sayings: 'Not all things that count can be counted.'"

• Missy values culture and broader value creation over just financial metrics.
• She focuses on intangible aspects that contribute to success.
• Founders should consider the importance of company culture.

"I have to say one of the things I'm still very proud of is that we grew the business from probably 0 to about 50 million with not one person that knew anything about retail or apparel or business at all."

• Missy hired passionate individuals over experienced ones.
• She focused on mentoring and building skills internally.
• Founders can prioritize passion and train for skills.

"What I would say is if you hit singles, which we do and we're good at, you're not gonna hit a grand slam and that's just—you need to make your peace with that, and I think I would take the staying in the game of singles to striking out a whole bunch and every once in a while getting a grand slam."

• Missy values steady growth over rapid scaling.
• Bootstrapping let her maintain control and focus on long-term goals.
• Founders can choose sustainable growth without external funding pressures.

"But one thing that I did notice... all of the people that I didn't know and many of the ones I did know, put a sports bra on their order... I realized, wow. Sports bras, that is probably now I know the most essential piece of sports equipment for the average American woman."

• Missy observed customer behavior to identify key product demand.
• She pivoted to focus on sports bras, leading to growth.
• Founders should heed early customer feedback to find product-market fit.