Preston Rutherford (Chubbies Shorts) | Small Shorts, BIG Exit

Welcome to the first episode of Eating Glass!

In this inaugural episode, ho sts Will Nitze and Joe Lemay sit down with founder Preston Rutherford to dive into his journey starting his company ‘Chubbies’ and how he (and his friends) pioneered some of the raddest, most weekend-built gear ever.

From the benefits (and drawbacks) he experienced by having co-founders and being in a niche product category – to how he managed headwinds, tailwinds and ultimately, to how he successfully exited, you’ll get access to every stage of Preston’s startup journey!

[00:00:00] Intro
[00:09:00] The Early Days of Chubbies
[00:12:21] Funding Chubbies
[00:16:00] How Co-Founders Drove Chubbies' Success
[00:22:10] Polarizing Products and Brand Salience
[00:27:36] Expanding Channels, Facing Headwinds
[00:33:26] Adapting to Fashion Trends & Seasonality
[00:40:40] Maintaining the Spark During Growth
[00:50:44] Navigating Multiple Exit Attempts
[00:56:00] Earned Secrets & Regrets
[01:11:00] Priorities After the Acquisition
[01:16:10] Final Thoughts

Will Nitze is the Founder & CEO at IQBAR - America's leading "brain + body" nutrition startup. With minimal funding, Will has taken IQBAR from zero locations and zero in revenue in 2018 to 10,000+ doors and a projected $50 million in sales in 2024.

Joe Lemay founded Rocketbook with business partner Jake Epstein. After being featured on “Shark Tank”, where the sharks passed on a chance to invest – Joe would go on to grow Rocketbook and sell it to BIC for 40 million dollars just three years later.