Joe Kudla, Founder & CEO of Vuori, reveals the real playbook behind one of the fastest-growing performance lifestyle brands. We unpack the decisions and economics between direct-to-consumer vs. wholesale, community-led growth, cash-flow discipline, fundraising (from early tranches to secondaries), hiring and culture systems, ambassador strategy, operational excellence, and how Extreme Preparation and a 100/100 work ethic compound into a secret weapon to success. If you’re building a consumer brand, apparel/DTC company, or high-performance team, this episode is a masterclass in strategy and execution.

What You’ll Learn:

• The origins of Vuori and why the market was primed for a new kind of performance lifestyle brand blending technical fabrics with California ease.
• Why wholesale under-expressed the vision and how Vuori’s pivot to a direct-to-consumer business unlocked authentic community, faster feedback loops, and hugely profitable growth.
• Fundraising in the messy middle: bridging cash crunches, raising in tranches, and choosing investors who back the mission—not just the model.
• Operating with discipline after secondary rounds: how to avoid “easy money” bad habits and keep teams scrappy, focused, and cash-flow aware.
• Learning how the company has paid its original investors and early employees more than $1 billion.
• Hiring for “fit + range” over resume, building values people can feel, and creating systems (like no-meeting time blocks) that protect deep work.


Chapters / Key Moments

00:00 – Intro & Why This Conversation Matters
09:47 – Why Vuori & Joe’s Origin Story
17:34 – Raising Over $1 Billion To Give To Their Investors
19:27 – First Hires & Building the Team
28:59 – Wholesale Lessons & Retail Reality
38:28 – The DTC Pivot & Strategy
48:04 – Purpose, Values & Culture Systems
57:39 – IPO Readiness: Pros & Cons
67:16 – Closing / Final Takeaways

About Our Guest — Joe Kudla

Founder & CEO, Vuori. Joe is the entrepreneur behind Vuori, a global performance lifestyle brand known for technical apparel, premium materials, effortless style, and community-centric growth. He’s scaled from startup scarcity and near failure to international reach by pairing cash-flow discipline with brand-first thinking, values-driven leadership, and a relentless commitment to product and culture.

Guest Links:

Vuori: https://vuoriclothing.com

Joe Kudla (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/joekudla/

Want to Work One-on-One with Me?
I coach a small group of high achievers on how to elevate their careers, grow their businesses, and reach their full potential both professionally and personally.

If you're ready to change your life and achieve your goals, apply here: https://www.randallkaplan.com/coaching

Listen to my Extreme Preparation TEDx Talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIvlFpoLfgs

Listen to this episode on the go!
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For more information about this episode, visit https://www.randallkaplan.com/

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How do you build a category-defining apparel brand from zero? In this episode of In Search of Excellence, host Randall Kaplan sits down with Joe Kudla, Founder & CEO of Vuori, to unpack the real playbook behind scaling a modern athleisure/performance apparel company.
We cover building a brand from the ground up, market whitespace, direct-to-consumer vs. retail, product-market fit, storytelling, community, leadership, peak performance habits, and how sobriety, mindfulness, and the FILO (first-in, last-out) work ethic shaped Joe’s journey—from accounting and modeling in Milan to launching one of the most talked-about activewear brands.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro — fear vs. confidence; the FILO advantage
02:04 Early years, sports & learning differences → leadership lessons
06:45 Internships that lead to jobs; how to stand out and get hired
11:30 From accounting to Milan: rejection, fit modeling & thick skin
18:52 First ventures → what failed, what stuck, and why
25:40 Building community; why brand is a lived experience, not a logo
31:28 Money milestone & “golden handcuffs” → redefining success
38:12 Clarity, sobriety, yoga & meditation: founder operating system
44:05 Meeting collaborators; the Vuori spark & market whitespace
50:10 Product obsession, positioning, and everyday performance
56:30 DTC vs. retail: distribution, margins, and scale
1:02:18 Hiring, leadership principles, and culture that compounds
1:07:59 Rapid-fire advice for students, job seekers, and founders
1:11:30 Closing thoughts + Joe’s #1 lesson

About our guest — Joe Kudla
Joe Kudla is the Founder & CEO of Vuori, a California-inspired performance apparel brand known for premium fabrics, everyday versatility, and a community-driven approach to product and retail. Joe’s path spans accounting (EY), entrepreneurship, and the fashion world, culminating in Vuori’s growth as one of the most influential athleisure brands of the last decade.


Want to Work One-on-One with Me?
I coach a small group of high achievers on how to elevate their careers, grow their businesses, and reach their full potential both professionally and personally.

If you're ready to change your life and achieve your goals, apply here: https://www.randallkaplan.com/coaching

Listen to my Extreme Preparation TEDx Talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIvlFpoLfgs

Listen to this episode on the go!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-search-of-excellence/id1579184310
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/23q0XICUDIchVrkXBR0i6L

For more information about this episode, visit https://www.randallkaplan.com/

Follow Randall!
Instagram: @randallkaplan
LinkedIn: @randallkaplan
TikTok: @randall_kaplan
Twitter / X: https://x.com/RandallKaplan
Website: https://www.randallkaplan.com/
1-on-1 Coaching: https://www.randallkaplan.com/coaching

Coaching and Staying Connected:

1-on-1 Coaching | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | LinkedIn

Want to learn how I got my big break? DM me the word “LETTER” on Instagram for a guide on how to get any job you want: https://www.instagram.com/randallkaplan Welcome to another episode of In Search of Excellence! My guest today is the amazing Jesse Itzler.

Jesse is a serial entrepreneur who has built and sold five companies, including Marquis Jet and Zico Coconut Water. He is an Emmy Award winner, a former rapper and former manager of Run DMC, a globally recognized keynote speaker, and a part-owner of the Atlanta Hawks NBA basketball team.

He's also a passionate endurance athlete who has run more than 35,000 miles over the last 25 years, including 50+ marathons. Jessie is also the author of two awesome best-selling books, Living with the Seals 31 Days: Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet and Living with the Monks: What Turning off My Phone Taught Me About Happiness, Gratitude, and Focus.

Time stamps:

01:54 The influence of Jesse’s parents

- They showed up for everything
- They let him explore
- They didn’t over-schedule him
- Didn’t teach him about hard work, he watched them doing it

05:58 The entrepreneurial gene

- Jesse’s grandfather was born in poverty in Russia
- He immigrated to America and came with nothing
- Jesse’s grandfather and father worked very hard
- Jesse grew up middle-class

07:42 Should kids go to college?

- College gave him some important skills
- He went to everything and was exposed to knowledge and people
- His mom encouraged him to be curious and take every opportunity
- He was aware of the time and urgency

12:50 The start of Jesse’s career – getting a foot at the door

- Jesse wanted to have a record deal
- His approach – go to every door until someone says yes
- He got a deal from a record label called Delicious Vinyl
- It’s essential to get a foot at the door and get into the system

16:47 The ridiculous offer and believing in yourself

- Started the music business doing commercial jingles
- He lived on his friend’s couches
- Someone offered him $10,000 for 10% of his future earnings
- Can you? vs. Will you?

24:39 How to bounce back from a failure?

- Sold his business for $1 million
- Tried many different things and failed
- Extremely enthusiastic about trying fun things and projects
- Failures didn’t bother him
- Sold celery and carrot sticks and loved it even without the profit
- In business, three strikes and you're not out

29:30 Is there a time to stop trying?

- Jesse kept going despite failures
- He never stopped
- The tolerance of embarrassment
- Never got embarrassed by his failures

31:51 The value of relationships

- Wanted to start a private jet company but didn’t have jets
- Met with the president of the largest private jet company in the world – Net Jets
- Got his daughter onstage with Christina Aguilera, a year prior
- He presented him his idea
- Brought his own focus group rather than pitching on a PowerPoint
- If you have one chance, you have to be prepared and stand out
- Got the deal and built a $5 billion company

Want to Connect? Reach out to us online!
Website – https://insearchofexcellencepodcast.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/randallkaplan/
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/randall-kaplan-05858340/

Coaching and Staying Connected:

1-on-1 Coaching | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | LinkedIn