Co-founders Peyton Jenkins and Colin Hunter created menswear brand Alton Lane in 2009, after pinpointing a gap in the men's suiting market that was just waiting to be filled. They kicked off the company with a store intended to bridge the gap between experiential and retail. It was located on the 12th floor of a 20-story building on Broadway in New York City.  "[Hunter and I] noticed this emerging trend of self-presentation awareness. We were within that crowd, and while we had no fashion or apparel background, we loved the idea of a challenge," Jenkins said on the latest episode of The Glossy Podcast. "At the time, no one was focused on experiential retail ... not like they are today. We thought, 'If we could combine these two things -- better access to fit and a better supply chain -- and through a much better experience, then there was something there.' And we just ran with it."  Since its inception, the brand has become the official menswear partner of BHLDN, Anthropologie's wedding brand. And within the last two months, it launched on TikTok. With both of these moves giving the company a boost, its plans include strong growth in 2023. 

When Natasha Oakley and her best friend, Devin Brugman, created their blog, A Bikini a Day, in 2012, they had no idea their passion project would eventually turn into a multimillion-dollar global brand. The site, which expanded to feature fitness, travel and lifestyle content, was, at its core, a platform to celebrate curves and the diversity of women's bodies. Oakley and Burgman's ability to cater to that gap in the swimwear market, however, was the catalyst for the duo to launch Monday Swimwear in 2014.  "When we started A Bikini a Day [there weren't a lot of swimwear options] that were beautiful, that fit women's curves and that made women feel confident. Everything just didn't fit quite right. We were featuring the best that we could, but it still wasn't up to the standards that we would have liked," Oakley said on the latest episode of The Glossy Podcast. "So we thought, 'We just need to create our own brand. We're so passionate about swim, so let's go for it.'" The brand's expansive range of sizes, along with its quality products and the built-in community that came from it being founded by influencers, has helped it grow. According to Oakley, in 2022 alone, Monday Swimwear organically grew 30%.  For Oakley, Monday Swimwear was just the beginning of her journey as a founder and investor. In 2020, the serial entrepreneur launched an online exercise platform called The Pilates Class alongside Jacqui Kingswell, which grew 22% in the 2022, she said. And most recently, she invested in jewelry brand Emma Pills.  Though Oakley has many projects on her plate, she said her main priority is continuing to grow and expand Monday Swimwear. The brand plans to expand into international markets, as well as launch retail locations.