From Quarantine Boredom to Full-Time Business: Hangover Hoodies
Written by Maia Thomas
Childhood best friends Delaney and Katelyn were bored out of their minds with nothing to do during the peak of quarantine amidst the COVID-19 crisis. Naturally, with the lack of entertainment and opportunity, the two decided to start an apparel company from scratch. From there, Hangover Hoodies was born in the summer of 2020.
Further inspiration for Hangover Hoodies came from TikTok throughout the beginning of the pandemic when creative projects spiked out of people’s free time in quarantine. Katelyn stressed that she feels “good things have come out of the pandemic, it’s allowed people to be more creative and branch out of their comfort zone because life was so boring.” The power of the social media app is so intense, companies are reaching record numbers in terms of engagement and people who want to buy their products. In fact, TikTok was the brand’s primary avenue of gaining an audience and going viral, kickstarting their company.
With little to no background on starting a business between both of them, they frantically googled and researched the logistics. At this point, it wasn’t just an abstract idea over text anymore. Delaney explained that “the first few weeks are definitely the hardest for people who want to start a business and it can be super discouraging and intimidating.” But despite everything, the two girls were determined to get their brand out into the world. They posted a date for their first drop on July 10th and sprinted with it. The plan was fabricated and in the flesh, no chance to chicken out and turn back. “The scariest part was placing the order with the manufacturer for the hoodies. A lot of our own money was paid at once, and we had no idea whether or not it was going to be successful,” said Katelyn.
The main idea for Hangover Hoodies, their name coming from Delaney’s sister as she just turned 21, was to make an accessible, moderately priced piece of clothing that reflects on the experiences you have being together with people. “The company isn’t really about drinking or going out in it of itself, but it’s about times that make you feel super fuzzy and nostalgic the day after. Reflecting on the nights we were all missing.” Delaney shared. The brand truly represents an authentic feeling within every detail. Designs are created by playing around in photoshop and are inspired by vintage fonts/illustrations. Alongside that, Instagram posts are often customer-submitted photos, and even the packaging is thought-out to reflect the brand’s vibe. “We wanted everyday people to feel confident looking at the [Instagram] page, and a super relatable feed that reminded people of their friends,” the two stated.
The company started as a quarantine project working out of their homes. But as orders increased, Delaney and Katelyn quickly outgrew their parents’ basement where they did all of the packaging. Additionally, both girls reached a point where they had to do everything full-time rather than balancing multiple jobs. “For the most part, it’s just us two. We finally hired a new fulfillment center… and manager because we just couldn’t get stuff out the door fast enough doing literally everything ourselves.” During their first launch, 200 orders were placed. Now they typically sell between 1500-2500 hoodies each drop. “It’s cool to see it grow to what is now. Today alone our friend said she saw a girl at the airport wearing one of our pieces and another at the grocery store. That’s just crazy, we forget sometimes that our hoodies are all over the world,” the two said.
After nine months of running the business, Delaney and Katelyn have developed a strong grasp of what it means to be a part of the industry. While being fully hands-on, the two now know how to build something from the ground up and have gained the ability to navigate the work they do every day. “It was such a whirlwind, and there’s no handbook on what to do when your small business blows up on TikTok. I think no matter what, Delaney and I are going to be hands-on, we’ve really built up such a unique knowledge base when it comes to business,” Katelyn said.
When asked about future projects and goals for Hangover Hoodies, the two co-founders are really open to anything. As of now, one of the biggest priorities is expanding the potential of the brand itself along with maintaining regular drops of their hoodie collections. (Possibly some different types of clothing as well!) The two discussed opportunities for a podcast, expanding the blog, and more media outreach during the interview as part of growing the company even more! They also want to be able to donate a portion of their sales to different charities as new collections get released, so keep an eye out for a few more releases in the works.
Starting as a simple text between friends and ending up with over 12,000 pieces sold, Hangover Hoodies is an exceptional example of how much you can do with a few resources and motivation. The success and consistency that this company has seen stresses the fact that a business idea doesn’t have to stay an idea if you’re willing to make it happen.
Keep up with them here:
Instagram: @hangoverhoodies
Tiktok: @hangoverhoodies
Website: hangoverhoodies.com