Building Brands to Help People Live Better: Outdoor Voices and Tata Harper

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Recorded at Goldman Sachs’ Builders and Innovators Summit, this episode explores 2016 market conditions and startup-building lessons. David Solomon discusses sluggish IPO activity, cheap debt, rising-rate risk, and the centrality of talent and communication. Founders Tyler Haney and Tata Harper explain how product-led branding, purpose, and customer education helped them build differentiated consumer businesses.

Main Topics: IPO market slowdown and confidence-driven recovery (Priority: 5/5): David Solomon attributes weak IPO activity to early-2016 market dislocation, Brexit, and election uncertainty, arguing that IPOs depend heavily on investor confidence and should normalize when volatility fades. Low rates and debt issuance (Priority: 5/5): The discussion highlights historically cheap capital, negative-yielding debt globally, and the view that borrowing remains attractive despite expected Federal Reserve tightening. Building differentiated consumer brands (Priority: 5/5): Tyler Haney and Tata Harper describe how Outdoor Voices and Tata Harper Skin Care were built around distinct product philosophies: accessible recreation and high-quality natural beauty, respectively. Product-first company building (Priority: 5/5): Both founders emphasize that their brands began with solving personal pain points and making superior products before focusing on marketing, packaging, or broader brand strategy. Scaling culture and hiring (Priority: 4/5): The conversation focuses on the difficulty of hiring, retaining, and organizing people as startups grow, with Solomon stressing talent and the founders discussing passion, fit, and evolving leadership needs. Purpose, communication, and long-term thinking (Priority: 4/5): Across the summit, speakers stress purpose, the ability to communicate clearly, and taking a long-term view as key drivers of sustainable business success.

Key Arguments: IPO activity is weak because markets have lacked confidence; once uncertainty recedes, issuance should recover. Borrowing remains attractive because rates are still near zero and capital is abundant, even if some U.S. rate increases are coming. Great startup execution depends on finding people who believe in the founder’s vision and can scale with the company. Outdoor Voices succeeded by redefining fitness as enjoyable, inclusive recreation rather than elite performance. Tata Harper Skin Care won customers by offering natural products that still deliver results, challenging skepticism about natural beauty. Both founders believe authenticity and product quality should shape brand identity more than traditional marketing. As companies grow, leadership must shift from broad generalists to deeper specialists and eventually player-coaches. Effective communication and feedback are essential for motivating employees and sustaining company culture.

Data Points: 2016 U.S. IPO volume year to date: about $17.5 billion - David Solomon’s overview of sluggish IPO market activity Typical annual U.S. IPO proceeds (5-year average): about $55 billion - Comparison showing how far 2016 lagged historical norms Q2/Q3 IPO volume: $8 billion to $9 billion per quarter - Evidence that IPO activity picked up somewhat after a weak start First-quarter IPO volume: $1 billion - Shows severity of the early-2016 slowdown Negative-yielding debt globally: $15 trillion to $20 trillion - Solomon’s illustration of the unprecedented low-rate environment Podcast recording date: October 20, 2016 - Episode metadata provided at the end of the transcript Builders and Innovators Summit size: 100 founders and CEOs - Jake Seward describes the annual summit attendees

Pivotal Quotes: "If you need capital and you're considering borrowing money to meet capital needs, never been a better time to borrow money." — David Solomon: On debt issuance and the historically cheap cost of capital "We want to create a material that functions in a similar way to these other brands, but makes you feel comfortable in your skin you're in. You're not trying to be superhuman. It's all about being human." — Tyler Haney: Explaining Outdoor Voices’ product and brand philosophy "Natural products is the ultimate luxury." — Tata Harper: Describing her positioning of natural skincare as high-end, effective, and scientifically grounded

Implications: For founders, the episode underscores that durable companies are built through product excellence, clear purpose, disciplined hiring, and strong communication. For markets, it signals that IPO and financing conditions hinge on confidence and policy uncertainty.