The company in question is called Saysh is just a year old. It was started by the American Olympic sprinter Allyson Felix and her brother Wes Felix in June of 2021.
Gap Inc. and Athleta is a San Francisco-based apparel retailer that invested in the Felix’s company.
Gap and consumer fund Iris led an $8 million a fundraising round that including this investment.
According to a company statement released on Thursday, Saysh will use the funds to expand its e-commerce operations, wholesale distribution, and community-based retail reach.
The company also wants to create additional activity-specific sneaker brands to broaden its product range.
After leaving Nike in 2019, Felix became the first-ever sponsored athlete for Gap-owned Athleta. Felix chastised Nike for supposedly offering her a 70% pay decrease in a new contract after the birth of her baby.
“When we signed Allyson Felix as our first-ever sponsored athlete in 2019, we knew we wanted to do things differently by supporting her as a mom, athlete and advocate,” informed Mary Beth Laughton, Athleta chief executive. “Today we are proud to continue supporting Allyson as an entrepreneur while fueling growth to the Athleta brand with our investment in Saysh.”
The Athleta funding consisted of “predominantly woman-owned, woman-led investors” brought together by Springbank Collective. Who is an starting up investor in ventures led by women and families.
Anne-Marie Slaughter, a gender and policy expert, Kerin Hempel, the CEO of the New York Road Runners, and Sabia Wade, the creator of the maternal support organization The Black Doula, were among the speakers in the prestigious event.
