Reaching $100 million (approximately £75.7 million) in annual revenue is often associated with major investment rounds, venture capital and aggressive expansion. But Aviator Nation, SwissWatchExpo and EZContacts have taken a different route, building nine-figure businesses without relying on outside investors to fund their growth.
The three companies operate across different areas of fashion and retail, from clothing and luxury watches to prescription eyewear. Despite their differences, they share a similar growth approach: reinvesting revenue into their businesses, keeping tight control of spending and focusing on customers rather than chasing expansion at any cost.
Aviator Nation Built From a Small Bank Loan
Aviator Nation was founded in Los Angeles in 2006 by Paige Mycoskie, who initially made clothes herself and sold them at local street fairs. The brand has since expanded into a national fashion business with 15 stores and more than $100 million in revenue.
The company has also developed retail partnerships with businesses including Nordstrom, Shopbop and Revolve. In September, Aviator Nation announced a licensed collection with the NFL covering 25 teams, bringing Mycoskie's distinctive 1970s-inspired aesthetic to the collaboration.
Despite its later growth, the company did not rely on major outside investment. Mycoskie told Glossy that her only initial financing came from an $8,000 (£6,000) bank loan from Wells Fargo.
She kept costs low by handling much of the early work herself, including photography, website programming and clothing production. When selling to boutiques, she pre-booked orders to provide the cash needed to fulfil them.
That approach allowed Aviator Nation to grow while Mycoskie retained control of the business. She also highlighted inventory management as one of the most important challenges of running a self-funded fashion company. The brand monitors sales and inventory reports weekly, using customer trends to help determine what products to produce and how much stock to carry.
SwissWatchExpo Prioritised Profitability
SwissWatchExpo took a different route but followed a similar principle: remain profitable rather than depend on investor funding. Founded in New York by Jake and Victoria Rokhlin, the pre-owned luxury watch retailer has grown into a business generating more than $100 million in annual sales. The company operates primarily online, alongside a physical store in Atlanta, and typically holds about 2,500 pre-owned luxury watches for sale.
Their son, Eugene Tutunikov, became CEO in 2016 after working as a derivatives trader on Wall Street. He told Glossy that his financial background gave him insight into how investor expectations can sometimes encourage companies to prioritise rapid growth over long-term stability.
SwissWatchExpo has remained profitable throughout its existence, according to Tutunikov. The company also operates a capital-intensive business model because it buys watches outright rather than relying on consignment. That means every watch purchased represents capital committed by the business, making careful buying decisions essential. Maintaining trust and authenticity has also been central to the company's position in the pre-owned luxury watch market.
EZContacts Focused on Existing Customers
EZContacts, an online eyewear retailer founded in New York in 2005, has also reached nine-figure annual revenue without outside investment. The company is now among the world's 20 largest eyewear retailers and has what Glossy describes as the largest eyewear catalogue in North America. Its online store attracts around five million shoppers a year.
Rather than relying solely on increased advertising expenditure to drive sales, EZContacts has focused on getting more value from customers already visiting its website. Rafael Sarim Oezdemir, the company's head of growth, pointed to improvements across the customer journey, including website performance, product pages, content, fulfilment, customer service and the shopping cart.
Content has also played a significant role. EZContacts attracts around 150,000 blog visitors each month, creating another source of potential shoppers without requiring the company to acquire them entirely through paid advertising. The strategy reflects one of the key advantages of bootstrapping: businesses can concentrate on projects that are likely to generate a return instead of pursuing growth simply to satisfy outside investors.
Can Fashion Brands Still Bootstrap?
The three businesses were established more than a decade ago, but their leaders believe that building a company without outside investment remains possible today. Mycoskie said entrepreneurs should consider retaining ownership where possible, although she acknowledged that outside investors can provide valuable expertise as well as capital when a founder needs additional support.
For SwissWatchExpo, Tutunikov argued that modern tools could make bootstrapping more accessible. Organic social media, livestream shopping, artificial intelligence and targeted digital marketing can give smaller companies ways to reach customers without requiring the same level of upfront capital.
EZContacts' Oezdemir, meanwhile, stressed the importance of taking a slower and more cautious approach. Without investor pressure, a company can prioritise sustainable growth and profitability, although this can also mean that expansion happens more gradually.
A Different Model for Fashion Business Growth
Aviator Nation, SwissWatchExpo and EZContacts operate in different parts of the fashion and retail industries, but their growth stories share a common thread. Rather than using outside funding to accelerate expansion, the businesses focused on generating revenue, controlling costs and reinvesting in their operations. For Aviator Nation, that meant maintaining tight control over inventory and expenses. SwissWatchExpo built around consistent profitability and ownership of its stock, while EZContacts concentrated on improving the value of its existing customer base.
Their combined experience suggests that reaching $100 million in revenue does not have to follow the venture-backed model. For businesses that can manage cash flow carefully and build a profitable operation, growth can come from the business itself rather than from outside investment.
