About Us
THE BRAND:
At Rivalry Runway, we create fashionable game day apparel to make you Stand Out In the Stadium™. We specialize in custom denim jackets for game day, city & state pride, bridal and lifestyle. You can shop any of these categories at the navigation menu on the top of our site!
@morgan_haas Can you believe how this turned out? 😅 Follow to see what we do next! 😏👏 #businesswoman #womenownedbusiness #femalepreneur #businessownercheck ♬ The Fresh Prince of Bel Air - wes
THE STORY:
While I was in college at the University of Kentucky, I was absolutely obsessed with game day! My outfit was the most important part of the day, and I would spend hours searching for the perfect outfit or making my own. One day I was fed up with the not so cute game day options available, and decided to make my own bodysuit. I hopped on Amazon, ordered a $15 royal blue bodysuit and $5 pre-cut iron on letters to spell out "CATS", then ran over to Walmart where I bought a cheap iron for $5 bucks. Despite having no clue what I was doing, the bodysuit turned out super cute! I wore it out to a game, and my friends as well as strangers were asking where I got it. I started making more for my friends and girls around campus, and it quickly turned into a little side gig.
I had a lot of fun making game day tops for myself and others throughout college, and even expanded to tube tops and other styles. After graduating and thinking the best years of my life were over, I decided to actually make some social media and a website for my little side gig, as well as give it a name– and hence, Rivalry Runway was born! I got a normal 9-5 job in PR, and worked on Rivalry Runway very on the side when I had time, until quarantine hit. My office got sent to work from home, and I realized while I loved the people I worked with, I hated my actual job! So motivation kicked in, and I started working on Rivalry Runway before my 9-5, after my 9-5 and all weekend long. I was determined to grow the business.
Soon, former Kentucky Cheerleader Olivia Rink (@OliviaRink) accepted a PR package from us and her post on Instagram sent tons of traffic to our website! While it actually only generated a mere $800 in sales for the month, back then I thought we were on the brink of becoming a million dollar business.
And so, my mind was set! That one post from Olivia Rink gave me the confidence I needed to go for it! I decided if I could do that while working full time, imagine what I could do if I had all day to work on Rivalry Runway?!
I officially quit my 9-5 job in August of 2020– yes, during a global pandemic! Some would say I was absolutely crazy, and they are probably right! However, I had this feeling of 'if I don't do it now, I never will', so I had to give it a try. I remember on my first day full time at Rivalry Runway, I read the following quote in Entrepreneur Magazine: "At some point, you have to stop reworking your business plan, and just hit play." So that's what I did. I had spent all summer working on our business plan, and how I was going to bring this business to life, and now it was time to hit play.
I vowed to myself that I would do everything it took to bring this business to life, and one day make it a household name. Just 3 months after taking it full time, I got Rivalry Runway into Nordstrom. My first huge win!
Since then, we've grown more than I ever could have imagined! We've grown our team, have a warehouse, manufacture our own denim, attend 17+ trade shows a year and are sold in top retailers such as Nordstrom, Dry Goods, Von Maur, Palmetto Moon, Apricot Lane, Hemline, Lord & Taylor, Amazing Lace, XO Clothing & more!
There has yet to be a month without tears, a month without laughter, celebrations and excitement, or a month without both wins and losses. The journey is never easy, but it's so worth it. I thank everyone who has supported this dream of mine every day, and can't imagine my life without this business.
XOXO,
Morgan Haas,
Owner of Rivalry Runway