Wild Rye
Premium Performance Apparel for Women & Kids
Building the next great outdoor brand, designed for women and families from the ground up. Wild Rye is a women-founded, mission driven outdoor apparel brand designing technical performance wear specifically for women, a historically underserved market.
Wild Rye Products
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From The Founder
Hi, I’m Cassie Abel, founder & CEO of Wild Rye. I’m a former All American lacrosse player turned adventure athlete. After 15 years in the outdoor industry, I got tired of squeezing into gear that didn’t fit, and being told “women won't invest in high end gear.” I knew that wasn't true and that the industry was ignoring nearly half the market, so I launched Wild Rye, now a certified B Corp, to prove them wrong.
Wild Rye is the leading technical outdoor apparel brand 100% founded, led, and built for women. We design bold, beautiful gear that actually fits, performs, and looks good, because we are our customer. Our all-women team lives the lifestyle, knows what’s missing, and builds what women really want.
Investment Dashboard
Brand Overview:
Key Investment Stats
Security Type: Equity (SAFE)
Valuation Cap: $12M
Minimum Investment: $100
Funding Goal: $1,570,000 (Already raised $1.3M in prior rounds)
Executive Summary
Demonstrated 56% revenue growth (2023-2024)
A 43% repeat customer rate (significantly above industry average) and distribution in 300+ retail doors including REI
Healthy 55% Gross Margins and a scalable DTC first (61% of revenue) model
$1.6M capital raise to fund marketing (50%), product development (20%), and operational scaling to achieve profitability by 2027
The Opportunity: A Massive, Underserved Market
26 Million women in the US ride or ski
85%
Women control 85% of discretionary spending
The Problem: The outdoor industry has long ignored women, "shrink-it-and-pink-it" men's gear. This doesn't work. Women need specific materials, thoughtful sizing, and technical features designed for their bodies.
The Solution: Wild Rye. We never compromise on fit, performance, or style. 63% of our customers choose us because we’re women-led. They stay for the product and the purpose.
46%
Women make up 46% of outdoor recreators, yet run only 4% of cycling brands and 16% of outdoor brands.
200%
Women spend 200% more on apparel than men
Total Addressable Market (TAM): The US women's cycling & ski apparel market is worth $3.8B today, part of a global outdoor apparel market projected to hit $66B by 2032.
Comparable Company Analysis
Note: Deckers and Yeti are included as they exemplify how a strong brand narrative and community can command premium multiples, even outside pure apparel
Implied Valuation: Using a conservative 2x - 4x revenue multiple (based on comps and growth rate), Wild Rye's implied valuation range is $9M - $18M
Traction & Financials
We analyze Wild Rye using the same KPIs as a SaaS or tech startup.
Balance Sheet:
Cash Flow:
Statement of Operations:
Valuation Frameworks
Applying standard VC frameworks
Venture Capital Method (Pre-Money Valuation)
Target Return: Investor requires 10x return on a $2M investment in 5 years ($20M return).
Projected Exit Valuation: Using a conservative 2.5x revenue multiple on 2029 projected revenue of $18.8M = ~$47M Exit Valuation
Post-Money Valuation Today: $47M Exit / 10x Target Return = $4.7M Post-Money
Pre-Money Valuation: $4.7M Post-Money - $2M Raise = $2.7M Pre-Money
This is a baseline. The high growth rate and gross margin justify a higher multiple, thus a higher pre-money valuation
Benchmarking Against Comps (See Section Above)
A 3x revenue multiple on 2024 revenue of $4.54M suggests an estimated $13.6M Pre-Money Valuation
This framework is often most relevant for later stage, proven companies like Wild Rye
Risk-Adjusted Scorecard Method
This method values the company based on the strength of the team, product, and market against early-stage benchmarks. Wild Rye scores highly, justifying a premium
If the average pre-money valuation for a seed-stage company is $6M, a score of 4.35/5.0 suggests a pre-money valuation of $8M - $10M.
Risk Mitigation & Investment Rationale
Liquidity and High Leverage
The $2M equity raise directly addresses the cash problem and reduces reliance on the high interest line of credit. Founder's $500k loan demonstrates extreme confidence.
Path to Profitability
With 55% GM, the model is inherently profitable. The current net loss is a strategic choice to fuel growth. A slight reduction in Marketing burn (as recommended) could accelerate breakeven
Supply Chain and Tariffs
Management is already proactively renegotiating manufacturing as production exits China, showing operational agility
Category Expansion
Plan to "delay non-core category launches until profit" is a prudent, investor-friendly strategy that focuses on capital efficiency
Invest Now
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