Stax founders reveal mistakes they made before building $52 million brand

A husband and wife have revealed how they “made every mistake” before building their sportswear brand into a $52 million icon.

Don Robertson, 33, and Matilda Murray, 30, the founders and co-owners of the activewear brand Stax, were placed 78th and 79th on the Financial Review’s 2022 Young Rich List, marking a notable rise for their company that started in a spare room.

Stax sells clothing in sizes XXS to XXXXL, with the new products regularly standing in huge queues.

On its website, it describes itself as “flattering, premium activewear for men and women.” Gym clothes for an intensive workout or a lazy brunch’.

Stax sells clothing in sizes XXS to XXXXL, with its new products regularly drawing huge queues of thousands

The product range includes $35 socks, $60 water bottles, $80 tights, and $30 branded underwear.

Despite the prices, it continued to rise in popularity, receiving around 4,000 orders per day, peaking at 40,000 on Black Friday last year.

The company has also attracted the attention of influencers, with TikTok star Anna Paul appearing at a Stax pop-up store in Perth in September, with police forced to close the meet-and-greet due to the huge crowd. .

Speak with AFR Magazinethe husband and wife duo revealed their long and winding road to success.

“We started in my mother’s spare room,” Robertson said.

‘And then [we moved to] Til’s dad’s living room, and then we got storage units [in Perth], and then we moved to Sydney. And the only storage unit we could afford in Sydney had no electricity.’

His wife added, “So Don turned on a headlamp and went to pack orders. He would print out the Shopify order form, run in, pick up the products, take them out and pack them. For at least a year.’

Another hurdle was the national Covid lockdown on March 23, 2020, the same day the couple planned to launch their largest collection to date.

They spent their savings to record a campaign for the collection called Premium Seamless V2, and also ordered a container of goods.

On its website, it describes itself as providing: ‘Flattering, premium activewear for men and women. Gym clothes for an intensive workout or a lazy brunch’

The product range includes $35 socks, $60 water bottles, $80 tights, and $30 branded underwear

However, disaster struck when the lockdown was announced, forcing the influencers they hired to stay at home.

To make matters worse, the container with goods also disappeared because China closed earlier than the rest of the world.

This forced them to think about the future of the company.

“It was our biggest moment yet,” Matilda said.

“We flew in influencers from all over the country to film the campaign. We had never done that before.’

Don added: ‘It had taken three years to perfect the fabric. It was huge for us. And then there was a lockdown. And we weren’t allowed to leave the house.’

After eight weeks, the container was finally found, but Matilda was forced to model the collection instead of the influencers they hired.

Luckily for the couple, their collection sold out in just 60 seconds.

‘We literally emptied our bank accounts for this product,’ says Matilda. “And we didn’t know if we’d ever see the money or the clothes again. To see it sell out… that was a beautiful morning.’

Don also admitted that he had no intention of opening a clothing store, instead hoping to own a supplement company that sold protein powder and other products.

The company has also caught the attention of influencers, with TikTok star Anna Paul appearing at a Stax pop-up store in Perth in September.

Stax opened its first stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. They are planning to open more in Queensland, Los Angeles and London and Don says more are on the way

He started selling merchandise for his company Muscle Stax in 2012 and quickly realized the popularity of hats, hoodies and similar items.

However, to make ends meet, he had to take on several side jobs, which eventually led to him meeting his future wife.

He credits Matilda for taking Stax to the next level by adding a “woman’s touch.”

The couple married in January and after nearly two years of pandemic restrictions and border closures, they enjoyed a simple ceremony just the two of them.

“When Til came in, her vision made the leggings better,” Don said. ‘That taught me early on that if she has clarity about something, it works. There have been one or two occasions where I have not followed her advice and learned my lesson.’

Stax opened its first stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

They plan to open more in Queensland, Los Angeles and London and Don says more are on the way.