The company raised over $60 million in venture capital but faced internal turmoil and financial difficulties.713 In 2024, Outdoor Voices closed all its retail stores and was acquired by Consortium Brand Partners.3612
Timeline
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Outdoor Voices was founded in New York City by Parsons graduate Ty Haney. | 13 |
| 2016 | Mickey Drexler invested in Outdoor Voices and became its chairman. | 7 |
| 2018-03 | Outdoor Voices raised a $34.0 million Series C round. | 9 |
| 2019 | Mickey Drexler quit as chairman of Outdoor Voices. | 7 |
| 2020-02 | Tyler Haney stepped down as CEO of Outdoor Voices. | 57 |
| 2020-03 | Ashley Merrill became chairwoman of Outdoor Voices. | 13 |
| 2021-02-12 | BackGrid USA, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Outdoor Voices, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. | 17 |
| 2023-12 | Ashley Merrill replaced Gabrielle Conforti as CEO of Outdoor Voices. | 13 |
| 2024-06 | Outdoor Voices was acquired by Consortium Brand Partners. | 612 |
| 2025-07 | Ty Haney returned to Outdoor Voices as owner and partner, with a new collection set to launch on August 4. | 6 |
Money raised
Outdoor Voices raised more than $60 million in venture capital.7 Its latest round, which closed in early 2020, valued the company at only $40 million, compared with $110 million two years earlier.7 Outdoor Voices raised $65.1M across 6 funding rounds.9 Most recently, it raised $34.0M Series C in March 2018.9 Outdoor Voices has raised $25M in total funding.11 MAS Amity Pte Ltd is suing Outdoor Voices for failing to pay more than $2.5 million for products and services.13 MAS Amity supplied Outdoor Voices with apparel worth $1.89 million between February and September of 2023, but the invoices were never paid.13 MAS Amity purchased $515,515 worth of materials for Outdoor Voices orders that were later repudiated.13
Investors named in the sources: Mickey Drexler7, Ashley Merrill7, Consortium Brand Partners612.
What happened
Outdoor Voices was founded in New York City by Parsons graduate Ty Haney in 2014.13 The company was a direct-to-consumer athletic apparel brand known for its 'Doing Things' ethos.67 Outdoor Voices became one of the hottest startups in Austin.7 Its signature color-blocked leggings became popular at gyms and on college campuses.7 Mickey Drexler invested in Outdoor Voices and became its chairman in 2016.7
By late 2019, Outdoor Voices had opened 11 brick-and-mortar stores around the country.7 The company had 130 employees when Haney appeared on the cover of Inc.7 Outdoor Voices raised more than $60 million in venture capital.7 Its latest round, which closed in early 2020, valued the company at only $40 million, compared with $110 million two years earlier.7 The New York Times, BuzzFeed, and Business of Fashion alluded to battles between Haney and Drexler.7
Drexler quit as chairman in mid-2019.7 Employees accused Haney of cronyism and wasteful spending.7 Haney announced she was stepping down as CEO in February 2020, just as she was set to return from maternity leave.57 Ashley Merrill, founder of Lunya, reached out to Haney and offered to invest and act as interim operator.7 Merrill became chairwoman of Outdoor Voices in March 2020.13
Haney's title became founder, and she remained involved in product and brand at a high level.7 The company cut costs significantly and scaled back digital marketing.7 Outdoor Voices did well during the pandemic, according to Haney.7 In December 2023, Ashley Merrill replaced Gabrielle Conforti as CEO.13 Former employees described an escalation in instability when Merrill took the reins.13
One Reddit user said the brand entered 'a whole new world of chaos' when Merrill began exerting her influence.13 A former employee told Sourcing Journal that Merrill pushed for an evolution in product strategy that forced the company to scrap approved designs and back out of orders.13 The company faced months of missed payments to offshore and onshore vendors and lapsed store leases.13 Multiple former corporate employees told Sourcing Journal that the company was preparing to file for an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors.13 MAS Amity Pte Ltd sued Outdoor Voices in April 2024 for failing to pay more than $2.5 million.13
MAS Amity supplied Outdoor Voices with apparel worth $1.89 million between February and September 2023, but the invoices were never paid.13 MAS Amity also alleged that Outdoor Voices breached contracts for women's clothing worth $103,849 and repudiated obligations for $515,515 in materials.13 Outdoor Voices was acquired by Consortium Brand Partners in June 2024.612 The deal put an end to a monthslong saga that saw Outdoor Voices close all its brick-and-mortar stores and lay off staff.12 Consortium Brand Partners signaled a potential return to physical stores.6
In July 2025, Ty Haney returned to Outdoor Voices as owner and partner.6 Haney spent nine months developing a relaunch and reassembled her original creative team.6 A new collection was set to launch on August 4, 2025.6 Outdoor Voices' website now hosts a sign-up page promising first access to the new collection.6 Its Instagram feed was wiped clean except for a single reintroduction video featuring Haney.6
In the video, Haney said, 'We're back, baby. I'm so excited to be reactivating this Doing Things mission.'6 Haney described the upcoming product line as a uniform 'for doing things,' grounded in the same technical design principles as the original.6 She promised a more 'fashion-y' aesthetic while emphasizing continuity with the materials, functionality, and sensibility of the original OV.6 Haney said, 'I was a lot younger when I started this. I was a baby girl straight out of college.'6 The new collection blends the original spirit with a refined perspective, according to Haney.6
Outdoor Voices' terms of use as of March 25, 2025, are provided by OV OPCO, LLC.15 The company continues to sell activewear and athletic apparel online.8
Legal outcomes
- filedMAS Amity Pte Ltd filed a lawsuit against Outdoor Voices in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in April 2024, alleging failure to pay more than $2.5 million.13
- filedBackGrid USA, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Outdoor Voices, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on February 12, 2021.17
Where the founders are now
Ty Haney returned to Outdoor Voices as owner and partner in 2025.6 She is also the founder and CEO of TYB (Try Your Best), a community commerce platform, and Joggy Energy.11
Lessons, as others put them
"You feel that with enough VC money, you'll be OK, you'll always figure it out. But that's not a business."Ty Haney7
"We were a Ferrari brand with a Honda engine."Ty Haney7
"I will now always, in my next ventures, get that shit together first."Ty Haney7
Sources
- Austin startup Outdoor Voices to close all retail stores - Bizwomen, bizjournals.com
- Outdoor Voices cuts jobs as founder Tyler Haney resigns, retaildive.com, Feb 24, 20
- Ty Haney Returns to Outdoor Voices With New Vision & Collection, Athletech News, 2025-07-28
- Ty Haney Speaks Out About Outdoor Voices' Missteps--and What Comes Next, Ty Haney Speaks Out About Outdoor Voices' Missteps--and What Comes Next, Jan 19, 20
- Outdoor Voices | Activewear & Athletic Apparel for Recreation, outdoorvoices.com
- Startup Intros - Founder-Investor Matching Intelligence, Startup Intros, Jul 13, 20
- Tyler Haney, Founder of Outdoor Voices — $25M Raised, Bio, startupfundraising.com, Jul 21, 20
- Activewear brand Outdoor Voices acquired by owner of ..., finance.yahoo.com, Jun 3, 202
- Near-Bankrupt Outdoor Voices Sued for $2.5 Million By Jilted Supplier, WWD, 2024-04-02
- Terms of Use | Outdoor Voices, outdoorvoices.com, Mar 25, 20
- BackGrid USA, Inc. v. Outdoor Voices, Inc. 2:2021cv01325, dockets.justia.com
How this case file was put together
Every statement on this page carries a numbered note, and every note points to a court record, a regulatory filing or a named publication in the list of sources. Each statement was checked against the text of the sources it cites before it was published: a figure, a date or a name the cited source does not contain was cut rather than kept. Allegations are shown as allegations, with their status at the time of the source (filed, charged, convicted, pleaded, settled, dismissed or pending). Quoted lessons are the words of the person or publication named with them, copied from the cited source; nothing here is our own opinion of why the company failed.
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