At just 26, Hyla Nayeri and Adrien Bettio are the founders of a multimillion-dollar brand: 437 swimwear and apparel.
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The best friends came up with the idea for the company while on an exchange trip in Europe during their third year at Queens University, where they were both enrolled in the commerce program.
“We were travelling to beaches all over Europe, and eventually started asking ourselves why we could never find any bikinis that were flattering as well as comfortable, but not frumpy,” explains Bettio. “At that time, most of the swimsuit companies people would buy from tended to cater to tall, slim model builds, and we were just regular women that didn’t feel like those suits were meant for our 5′3 frames.”
After returning from Europe in the summer before their final year at Queens, the pair sat down and began formulating a plan for a swimwear line. Their goal? To create swimsuits designed to be universally flattering and mold to the body “like a second skin.”
They officially launched 437 in July 2017 with four classic styles made from a soft polyester-spandex blend constructed with a double-layered design for a universally curve-hugging fit. (Aside from their all-woman team, their fabric remains their biggest selling point.) It took some time for the brand to gain traction—for the first year, they were only getting one or two orders a month—but a savvy Instagram presence eventually paid off. So did big-name co-signs from the likes of Halsey, Winnie Harlow, Charlie D’Amelio and Kylie Jenner, who has worn both their sarong and a pair of 437 bottoms, the latter on the cover of Vogue, no less.
Now, the brand has evolved to include apparel, and both women are eyeing yet another expansion: selling in markets beyond Canada and the U.S. But like a lot of today’s entrepreneurial #GoldGetters, they also know work isn’t everything.
“Even though 437 is our baby, it isn’t our whole life, and the company does not define us as individuals,” says Nayeri. “We take time away from work to get re-grounded by spending time with family and loved ones.”
That work-life balance is essential as she and Bettio are well aware that, in their line of work, things can change quickly and plans “can end up out the window,” whether that’s because manufacturers go out of business and stop answering their calls, or a suit shipment arrives soaking wet from transit, or the world abruptly changes because of a global pandemic.
“We’ve seen it all,” says Nayeri. “Ultimately, the company will grow as we do. We came up with 437 when we were 21-year-old university students, and here we are as 26-year-old women with different priorities and different tastes. We want the brand to grow with us and reflect our changing tastes. Who knows, maybe when one of us gets engaged we will come out with a bridal collection!”
And why not? The success of 437 – and of Nayeri and Bettio – is rooted in what they like and want to see, and also in their desire to simply work together.
As Nayeri says, “Our goal was never to make a name for ourselves, it was always just to create suits we loved and would bring other people the confidence that we ourselves felt in [them].”
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Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.