• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, March 8, 2017

Listening to the husband and wife and founder team of Jen Blackman Lavelle and Kevin Lavelle -- CMO and Co-Founder, respectively of Mizzen+Main talk about their startup brand at the Brand Marketers Insider Summit and it gives me hope, not just for brand marketing, but for American ingenuity and startup culture. You just know this brand is going to be huge.

As difficult as new marriages might be, the couple decided to launch their Dallas-based business in 2012 right after getting married. It was based on a keen insight Kevin had that a significant number of men were looking for a dress shirt made out of performance fabrics. Think Brooks Brothers meets Underarmour.

Kevin said his inspiration came from perspiration. His lightbulb went off when he saw businessman running to catch a train and noticed how his sweat-drenched shirt clung to his back.

Some funding and R&D later, the couple launched their performance dress apparel line and just needed to let consumers know about it.

After a failed experience with an Esquire, they applied for and were approved for a sponsorship on Tim Ferriss’ blog and quickly sold out of all their inventory.

Most of their marketing since has been focused on sports celebrity athlete endorsements.

But as Jen notes, PR is an important part of the equation too.

She said the team has spent a lot of time cultivating “media contacts” and that has paid off in spades thanks to them spreading the word.

She attributes it “being genuine and being human and forming those relationships.”