2013–2018 · Consumer Product
BudStraps
A fitness audio accessory brand born from a small annoyance — tangled earbuds at the gym — and grown into a multi-channel consumer business with 20,000+ units sold and a partnership with Amazon's Audible.
Overview
A small annoyance, scaled into a real brand.
BudStraps started as a fix for a problem I kept hitting at the gym — earbuds yanked out by a swinging cord, headphones tangled in a pocket. The original product was an elegantly simple silicone strap that ran behind the neck and kept wired buds in place during movement.
What began as a single SKU on Amazon grew into a small consumer brand with multiple form factors, a packaging system, brand film work, and partnerships. When AirPods reset the category, we evolved the line into PodStraps to keep wireless buds tethered too.
My role
End-to-end operator.
- Product design and material sourcing across multiple SKUs.
- Manufacturing, QC, packaging, and 3PL logistics.
- Brand identity, copywriting, and the brand film below.
- Amazon and DTC growth — listing, ads, reviews, lifecycle.
- Partnership work, including a campaign with Amazon's Audible.
Featured
Brand film.
BudStraps brand film · YouTube
Stills
Product & campaign.
Results
The numbers.
Lessons
What this taught me.
The hardest — and most useful — lesson was that a great product is only a fraction of a great consumer business. Distribution, listings, photography, returns handling, reviews, and partnerships all matter as much as the thing in the box.
That lens still shapes everything I build today: ship the smallest honest version, then earn the right to expand it.
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