One Year In: A Look Back at Year One of Bait Dogs Apparel

One Year In: A Look Back at Year One of Bait Dogs Apparel

One year ago today, July 11th, 2025, we launched Bait Dogs Apparel.

It started as an idea in my head. A name I had been sitting on for a while. A mission I believed in deeply. And a whole lot of nerves about whether anyone else would believe in it too.

One year later, here we are. And I have a lot to say.

Launch Day

I remember the morning we launched. I was excited and nervous in equal measure. We had a few friends and family who were ready to support us from day one, and when those first purchases came in, that support meant everything.

But we also had to manage our expectations. This was a brand new business with no track record, no proof of concept, and no guarantee that anyone outside of our personal circles would ever connect with what we were trying to say.

We were confident. But we were also realistic. We knew that building something real takes time.

What we did not expect was how fast things would start to move.

11 Days

Before we launched, my business partner set a goal. He wanted to sell to someone we did not know personally by the end of 2025.

We did it in 11 days.

I cannot overstate what that moment meant to us. We love our friends and family and their support was incredible. But a stranger finding us, connecting with our message, and trusting us enough to buy our product, that was the first sign that this thing was real. That it could grow beyond the people who already believed in us just because they knew us.

That moment changed everything.

What Year One Actually Looked Like

I will be honest with you. Running a business while working a full time job is a lot. After my day job I hop on and get to work on Bait Dogs. Late nights, figuring things out we had never done before, building processes for handling everything from missing packages to photo shoots to social media, none of it came with a manual.

But here is the thing. I never really dreaded it. I do not say "I have to work on Bait Dogs tonight." I say I get to go play businessman. It feels more like a game than work. And every time my business partner and I sit down and talk through where we are and where we are going, it fires me up all over again.

That energy is what got us through the hard parts of year one. And there were hard parts. A lot of learning on the fly. A lot of problems we had never solved before. A lot of figuring out digital marketing, SOPs, supplier relationships, and everything in between, sometimes all at once.

But we solved every problem that came up. And each one made us sharper.

The People Behind It

None of this happens without my business partner. He has handled logistics, customer support, finding suppliers, and keeping the website running. While I focus on the vision, the products, and the brand, he makes sure everything actually works. We are a yin and yang. He is detail oriented about the things I would not want to go near, and I am detail oriented about the things he hands off to me. It is a great partnership and I do not take it for granted for a second.

My parents have also been an incredible source of support this year. Having people who have known you your whole life believe in your vision means something different than any other kind of support. It means they see something in you that goes back further than any business plan ever could.

The Mission Landing

When I started Bait Dogs, I truly did not know if anyone outside of my personal world would connect with the message. I thought it was strong. I believed in it. But believing in something and watching it land with strangers are two very different things.

This year, strangers started reaching out. People I have never met, telling me that the brand resonated with them. That "Bite Back" meant something to them. That they saw themselves in what we were building.

I started this brand wanting to inspire one person. This year, I am pretty sure we have done that more than once. And every time it happens it inspires me right back.

I also want to say something I did not fully anticipate when we launched. We attracted dog people. I honestly did not think about that when we started, we are a gym brand at our core and that was my focus. But it makes complete sense. The people who love dogs, who care about animals, who understand what it means to root for the underdog, they found us too. And they are exactly who we want in this community. Welcome. We are glad you are here.

Giving Back

From day one, giving back to the Humane Society has been part of who we are. In year one we donated around $300. I want to be transparent, we have not been profitable every month, and technically our donation structure is based on monthly profit. But when we find ourselves sitting on more cash than we need, we donate anyway. Because that is who we want to be, regardless of what the numbers say.

The moment that meant the most to us this year had nothing to do with the Humane Society directly. A customer needed help raising money to rescue an abused dog. We donated to her GoFundMe. It was a small amount but it was personal. We got to see exactly where it went and what it did. That one felt really special. It was the mission made real in the most direct way possible.

The Growth

In the later months of year one we hit 80% month over month revenue growth. For a brand just over a year old, run by two guys with full time jobs, with no outside investment, we will take that every single day.

We have grown beyond where we thought we would be at the two year mark. That is not something I say lightly. That is something that still feels a little surreal when I stop and think about it.

The product line has grown too. We started with one oversized t-shirt. We now have hoodies, sweatpants, and several new designs. The hoodie feedback in particular has been incredible , and I can say without any bias that they are my favorite hoodies I have owned from any brand. I own six of them. That tells you everything you need to know.

What Year One Taught Me About Myself

I learned that I am a quick learner. Running a business forces that. I learned that I can be decisive when decisions need to be made fast. And I learned that I can take a vision and turn it into a concrete plan that other people can follow and believe in.

I did not know all of that about myself a year ago. This business showed me.

What I Would Say to Myself on Launch Day

If I could go back to July 5th, 2025 and say one thing to the version of me that was nervous and excited and had no idea what was about to happen, it would be this:

It's working. You aren't going to become a millionaire overnight and there is going to be a lot of work to get to where you want to go. But it's working. People are seeing the message and seeing themselves represented.

That is all I would need to hear.

What Year Two Looks Like

We are not slowing down. Year two means more products, new designs, more photo shoots, and if everything comes together the way we are planning, some in person events where we can actually meet the people who have been part of this community from the beginning.

The goal has always been to grow this thing into something that can do a lot of good, for people and for animals. Every dollar we make gets us closer to that. Every new customer who finds us and connects with the message gets us closer to that.

We are just getting started.

Thank You

I want to close this with something I mean with every part of me.

Thank you.

To every person who bought from us, shared a post, sent a message, or just believed in what we were building, thank you. I wish those two words could do more to show you how grateful I am.

I started this on a wing and a prayer. I wanted to inspire people to remember their strength when they feel at their weakest. And the fact that you supported a brand that was brand new, that you took a chance on us not knowing what to expect, that is extraordinary. We do not take that for granted for a single second.

We love making our customers happy. We are so glad every one of you is along for the ride.

What "Bite Back" Means After Year One

When we launched, "Bite Back" meant everything we needed it to mean in that moment. A year later, at its core, it still means the same thing.

Don't give up. Get back up.

This world is a tough place sometimes. But you are strong and capable of taking control and getting through it.

Year one proved that. And year two is going to prove it all over again.

We are the underdogs. We don't stay down, we bite back.