North Carolina, near Tryon, and being used on hunter’s apparel under the brand name No Trace®.” The small world grew even smaller when she dug deeper and learned there was a strong interconnection between her growing interest in fabric technology and her own personal background. Her husband had grown up in Danville, Virginia, home of Dan River, Inc., one of the largest textile mills in America and the owner of the No Trace® odor absorbing technology. Like the majority of cotton mills, it was in financial straits by 2006, shutting plants left and right even before the recession closed in. “We learned that Dan River had just gone bankrupt, and I wondered how to license their technology. What I found was that they hadn’t yet sold their patent. I made an offer. No one was buying anything in 2008, and the company was happy to get anything, even a low price. Once we had the patent, in 2009, we did a year of research and development to find the right wicking fabric and develop our patent for a new type of panty.” Angela had bought the patent and developed some fabrics, but that was a long way from starting a business and bringing a product to market. “I took the leap, but I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had been a consultant to businesses, but not the founder of one. I guess the stars just aligned.” Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, the oldest of three, she grew up in Tryon. “My dad spent his entire career in textiles at Milliken in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and retired as an executive division president. After I graduated from Tryon High School, I went to the University of Virginia where I got my undergraduate degree in business. I wanted to work in manufacturing—I liked the analytics and the problem-solving aspects of it—so I joined A.T. Kearney, a leading manufacturing and supply chain consultancy. After three years, a former professor encouraged me to apply to Harvard Business School. That’s
where I got my masters in business administration, in 1996, met my husband, Todd, and moved to Charlotte.” Harvard, she says, opened a lot of doors for her. She returned to consulting, with the premier firm of McKinsey & Company, advisors to the world’s leading businesses. McKinsey was growing its operations practices and had a new office in Charlotte. “After living in New York, Boston, and Chicago, I was ready to return to the south.” Thereafter, she spent nine more years in consulting, five with Springs Industries, a billion dollar textile company in Fort Mill, South Carolina. “So between my dad working in textiles, and my association with textiles, I had enough knowledge to be dangerous. I didn’t study textiles in school, and I am not a textile engineer. I did, however, know enough about textiles to find my way around the business. I love the feel of natural fabrics and fibers. I committed to *Supima®: A licensed staying away from synthetic fabrics, trademark, owned by and instead, figure out a way to get Supima and its members, the best performance out of natural used to promote products fabric, especially cotton.” made of 100% Pima cotton Moisture-wicking technology (a generic name for extra has been around for decades, long staple cotton) and used primarily in sports apparel is strictly controlled by made from synthetic polyesters. the grower organization. The fabric is designed so that moisture cannot be absorbed and passes through the fabric, “wicking” it away from the body and dispersing it to an exterior part of the fabric for faster drying. However, would it work on cotton, the fabric of choice for what Angela had in mind? Not just any cotton, but Supima*, which is the highest grade 100% cotton. A natural fiber that is “breathable,” cotton offers several advantages, including January 2015 | capitalatplay.com
33