3 friends pooled $3,000 to sell T-shirts—they’ve brought in over $250 million since 2019

At first, confidence was the key to Ryan Bartlett’s success. Then, it was nearly his downfall.

When Bartlett and a couple friends pooled $3,000 to launch men’s apparel brand True Classic in 2019, he’d never sold clothing before. But the idea behind True Classic, affordable shirts built to flatteringly fit the everyman, seemed to resonate with people.