Meet Hyla Nayeri & Adrien Bettio, Co-Founders of 437

Best friends Hyla Nayeri and Adrien Bettio launched 437 (previously known as 437 SWIMWEAR) after a summer of travelling across the Amalfi Coast and indulging in everything their hearts desired. The one issue they faced: finding swimwear that could keep up with their craving for adventure and carbs. The two set out to design a bikini that would accentuate their waist, elongate their legs and never stop them from grabbing that second serving of spaghetti bolognese. They launched the brand in the summer of 2017 out of the townhouse they lived in during their last year of university, 437 Johnson St.

My first job ever was… 

For Hyla: Hostess at Boston Pizza 

For Adrien: Sales support intern at Hugo Boss 

I decided to be an entrepreneur because… 

For Adrien & Hyla: We weren’t passionate about the career options business school showcased, so we decided we wanted to do something we are passionate about. We saw a gap in the industry and decided to take a chance and start this swimwear business to create swimwear that flattered all bodies 

My proudest accomplishment is… 

For Adrien: Making Forbes 30 under 30 this past year was a dream come true! This has been on our vision board since day one 

My biggest setback was… 

For Hyla: Our new manufacturer in New York fled overnight with $40,000 from our company and we never heard from them again! 

I overcame it by… 

For Hyla: Re-evaluating the swimwear we had and turning versatility into one of the core pillars of our brand. We started tying the tops backwards and figuring out ways to reinvent our existing inventory to brand ourselves as a swim that could be tied various ways. 

If you Googled me, you still wouldn’t know… 

For Hyla: How much I love reading, I’m an avid reader of finance, self help and wellness books

My best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is…

For Adrien: Don’t take everything so seriously. I think we were raised with so many high expectations put on us, and so much pressure to follow the traditional, linear route of excelling in school, then getting a secure job, then buying a house and starting a family. At 18, rather than having to look forward and make sure I was taking everything seriously so that I could follow that path, I should have been trying new things and having adventures. Life is short, everything works out as it should, and enjoying everyday by living in the present moment is the thing I wish I knew. 

The one piece of advice I give that I have trouble following myself is… 

For Adrien & Hyla: The importance of balance in your scheduling. Since day 1 of starting 437 we have prioritized balance in our lives. That meant sleeping enough, eating properly, working out, spending time with friends and family, and having personal downtime (on top of all of our work of course). We have had weeks, even months, where we feel like work is a non-stop grind. 

I stay inspired by… 

For Adrien & Hyla: We get countless emails, dms and messages about how someone has never felt wearing a bikini before and now feels empowered due to the way the suits are designed, the fabrics we picked and the messaging behind the brand. It is definitely something that we are so proud of and inspires us to keep working hard and inspiring more woman to feel their best selves. We attribute this accomplishment to our eye for detail and how focused we are on the design process alongside our design team. We always try on every style on a fit model from size XS to XXL and we don’t go into production unless every size feels extremely confident in their produced sample. 

My next step is… 

For Hyla & Adrien: We hope to focus on geographic expansion. Currently we only focus on the US and Canadian market (although we sell internationally they are not our focus of growth currently). This has been great because there are so many consumers that we still have yet to reach in these markets so there’s still a lot of room to grow. However in order to hit the next revenue milestones we want to begin to focus on geographic expansion to English-speaking locations such as the UK and Australia.