Education

At Female Founder Collective’s The 10th House, we often see founders chase growth by expanding everywhere at once, more channels, more spend, more tactics. In our session Growth & Distribution: Go-To-Market Strategy, Reshma Chattaram Chamberlin, co-founder of Somersault, shared a different approach: growth isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing the right things, deeply and intentionally.

Reshma’s track record speaks for itself. Over the past nine years, she helped build Somersault into a category-defining swimwear brand with over $350 million in sales, more than 1 million sidestroke suits sold, and a customer base exceeding 1.5 million. Recently named the #1 overall swimwear brand by Forbes, Somersault’s success wasn’t driven by massive budgets, it was driven by clarity: knowing exactly who the customer is, where to reach her, and how to build lasting demand.

For founders navigating early-stage growth and distribution decisions, Reshma’s framework offers a grounded, repeatable strategy.

What Actually Drives Go-To-Market Success

Here are the core principles Reshma shared for building sustainable growth:

Your customer is the strategy, not your revenue goal. Reshma emphasized that your North Star should always be your customer, not a number. The more specific you are about her, how she spends her time, what she reads, what her weekends look like, the more magnetic your brand becomes. At Somersault, a key insight was that customers weren’t just buying swimwear, they were buying for trips. That shifted content toward packing lists, vacation styling, and travel moments. When COVID disrupted travel, the brand pivoted seamlessly to “adventures big and small,” staying aligned with the customer’s reality.

You don’t need a big budget, you need the right relationships. Somersault grew through genuine connections, not transactional networking. Reshma encouraged founders to treat networking as relationship-building: be clear about what you need, reach out consistently, and make it easy for people to help. A simple framework, identify three needs, three people per need, and reach out weekly, can unlock opportunities that paid marketing can’t.

Hype is a business asset, reuse it relentlessly. Early validation matters more than founders think, but only if you use it. Reshma shared that Somersault still leverages early press mentions years later. Customer quotes, media features, and influencer endorsements should be reused across ads, email, and organic content. Her rule: paid media alone burns cash, but paid combined with hype drives growth.

Focus beats fragmentation in early growth. Founders often feel pressure to be everywhere, but Reshma stressed the importance of choosing one or two channels and going deep. Somersault prioritized Instagram and Facebook, not because they were trendy, but because that’s where their customer already was. Early-stage brands win by mastering a few channels, not experimenting with all of them.

Retention is where real value is created. Acquisition gets attention, but retention builds the business. Reshma described retention as a brand’s “love language,” making customers want to come back. Somersault reinvents its best-selling sidestroke suit in new variations, offers loyalty perks, and creates excitement through collaborations like its Bridgerton partnership. A customer who buys twice is exponentially more valuable than one who buys once.

Collaborations are growth shortcuts, when done right. Reshma framed collaborations as “cheat codes” for growth. The right partnership can unlock new audiences, improve ad performance, and generate press. The key is alignment, look for overlapping customers without direct competition. Early collaborations, like Somersault’s partnership with Supergoop, helped both brands grow. Structurally, smaller brands often cover production costs and pay royalties, but the exposure and credibility can outweigh the investment.

Test, iterate, and don’t overthink brand evolution. From influencer gifting to brand messaging, Reshma encouraged experimentation. Not every influencer tier will perform equally. Not every campaign will convert. But consistent testing reveals what works. And importantly, customers don’t notice brand shifts as much as founders think. Iteration is part of growth.

Why Clarity Outperforms Complexity

For early-stage founders, go-to-market strategy can feel overwhelming, endless channels, tools, and tactics competing for attention. Reshma’s approach simplifies the equation: clarity drives growth.

Know your customer deeply. Focus your efforts. Build real relationships. Amplify what’s already working.

When founders align their strategy around the customer instead of chasing every opportunity, growth becomes more efficient, and more sustainable.