Garret Akerson: From Nearly Shutting Down His Brand to a Successful Exit 3 Years Later

Garret Akerson is the co-founder and former CEO (now Chairman) of Kindred Bravely, one of the largest maternity and breastfeeding brands in the U.S. 


Expect to hear about: 

– Origin Story: How Garret and his wife Deeanne started Kindred Bravely after she was expecting and couldn’t find quality maternity clothes. 

– 2018 Crisis: How he saved the business by scaling ad spend and pulling off a make-or-break Black Friday & Cyber Monday sale. 

– Hiring A+ Players Fast: Their unique group-interview process that surfaces top talent quickly and efficiently. 

– 2021 Exit: Why he and Deeanne sold a majority stake to PE, to de-risk and de-stress. 

– Life After Exit: Staying involved in Kindred Bravely and launching a Vistage CEO peer group in San Diego to mentor other founders.


Find Garret on:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/garretakerson/ 

What is High Stakes Growth?

High Stakes Growth™ takes you inside the boldest decisions behind today’s most exciting consumer brands. We bring you candid conversations with the founders and CMOs who built them—unpacking the high-stakes moments, tough calls, and game-changing strategies that made these brands what they are today. No fluff. No surface-level insights. Just real stories from the leaders who made it happen. Hosted by Forest Bronzan and Leah Lloyd, they bring a combined four decades of consumer brand expertise to these conversations.