Interview with Cassie Abel, founder of Wild Rye and Women-Led Wednesday

When I called Cassie Abel founder of Wild Rye, a technical mountain apparel brand for women, she was multi-tasking at her brand’s headquarters in Sun Valley, Idaho. Wild Rye is a typical small business. Full of big ideas and run by a few people with multiple job titles, passion, and the tenacity to punch above their weight with scrappy budgets and limited time to get it all done. 

Wild Rye, like many women-owned independent businesses, was “built out of a need-based inspiration,” says Abel, a mountain girl, who couldn’t find technical apparel that met her standards of function and style. While the brand has doubled in size each year,  it’s still a small brand. 

In 2018,  Cassie was debating when to launch Wild Rye’s holiday sales. Cassie recalls, “Black Friday seems like a day of mass overconsumption and that's the opposite of what we're about, creating premium products that last a lifetime. Cyber Monday just felt like a battle of insane ad budgets, and we obviously didn't fit into that. Small Business Saturday still felt really brick and mortar.” After researching that nothing existed, Cassie founded Women-Led Wednesday, a purpose-driven shopping holiday that encourages the public to support women in business—in efforts to create a more gender-balanced economy through collective purchasing.  

Cassie created a website and directory- now listing over 450 women-run brands. While Wild Rye is a key player in the outdoor industry, Women-Led Wednesday provides a platform for all women entrepreneurs: everything from craft snack brands to skincare companies. Through coordinated efforts, close to one hundred women-led businesses will promote sales and discounts on November 25th, 2020,  encouraging mindful spending in support of women. 

2020 has been particularly devastating for women in business. Due to the COVID-19 crisis,  it is estimated that two million women will leave the workforce this year.  “When the time comes for these women to re-enter the workforce, it’s imperative that we have a strong foundation of women-led brands and organizations to welcome them back,” further explains Abel. “By supporting women with our purchasing power,  we can help bring women's leadership to the front.”

I interviewed Cassie about Wild Rye, Women-Led Wednesday, and the Outdoor Industry: 

On the future of women’s leadership:

When brainstorming Women-Led Wednesday, I learned that women make up 52 percent of the professional-level workforce, yet only 6 percent of CEOs among S&P 500. So yes, we should all be thinking about voting with our dollars and using our purchasing power to elevate the women that are already in leadership positions and are apt to grow a business and bring other women up with them. That’s only going to create more women positioned for leadership in the future.

How Women Businesses Differ: 

Women are listening to their customers very carefully. Many women-led businesses are built out of a need-based inspiration, including Wild Rye. Most women are coming from a place of sincere love. In general, I think women tend to be less interested in taking on debt or outside investments, so these brands are going to grow at their own speed and it takes customers supporting them to grow. For many women, this is our first rodeo. Also, it’s hard not to notice that women tiptoe around conversations about money more than our male counterparts. 

About Wild Rye

When I started Wild Rye, a big part of what we were doing was trying to change the narrative. Historically, marketing in the outdoors has been pretty masculine- all about men winning and being the best. A lot of women are motivated to get out with friends, exercise, and enjoy being outside. Women are there for the whole journey celebrating the little moments.  Our products are designed to function for elite performing athletes but are approachable. It's the highest quality product out there but with a contemporary style and premium fit. 

I think that we're challenging the status quo and forcing bigger brands to do better. We’re small, but were being noticed by the bike industry and that’s exciting. 

About Being a Woman in the Outdoor Industry

I’ve never been demoralized by the male-heavy environment of the outdoor industry, but I've spent a lot of time in the industry and done a ton of networking. I've paid my dues and I feel really supported. There are a million challenges to being a small and growing business, but, especially in male-dominated industries, there are certainly extra hurdles for women-led businesses including access to funding, leadership/founder role models etc. That said, I do think that the few of us women who are here really make a point to find each other and build strong and valuable relationships. I’ve found that women-founders (at least in the outdoor industry) are happy to share resources, ideas, feedback, and more.

*Interview edited for clarity.