San Diego's Popular Hat Brand Huega House Hits $1M without VC Funding
Co-Founder Jonathan Ruley shares details on how it launched the profitable hat brand
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In San Diego, this hat brand has been red hot since its founding two years ago.
Whether you’ve noticed it yet or not, Huega House hats are everywhere: from famous celebrities wearing them at star-studded sporting events, to social media influencers with large followings promoting them.
The vintage-inspired premium hat brand was founded by former NFL linebacker Jake Ryan, whose 32 and a 30-year-old marketer Jonathan Ruley.
Huega House, pronounced “hue-guh,” has experienced hockey stick growth this past year after earning significant media attention and winning support from prominent athletes and internet content creators, according to the company’s founders.
Launched in 2022, the direct-to-consumer startup recently hit $1 million in annual revenue, up from $500,000 last year.
More impressively, it is profitable, has less than ten employees, and has not raised a single dollar in venture capital funding.
“We started exactly two years ago and began selling in September that year,” Jonathan Ruley, Co-Founder of Huega House, told me during our 30-minute phone call. “We invested $10,000 between my co-founder Jake and I. I'm happy to say that we are profitable and we have been for some time. Today, we're well positioned for growth and scalability.”
For Business of San Diego, I spoke with the founders to discuss the company’s founding story, early success, and their thoughts building a startup in San Diego.
High Level Overview
Founded in 2022, Huega House is a direct-to-consumer company that sells premium vintage-inspired hats.
The San Diego-based company has seen strong growth due to its strong online presence and organic promotion from prominent professional athletes.
In 2023, the company brought in more than $500,000 million in sales and it is on track to at least triple that number this year alone.
It has two full-time employees, six contractors and its fulfillment center is based in North County, Carlsbad.
Founding Story
After graduating from Boise State University in 2018, Jonathan Ruley worked as the head of marketing for Vizer, a social wellness tech company based in San Diego.
In 2022, Mr. Ruley began pursuing a creative side hustle and teamed up with former NFL play Jake Ryan — who he met through a close family connection — to launch a company of his own.
The duo kicked off their business partnership shortly after bonding over their interest in fashion, specifically around hats.
They worked on that idea, what is now known as Huega House, for nearly two years before Ruley left his full-time job at Vizer, according to Ruley.
“In the early days we applied everything they knew, from social media marketing to photography to design, in an attempt to generate recurring sales from digital content and channels,” he said.
“We took action pretty quick,” said Jonathan Ruley. “We didn't really think twice and just dove into it. We knew what type of hats, the style and feeling we wanted to create. We went into design and luckily for us the brand took off, fairly quickly.”
The Product Line
Earlier this year, Huega House launched a hat collaboration with Jake Cronenworth, a professional San Diego Padres player. That limited collection, reportedly sold out in about three hours.
The company has seen recording breaking sales growth month-over-month in the first half of 2024. It has doubled its revenue, surpassing $1 million in sales since June, and has a $2.3 million run rate.
Its primary customer base is primarily men and women from ages 25 to 44, with women buying more than half, or 60 percent of Huega House’s hats. It sells premium hats costing roughly $39.
Professional athletes seen sporting Huega Hats include Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Josh Allen among other celebrities like Noah Beck and Koe Wetzel.
“These instances have significantly boosted our brand visibility and validated our products’ appeal among high-profile individuals,” said Jake Ryan, co-founder and former NFL player.
Consumer Startup in San Diego
Looking ahead, the startup has future plans to expand and sell other apparel. It may consider raising capital in the future.
“We never started this to have a big payday. We want to go all in for as long as we can,” said Ruley. “We're just too fired up to even think about any type of exit as of right now … we're in it for the long run.”
Ruley said the San Diego consumer scene as pretty collaborative. He noted San Diego-based founders of Vuori Clothing, Blenders, Pura Vida Bracelets and others, have helped pave the way for up-and-coming brands succeed in the space.
“San Diego has a sneaky entrepreneur scene,” said Ruley. “If you're in the scene, a lot of entrepreneurs know each other. That’s one of the benefits of the San Diego community as they all come together, and they're willing to help and share and just watch each other grow and support.”
Reached $1 million without venture funding, wow! I loved learning how this San Diego hat brand, Huega House, became so successful. I need to check out their collection, especially the ones the athletes are wearing. Seems like they have something really special! If I were a porcelain online shop or dinnerware set, I'd want to be this successful!
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