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Most founders chase inspiration. Melissa Mash built infrastructure.
Long before Dagne Dover became a recognizable name in retail, Mash was 24 years old, tasked with turning around Coach’s Heathrow Terminal 5 store. Reporting directly to the President of Coach International, she was responsible for fixing everything: inventory flow, staffing, merchandising, operations.
It was an early lesson in ownership: if something is broken, you fix it. No excuses.
That same mindset would define how she built Dagne Dover.
Build With Intention
When Mash returned to business school, she wasn't exploring ideas. She was preparing to execute one.
She took supply chain courses to meet factories. She studied pricing and product innovation with a clear goal: launch a brand that solved a real gap in the market. She wanted a bag that could go from flight to office to night out, without costing $1,000 and without sacrificing function.
The early samples were rough. The first production runs happened in a small Garment District room. The website went up and started working minutes before the launch party started..
The philosophy was simple: prove people want it before you perfect it.
Don’t Ask “Would You?”
Bags are capital-intensive. High minimum order quantities. Overseas production. Long timelines.
Misjudge demand, and the consequences compound quickly. So Mash became disciplined about validation.
“Avoid ‘would’ questions. Don’t ask, ‘Would you buy this?’ Ask questions that uncover what people actually do.”
Whether that's asking them to pick between two samples or asking highly specific questions. Instead of hypotheticals, they tested behavior. They ran presales. They measured traction. They gathered proof. They kept a waitlist to gauge what people liked.
People are generous with opinions. They are careful with money.
Presales forced clarity. Either customers pulled out their wallets, or they didn’t.
That early evidence made fundraising possible. Investors weren’t backing an aesthetic. They were backing demonstrated demand.
The lesson: validation is leverage.
The Material That Changed the Market
The inflection point came while swimming in a pool in Vietnam. Neoprene – structured like leather, but lighter, modern and washable – aligned perfectly with the rise of athleisure and casualization of work.
It became Dagne Dover’s signature. This was the material that would allow her vision to come to reality. This was the bag material that could start at the gym and end at a club or work event.
Retailers followed. Nordstrom. Equinox. Bloomingdale’s. Dick’s Sporting Goods. Today, Dagne Dover sits in hundreds of retail locations nationwide.
Wholesale wasn’t an afterthought. Often dismissed by early consumer brands, it became a growth engine. Distribution wasn’t just about revenue. It was about customer acquisition and letting others amplify the story. It was a strategic choice. Others helped tell the story.
Brand as Community
Dagne Dover didn’t just sell bags. It built moments.
For its five-year anniversary, the company opened a space in Soho and invited the NYC community in for Dagne Summer Games – workouts, mixology classes, family events, a wall celebrating personal superpowers. A weeklong open invitation in Soho celebrating community, the brand leaned into participation.
And, it wasn't just an influencer-only event. The invite was open to the public.
Mash believes deeply in investing in the people telling your story; retail associates, customers, team members. Each becomes an extension and advocates of the brand.
As Mash shared at the Female Founders Forum:
“One of the biggest assets you can provide as a founder is never letting that energy die.”
Energy fuels teams. Teams fuel the community. Community fuels longevity.
Designing for Decades
Dagne Dover now employs roughly 40 people, anchored in New York. The product line has expanded far beyond its original tote, but the philosophy remains consistent: build products that last.
Not all feedback is valid. But repeated feedback matters. Iteration is intentional.
The goal isn’t trendiness. It’s relevance over decades.
Creation Over Discovery
At the Female Founders Forum, Mash left students with one line that distilled her journey:
“Life isn’t about finding yourself – it’s about creating yourself.”
There was no single breakthrough moment.
There was Heathrow at 24.
There were bad samples.
There was a barely functioning website.
There was a material discovered while swimming on a trip.
There were risks taken on wholesale.
Each decision compounded. So, for founders: Use your education intentionally. Validate with behavior, not hypotheticals. Prove demand before scaling production. Let distribution amplify your story. Sustain founder energy: it compounds.
From Heathrow to Soho, the throughline was never luck. It was design. She didn’t wait to discover who she was supposed to be.
She built it.
