Founder Friday: Russ Wallace & Mike Constantiner, Co-Founders of Freestyle 👶
Issue #54
Founder Friday is a content series from SuperAngel.Fund that highlights companies across our portfolio and the inspiring founders behind them.
One of my favorite parts of this job is meeting incredible founders early, often before the rest of the world catches on.
Years ago I started Founder Friday where I showcase these entrepreneurs with my network.
I’m excited to bring the series back.
In our 54th edition, we are featuring Russ Wallace and Mike Constantiner, co-founders of Freestyle, a high-performance babycare brand redefining diapers and wipes for modern families 👶.
Russ and Mike bring deep experience across consumer brands and startups. Mike previously co-founded Cameo, the viral video platform that reached the App Store Top 10 before later being acquired by Vimeo, while Russ helped scale Hello Bello past a $100M run rate as Head of Business Development.
While legacy brands like Pampers and Huggies dominate the market, many parents have begun seeking cleaner ingredients, better materials, and higher-performance products for their babies.
So they built Freestyle.
Freestyle’s flagship diapers feature patent-pending 7-layer absorbency technology, are Total Chlorine Free, and EWG Verified®.
Since launching online in 2022, Freestyle has grown rapidly and expanded into major retailers including Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods, and is also available on Amazon and Freestyle.world.
The brand has also built an impressive marketing engine powered by 1,000+ creators and influencers, powering it to become one of the fastest players in the category, with ~400% year-over-year growth.
SuperAngel was proud to first back Freestyle in 2021 and continue throughout their scale up stages, including in their most recent Series A round.
If you or someone you know is currently in the diaper buying phase, feel free to use or share promo code SuperAngel20.
And see what Russ and Mike have to say in this week’s Founder Friday Q&A 👇
Founder Q&A
Describe your company in 5 words or less.
Russ: High performance diapers and wipes.
Mike: Premium family essentials.
What was your primary motivation for starting your business?
Russ: Hello Bello had been an eye-opening experience into the world of diapers and wipes, and it felt like even though the business was doing really well (at the time), they were leaving a lot on the table in terms of content around modern parenting. What I saw in the world as a parent was young people genuinely trying to rethink the entire act of building a family -- what it meant for them and their kids, how to fix perceived misses in their own upbringing, even where to live when raising a family. So when Mike and I found that we could talk about these generational differences for hours at a time, it felt like we uniquely had the kind of passion, insights, and experience that could support building a new brand for the category.
Mike: When I became a dad, I was genuinely disappointed by the options in the category. Most were dated, underperforming, or overpriced — usually some mix of the three. Freestyle started as our answer to that.
What new product/feature are you most excited about and why?
Russ: For sure our SkinShield diaper, which is low key the best diaper that has ever been made (unbiased opinion). Lab results confirm it, customers shout it out on socials, and the look on people’s faces when they actually test in person is shocking and deeply satisfying. And the fact that you don’t need a trust fund to have access to an exceptional diaper makes me very proud of the hard work we put into engineering it.
Mike: Our new diaper, SkinShield, is really innovative. We designed a completely novel way it absorbs and makes it the top performing diaper we’ve ever tested.
What piece of advice would you give an entrepreneur starting a business today?
Russ: I’ve tried many times to build a venture-backed startup, and this is the first one that found the path to escape velocity. The difference that stands out the most to me is that (i) I got lucky in finding a great partner who balanced out the gaps in my capabilities and many of my bad instincts, and (ii) I finally learned to ignore the vanity metrics -- investment rounds, users, visits, reviews, social media metrics -- and get laser focused on revenue and the path to profit. At the end of the day, a business is just a cash-generating machine; you can convince yourself that it’s about something else, that yours is different, but it won’t survive unless it becomes that machine. So my advice is try to separate out the things that the company does for you -- the vanity stuff -- and learn to care deeply about the things the company does that generate (or that can generate in the near future) profits. It’s harder than it sounds, and for me, it was the unlock to building something that has a chance to succeed.
Mike: Lack of focus is the number one thing that kill startups. Have a clear goal of where you want to get to, and be very mindful of the daily steps it will take to get there. Nothing happens overnight.
What do you love to do in your free time?
Russ: Exploring anything -- an academic field or a place in the world -- with my family. I thrive on constant movement and new things.
Mike: Spend time with my family and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
What is the most interesting place you’ve visited recently and why?
Russ: By far, it’s China. I had so many preconceived notions about our first visit to China to see our suppliers, and the experience blew me away. It’s a genuinely unique and authentic culture and place, and as a visitor and a business partner my experiences there have far exceeded my expectations.
Mike: China. It’s like jumping forward 10-20 years into the future in certain ways. Super cool to see what’s going on there first hand. Also, easily the best food in the world.
What is your favorite app or tool in your work life and in your personal life?
Russ: Using OpenClaw to help me organize my schedule and tasks has been surprisingly effective. It’s not everything the hype promises it will be, but I’m more productive with it than without it.
Mike: Work: As lame as it sounds, Slack. We’re a fully remote team, so it’s the hub of communication internally. Personal: Skylight. Keeps our family’s schedules easily accessible for both us parents and the kids.
What do you want to be when you grow up (besides a successful founder)? 😊
Russ: Jimmy Buffett 2.0. That guy cracked the code.
Mike: Healthy and my kids to still want to hang out with me lol.
What do you believe is the most important skill or attribute of a successful founder?
Russ: Persistence and a lack of shame.
Mike: Resilience.
Know a founder building something exceptional?
Reply to this email — I’m always looking to meet great entrepreneurs.
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