437 co-founders discuss starting a brand with your best friend at 20.
If you’ve been paying attention to your Instagram feed, chances are you’ve already seen a 437 bikini on your favorite influencer, model, or fitness guru. What you might not know is that the brand was created by best friends Hyla Nayeri and Adrien Bettio at the age of 20 while studying business at university. Nayeri and Bettio were spending a semester abroad and couldn’t find bikinis that would allow them to indulge in all that delicious European food while still feeling confident at the beach. This frustration gave them the idea to create their own swimwear—with universally flattering styles—that would empower other women to feel confident in their body and enjoy a guilt-free burger and fries at the beach. After university they focused on the brand full-time. Each invested a thousand dollars and took a trip to Asia to find a manufacturer and shoot content.