How TA3 Scaled Viral, Bootstrapped Swimwear Toward $100M

TA3 makes mega-sculpting swimwear and ready-to-wear for women who want to eat, drink, relax, and still look great doing it. Founded by fashion designer Leila Shams in 2020, the brand was built on a technical foundation borrowed from surgical compression garments: shapewear engineered directly into swimwear, available in up to 160 sizes. Bootstrapped from day one and celebrity-endorsed through organic discovery rather than brand deals, TA3 is targeting $100 million in revenue within the next few years.

The product: Built from frustration

Leila Shams has been designing clothes for 25 years. She started at large fashion houses and was, by her own account, very good at it. But one frustration followed her throughout: putting on a swimsuit.

"I was just never looking forward to vacation, and vacation should be the best times of the year. I decided I just wanted to be able to eat, drink and relax and still look and feel hot."

Rather than standard swimwear construction, Leila based TA3 on surgical compression garments: the kind worn after body procedures to hold and sculpt shape. Building that engineering into swimwear meant women could get the same effect without a clinical context.

"Every woman I talked to, I was like: I'm building shapewear into swimsuits. And they were like: yes, I need that, I want that. So I knew it was going to work."

She launched from home during COVID. Boxes were everywhere. Her husband wanted them gone. They had spent everything on the first production run.

The growth: Viral on the product's own merits

Leila filmed a simple comparison video early on: their suit next to a competitor's, shot on her phone. TA3 sold out of that first round almost immediately. The product had viral potential and the content proved it.

Shark Tank followed. Leila didn't get a deal. She walked off the set thinking about Ring doorbell, which also didn't get a deal and later sold for billions. That rejection became part of the brand's story.

"No one got it, which is why we love people like Wayflyer. The investors don't get it."

The celebrity endorsements came without being engineered. Billie Eilish DMed the brand to say the suits were her favourite. Drew Barrymore commented on a post with the same words. Beyoncé's team reached out.

"There are brands out there with amazing relationships with celebrities or they're celebrity-run. For us, it's completely based on the product."

Going viral creates its own operational pressure. TA3's underwire suit comes in up to 160 sizes: bra-sized, three torso lengths, from extra-extra small to 4X. When content takes off, the brand needs to be able to restock within days. That means keeping fabric, underwire, zippers and components on hand at all times.

"If something goes crazy, you can get back into it really quickly. You really have to keep fabric in stock."

Being sold out when a video is spreading costs real sales.

The capital: Switching to easier

Before Wayflyer, TA3 ran on venture debt.

"It was very stressful. The second we switched over to Wayflyer, it was like everything was very easy. It's really helped us with inventory. We had a really big summer this year, the biggest summer we've ever had, and we're going into the biggest fall we've ever had. We couldn't have done it without them."

TA3 is fully bootstrapped. Leila owns the company alongside some of her team. The direction it takes is entirely theirs to decide. The next target is $100 million in revenue. After that, stores in every city.

"I want it to be a global business. I want everyone to be wearing TA3."

Interested in following in TA3's footsteps? Wayflyer has funded over 6,000 businesses worldwide with $6 billion worth of working capital, backed by world-leading financial institutions. Apply in minutes and access funds in hours. Start your application today.