Round closed.
Record month.
America calling.
Hey legends. It's been a huge few months since our August memo. We closed the round, moved into the US properly, launched our biggest product yet with Sarah's Day, hit our first flat month in a long time, and then came back with a record October. Here's the full update.
These numbers are live
Straight from Shopify and Skio while you read. Not a static PDF in sight.
If a feed is napping, the tiles show the figures from this memo instead.
The short version
October was a monster
Shopify sales across all stores in October, from more than 33,000 orders. Add Amazon and it's about A$2.96M. Up 59% on September and almost double July (A$1.48M on the same basis), the month in our last memo.
Still the engine
Active subscribers in Australia, up from 18,151 at the end of July. That's 92% growth in a little over three months, and nearly 5x the 7,250 we reported in March.
Blackcurrant Crush
x Sarah's Day
On 14 October we launched Blackcurrant Crush with Creatine, our third Perform flavour, with a campaign led by Sarah and Kurt. The launch video was genuinely funny and did exactly what we hoped: it got people talking and buying.
It's shaping up as our new top seller in both flavour and product. Huge thanks to Sarah, Kurt and the team, and to everyone who shared the launch.
September: our first flat month, and what we learned
I want to be upfront about this one. September was our first down month in a long time. Shopify sales came in at A$1.83M, down about 8% on August. The cause wasn't demand. It was us:
- Stockouts. Perform and Sample Packs sold out as demand kept outrunning supply.
- Fulfilment backlogs. Our 3PL fell behind during the peak, and fulfilment costs ran well above normal.
- Rebuild delays. Some of the operating rebuild we described in the last memo took longer to land than planned.
What we've done about it
- Second co-manufacturer. We're moving production to Devine, our second Australian co-manufacturer, aiming to be exclusive with them from January. Their pricing is 23% to 48% cheaper per unit than our current manufacturer, and it improves further as we grow.
- Atlas IMS. We've built our own inventory management system, run by Atlas, our supply chain AI agent. It replaces Katana by mid-November and gives us live stock cover, purchase orders and production tracking in one place.
- Emma is now full time as our Supply Chain Manager, so supply chain finally has a dedicated owner.
October showed what happens when product is in stock: sales jumped 59% month on month. Supply chain is still our biggest constraint on growth, and it's where much of the new capital and our time is going.
Round closed, 8 October
of new capital, led by Side Stage Ventures (A$1.25M), alongside existing shareholders and new investors. All executed transaction documents and updated share certificates have been sent out, and the ASIC and member register updates are being finalised.
A huge thank you to everyone who backed us in this round, and to everyone who signed, re-signed and chased paperwork with us over a long few months. It's a big milestone, and it gives us the capital to fund inventory, build the US and keep scaling Australia.
New HQ: a garage in Newport Beach
Hyro US HQ is now officially our garage in Newport Beach. Very on brand for a start-up, and we're loving it. Here's where the US build is at:
- Our first US team member. Ryley joined in October as Customer Experience and US Operations Coordinator. She's helping with customer service across both markets and setting up our US operations.
- Second US production run. It's complete and lands in the warehouse this week, so we'll have stock on hand for a proper launch.
- TikTok Shop and creators. We've signed Common Thread Collective (CTC), who recently acquired TBar, to run our TikTok Shop end to end. They'll also run a creator affiliate program through Trybe, targeting at least 100 approved creator videos a month from 20+ creators to feed our Meta ads.
- New agency partners. We're onboarding new creative and performance partners to help us launch and scale paid acquisition in the US.
- Team work week. Next week the core team flies over for an intensive work week focused only on the US: launch plan, offer, creative, channels and operations. The goal is simple: get the US business launched and growing as fast as possible.
We're being deliberate. The US is still small today, and we're gating spend on unit economics before we scale. But the foundations are now in place, and the next few months are about traction.
More legends on deck
The team has grown on both sides of the Pacific:
Ryley
Our first US hire. Customer service across both markets, and setting up US operations.
Dani
Started 2 November in the Manly office. Community, customer experience, and wholesale and partnership follow-up.
Emma
Moved from contractor to full-time on 2 November. Supply chain finally has a dedicated owner.
Chris Wilkerson
Brings much tighter financial reporting and controls as we scale.
Alongside the human team, our AI agents continue to take on more of the business: customer service, finance, inventory and reporting. That lets the humans focus on brand, creative, partnerships and growth.
Front pages and morning telly
It's been a big stretch for the brand outside our own channels.
AFR Fast Starters 2026
Hyro has been named on the Australian Financial Review's 2026 Fast Starters list of Australia's fastest-growing young companies. Rankings are announced at the AFR event in Sydney on 10 November, where Mike will represent Hyro. Please keep this confidential until the official announcement.
The Australian's Top 100 Innovators
Hyro will feature in The Australian's 2026 Top 100 Innovators list, due to be announced shortly. Steve and Taylor have supplied headshots for the story. More to share once it's live.
Max Gawn and Daly Cherry-Evans on the Today Show
Two of Australia's biggest sporting names, both Hyro investors and ambassadors, went live on the Today Show and gave Hyro a huge national plug on morning TV. A segment like that would normally cost A$40,000 to A$50,000 to buy. Massive thanks to Max and Daly for being there in person, and to our PR partners and fellow investors, Nick Fordham and The Fordham Company, for securing such an epic feature.
Budgie smugglers,
2 million eyeballs
On the weekend I ran the New York City Marathon in a pair of Hyro budgie smugglers, alongside another runner doing the same.
It was 42km of very questionable decisions, but the response was huge. We estimate about 2 million free impressions from spectators on the course, and endless comments, photos and shout-outs along the way. That's the cheapest brand awareness we've ever bought.
Yes, those are our actual race fits. No, we have no regrets.
The next 90 days
- US launch. Use next week's work week to lock the plan, then launch with stock on hand, TikTok Shop, creators and paid.
- Stay in stock. Complete the move to Devine, get Atlas IMS fully live, and build buffer stock ahead of summer.
- Keep the subscription engine compounding in Australia, with Blackcurrant Crush and Perform driving new customers.
- Margin discipline. Lower production and fulfilment costs per order as volume grows.
Shareholder asks
- US introductions. Retailers, distributors, creators, gyms, run clubs and well-connected operators, particularly in Southern California.
- Creators and talent. If you know US creators or athletes who'd be a great fit for Hyro, send them our way.
- Share the content. Every like, comment and share on our launches makes a real difference.
Thanks as always for your support. This has been one of the hardest and most rewarding stretches in Hyro's short history. We've proven the demand is real, built a stronger foundation underneath it, and we're now set up to take Hyro global.
To the moon.
Stay hydrated,
Steve
