AYM - Bringing functional fashion forward
AYM (pronounced ‘aim’), a thriving fashion brand founded by Alie Mackintosh (Amack Group), began as a small, experimental venture during her university days. Over the years, the brand has grown from a grassroots business to a well-recognised name in fashion, known for its unique blend of function and beauty. This case study explores AYM's journey, highlighting the highs and lows of running a business, and how Let's Do Business Group has been able to play a pivotal role in its growth and success.
A collection of ideas that became a business.
As we roll along the drive towards Pippingford Manor, Nutley, our growing awe of AYM and all it has achieved in the last 12 years is amplified 10-fold. Admiring the beauty of the manor and its surroundings, it answers for itself the question as to why founder Alie Mackintosh, setup and kept this business within the boundaries of East Sussex, this location screams creativity and inspiration, a value AYM has and will always embody.
Alie Macintosh, originally from Australia, moved to the UK as a child, settling down in Lewes, East Sussex and later studying product design at Central Saint Martins in London. While at university, her curiosity and love of experimentation led her to start creating small fashion items as a bit of a side hustle. From her mother’s garage, she began creating studded beanies and T-shirts, which she started sharing on social media network Tumblr, to gauge interest and see if a following was there. A viral post featuring one of her studded T-shirts garnered 100,000 reshares, igniting a spark of interest that would eventually fuel the birth of her brand.
From there, Alie’s passion grew, and she evolved from embellishing existing clothing items to sewing her own designs. Posting about her creations on newly launched Instagram she quickly and organically built a community of followers who were interested in what she had to offer. Initially launching as “Boom Boom Boutique," the brand positioned itself (and continues to do so) around creating a connection between the item and its wearer, engaging with audiences to create pieces that aren’t just about beauty but are about functionality too.
“I think a lot of other brands and fashion designers focus on the beauty of it and not necessarily the functionality. We lead with function and then add in the beauty afterwards. The versatility and the fluidity of the design practise is something that we started with and still keep as part of our signature even today.”
As the brand evolved, so did its name. A move to focus on collections and ecommerce from a previous wholesale-retail model resulted in a name change to "Boom Boom, The Label," and then finally landed on the now well recognised AYM. A name that stands for ‘Always Your Moment’, symbolic of the dedication to empowering the AYM customer to feel their best.
“When I started my focus was, I've got two rolls of fabric, how do I make as much profit to reinvest from these two rolls as possible? That was the test, and it just grew from there. Now it's all about the thoughtfulness that goes into each product. We try and combine an element of function and beauty in every product that we create, whether it's double-layered, to give a sculpting and smoothing fit, or that it's got something like an adjustable waist point, pockets built in, or built-in shorts. For us it’s about the customer first and foremost, what does she want and need from her clothes.”
Overcoming Challenges
In the early stages, AYM faced typical challenges for a startup fashion brand—financial constraints, production limitations, and the need to establish a strong brand presence. Being an e-commerce business, establishing awareness and recognition for the brand was a number one priority, bringing the product and brand experience to life on a 2-d screen. Growing the business from a marketing perspective over the years has relied on video and social media engagement, something the brand has leaned heavily into, especially with the launch and popularity of TikTok. Alie’s resourcefulness also led her to adopt a pre-order model for the business, which allowed her to collect funds from customers before producing the garments. This approach ensured that only the most popular styles were manufactured, minimizing financial risk and keeping her operations as lean as possible.
Another key moment in AYM's journey was Alie’s decision to seek external funding. Through word-of-mouth Alie was introduced to Let’s Do Business Group and their finance subsidiary Let’s Do Business Finance. Talking to a business advisor from the Group, Alie was able to apply and be successful in obtaining £15k via a Start Up Loan.
“I remember the people that I spoke to were saying that that it was really rare for women to apply for finance in their business, in fact I was one of only two women that had approached them about finance in that whole year, which was just crazy to me. It demonstrated to me the need to connect more women with the right resources, empowering them to thrive in their entrepreneurial journeys. Financial support is vital in making ambitions tangible. But it’s hard to know where to find that support and how to manage it well. Raising investment through selling equity isn’t the only way to finance a business. Sharing where I was able to secure finance that allowed me to maintain ownership in my business, might help other women to learn about the opportunities that are out there for them too.
Let’s Do Business Group were really helpful in allowing me to put together the business plan, they supplied actionable templates, and mentorship, which helped me professionalise what I was building at that time. It was a really great introduction”
Start Up Loans, provided by the Start Up Loans Company allow businesses to access funding from £500-£25,000 providing they have been trading less than 3 years. Offered at a fixed rate and on a term of up to 5 years, these loans can inject much-needed capital into the business, so that aspirations can be achieved.
In Alie’s case, this step was crucial as it provided her with the resources to invest in necessary machinery and build out a production facility in Lewes. Investing in sewing machines and members of staff, the loan gave her the freedom to control her overheads and manage her stock. This initial investment set AYM on the path to future growth.
Growing Trend
Creating a successful business, is a lengthy and well thought out process, not dissimilar to fashion design. Turning an idea or a concept into reality through trial and error, visualisation and collaboration. AYM through the years has refined its process, assessing the trends, analysing its sales data and listening to its customers to create new designs and in some cases hybrids of existing designs to satisfy customer needs and desires.
Being influenced by trends rather than chasing them, the team of 10 have an eye for detail, ensuring that the clothing translates from a drawing into reality, moving and flowing with the body, smoothing and accentuating curves and providing functional beauty.
A major highlight in AYM’s journey was when Kim Kardashian wore one of their designs. The exposure from this event brought a surge of traffic to their website and significantly boosted brand visibility. "It was quite a moment," Alie reflects.
“Building a community of customers who absolutely love the brand has been my ultimate highlight. I’ve had a couple of moments where people have come up to me and said how much they love AYM. We have had Celebrities wear our clothes, which has been amazing, but I would say that I love it even more when one of our customers reaches out and says they love the brand. Especially when they share photos of them wearing AYM during their special moments. Being able to create joyful moments for our customers is what I love.”
In 2021, Alie approached Let’s Do Business Finance for the second time, looking for finance to invest in the growth of the business. Approved for a £70,000 loan under the government backed Recovery Loan Scheme, Let’s Do Business Finance saw Alie’s passion and the potential for the business and wanted to support that.
Following the loan, and as AYM has matured, the brand has seen significant growth, particularly in the post-COVID era. Between 2022 and 2024, it has experienced a 40% increase in revenue each year. This growth was driven by AYM’s ability to leverage digital platforms for organic marketing, through collaboration with other brands and re-assessing its business model and strategy to unlock further growth potential.
“I've loved working with Nelly London. She is an amazing storyteller and she has a great community behind her. She's just such a creative genius for coming up with ideas and concepts. And really fun to work with.”
The Future: Scaling and Expanding Horizons
Looking ahead, AYM is gearing up for further expansion, particularly in the US market which is home to a large majority of the existing customer base. Alie’s strategy includes shifting from a pre-order model to maintaining some stock, which will allow the brand to respond more quickly to customer demand. She also hopes to transition the current online brand into the physical space, looking at pop-up shops to be able to connect with customers in a more tangible way.
As a young entrepreneur, Alie seems to have a real head for business, understanding the intricacies of the numbers, but also a real understanding of her customer base. Whatever she is doing, it’s working, and with the business now achieving the same revenue in a month as it was annually in year 3 of the business, we are sure we will continue to see great things from her and from AYM.
Her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
“Lean into your curiosity and figure out where your ideas sit? I think a lot of people will have a great idea, but it might not be the right time for it or it might not be the right market. And with a little bit of adjustment and tweaking, it can find the sweet spot which is perfect and will unlock all of the potential that it needs” So be experimental, be curious, and experiment with your ideas until they work and until they build traction”