Dad Gang Grows From 100 Garage Hats to 1 Million Dads Worldwide

Apparel brand Dad Gang says it has grown from 100 hats packed in a tiny garage to a community of more than 1 million dads worldwide.

Three best friends founded the brand after the phrase “Dad Gang” kept surfacing in a group text thread where they shared their fatherhood journeys, the company says. They started with hats, then added tees.

Each founder invested $250, according to the company. No outside investors.

We knew we had to make it work. So we did. — Dad Gang founders, on the company site

The founders began in a garage the company describes as too small to fit a car, with cardboard stacked high and hats spread across folding tables. They hand-packed each order and handled all shipping themselves, the website says.

They wanted to change how people see fatherhood, the company says. It grew tired of corny dad jokes dominating social media and wants to show that fatherhood takes strength, community and support.

Quality was the obsession from the first hat, the company says — it was fed up with flimsy dad hats that felt cheap. It tests fit samples and stress-tests every hat, tee and hoodie before anything ships.

The company says its mission is to bring dads together through community and products. Customers have shared stories about becoming new dads, mental health struggles, the loss of a child and infertility, it says — and it aims to highlight every part of fatherhood, not just the funny side.