Doing the Reps

Why Entrepreneurship Feels Like a Sport

When people think about entrepreneurship, they often picture the glossy highlight reel: Forbes features, billion-dollar valuations, glamorous photo shoots, maybe even the “big trophy moment” of selling a company. But here’s the truth—95% of it is doing the reps.

I learned this early. I grew up as a competitive dancer. That environment ingrains something in you: greatness isn’t about the trophy. It’s about the endless, unglamorous repetitions that nobody sees.

For dancers, it means spinning until your toes tear, hours of sweat-soaked rehearsals, and trading weekends and friendships for grueling strength training or endless ballet classes — all to perfect the technique that makes a single “modern” movement look effortless.

Entrepreneurship is exactly the same.

The Unseen Side of Building

When I started 1987, I didn’t have a warehouse team — I had my apartment.

Deliveries meant fifteen massive, compressed boxes arriving at my building, which I’d drag one by one on bell carts until one slipped, setting off a domino effect of chaos. I’d slice my hands open trying to break through the tightly sealed shipments, drenched in sweat but still wearing our heavyweight Back Bay sets because I believed in living and selling the brand everywhere I went.

Clothing is heavy — and so was the work. I broke down every box, organized inventory piece by piece, packed orders by hand, and hauled them in Trader Joe’s bags to the USPS (about .5 miles away on foot, I had no car). I’d jam package after package through those USPS drop drawers until my arms gave out. More than once, a bag would split, boxes would spill across the sidewalk, and strangers would stop to help. As business picked up, I would make 3-4 trips a day carrying about 30-40 pounds per trip. Note from future Jen: a wagon would have been SO MUCH smarter. Do not repeat my mistake.

It was grueling. I’d go to bed physically sore—back aching, hands raw from taping boxes. But that’s the job. Those reps, repeated every single day, are what built the foundation.

Professionalizing the Process

Now, things look different. We have a procurement team, warehouse partners, weekly C-suite meetings, and meticulously updated SOPs for everything from inventory barcoding to Friday product drops. My days revolve around strategy, systems, and leadership, not hauling packages.

But the principle hasn’t changed: entrepreneurship is still about reps. It’s just that now my “reps” look like running Tuesday leadership calls, aligning the team on priorities, and making sure the smallest details—down to SKU barcodes—are right before a launch.

There’s nothing sexy about SOPs or spreadsheets, but they’re as essential as a weight session in the gym.

The Cost of Comfort

And here’s the other thing: comfort isn’t the goal.

When I was in my corporate job, I was comfortable physically. No sore muscles, no long nights dragging shipments across the city. But mentally? I was the most uncomfortable I’d ever been. I wasn’t living my calling, and that quiet ache of knowing you’re not doing what you’re meant to do is far heavier than any physical exhaustion.

With 1987, even on the hardest days, there’s peace. Not because it’s easy—it isn’t. But because I know I’m in the right place, doing the right work.

The Call That Doesn’t Go Away

If you feel pulled toward something—whether it’s entrepreneurship, art, athletics, or another path—you’ll know. The call won’t leave you alone. You can suppress it, drown it out with comfort, but it will only get louder until you answer.

And when you do? Get ready for the reps. Because greatness—whether in sports or business—isn’t built in the spotlight. It’s built in the grind.

✨ Doing the reps. That’s where the magic happens.

Xx

Jen DeAngelis McNamara

Founder

1987