How Away Shook Up the Sleepy Luggage Market With a Simple, Colorful Carry-On
Co-founder Jen Rubio shares the story behind the startup's rapid growth
Jen Rubio (pictured here) co-founded Away with Steph Korey in 2015.
Photographed at Hudson Yards Loft by Justin Bettman for Adweek
Jen Rubio remembers the first time she saw a piece of Away luggage out in the world. It was February 2016, and Rubio—who founded the company with fellow Warby Parker alum Steph Korey the year before—was on a moving sidewalk in JFK’s Terminal 4. The brand had just begun shipping its first batch of 2,000 colorful, hard-shell suitcases. And suddenly, there was one of them in the hands of an ordinary traveler.
This story first appeared in the September 24, 2018, issue of Brandweek.
