AnyRope: Reinventing Hats, One Cord at a Time

Bold Inventor

In this inventive episode of the Bold Inventor Show, host J.D. Houvener welcomes Rob Russell, the creative mind and founder of AnyRope, a design-forward hat startup that’s disrupting headwear one interchangeable cord at a time. Rob shares how his frustration with boring rope hat options and his DIY ingenuity during the pandemic led to a fully patented, modular fashion product now catching fire in both B2B and consumer markets.

From the clever analogy of neckties and dress shirts to high school rope drops and licensing dreams with the NFL, Rob walks us through the entire product journey—from concept to design patent to mass production.

🎧 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

🧵 How one rope sparked a revolution
Rob couldn’t find a hat with the rope color he wanted—so he invented a way to swap them at will, turning a style limitation into a creative platform.

🧠 The power of simple, brilliant IP
Learn how Rob kept his invention secret until his design patent (D1040482S) issued—then scaled it with confidence. J.D. breaks down what the patent protects and why it matters.

🎨 Form meets function
Explore how AnyRope hats offer universal aesthetics—worn with or without a rope—thanks to a clean, hidden-channel design built for endless customization.

💼 Two markets, one mission
Rob is selling direct to consumers and also empowering dealers (aka “rope dealers”) to buy blanks and ropes wholesale, customizing them for their own customers and building new brands.

🧾 Built for licensing scale
With a second utility patent application in progress, Rob is planning for collaborations with major labels, teams, and brands, including fully customized and screen-printed ropes.

🧺 Inventory, efficiency, and style
By storing thousands of ropes and a small selection of blanks, Rob maximizes inventory efficiency and still delivers the largest rope hat selection in the world.

🇨🇳 ➡️ 🌍 Supply chain agility
Faced with rising tariffs, Rob moved production out of China and into multiple countries—turning a cost challenge into global manufacturing resilience.

💬 Real talk for real inventors
Rob shares his startup hurdles, why he self-funded everything, and how he’s now assembling a team—including a CMO—to help scale AnyRope beyond fashion and into a lifestyle.

This episode is for you if:

• You love product innovation, especially fashion-meets-function
• You’re curious how to file patents before showing factories
• You want to scale with licensing, not just sales
• You're a creator looking to join a bold, growing movement

📨 Connect with Rob: [email protected]
🧢 Shop and explore: anyrope.com

Support the show

Have an invention or brand to protect? Or just curious about learning more? Download our FREE Inventor Kit here: https://keap.page/gw292/inventor-kit.html
DISCLAIMER
Everything discussed on this podcast is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice.