# Jens Nicolaysen

> Jens Nicolaysen is the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Shinesty, the Boulder, Colorado apparel brand whose stated mission is to force the world to take itself less seriously. A 2010 marketing graduate of CU Boulder's Leeds School of Business, he spent his early career doing brand strategy and innovation consulting for large consumer companies before launching Shinesty in mid-2014 with fellow Leeds alum Chris White. The company began as a vintage-clothing resale operation with buyers scouring thrift shops in college and ski towns, pivoted to original designs in 2015, and grew into a direct-to-consumer underwear and loungewear business best known for its trademarked Ball Hammock pouch underwear, its holiday and theme-party outfits, and a joke-first marketing voice that Nicolaysen oversees across email, paid media, catalogues and video. Shinesty's story became a six-episode MTV2 series in 2017, the company was named an Inc. 5000 honoree in 2022, and it has raised roughly $8.2 million through a Series A.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & Chief Marketing Officer at Shinesty
- **Organizations:** Shinesty, Egg Strategy, MRIaudio, Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S., Marketing, University of Colorado Boulder - Leeds School of Business, Bachelor of Science (listed on professional profiles; details unconfirmed), Arizona State University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Shinesty in 2014 and grew it from a vintage resale experiment into a direct-to-consumer apparel brand with roughly 85-100 employees, Leads all channel and creative strategy at Shinesty covering customer acquisition, retention, digital product, business intelligence and customer experience, Helped take the company from thousands of dollars a month in 2014 to roughly $5 million in sales by 2016

## Career timeline

- **2010** — Graduates from CU Boulder's Leeds School of Business with a marketing degree
- **2010-2013** — Works in brand strategy and innovation consulting at Egg Strategy, on accounts including Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Starbucks and New Belgium
- **2013-2014** — Serves as VP of Marketing & Business Development at MRIaudio
- **2014** — Co-founds Shinesty in Boulder with Chris White; the company sells curated vintage clothing sourced by scouts in college towns, ski towns and California
- **2014** — A Christmas-season TV mention by Al Roker drives roughly $100,000 in sales - more than the company had in inventory
- **2015** — Shinesty begins producing original designs amid roughly 70% year-over-year growth
- **2016** — Company reports about $5 million in sales; original designs attract investor interest
- **2017** — A six-episode MTV2 series titled 'Shinesty' airs; headcount around 40
- **2018** — Shinesty discontinues vintage inventory entirely and concentrates on original underwear and apparel
- **2020** — Raises a Series A round; total disclosed funding reaches roughly $8.2 million
- **2022** — Shinesty named an Inc. 5000 honoree
- **2023** — Company explores physical retail, including a Cherry Creek, Denver location
- **2025** — Launches Inflatabulge pump-up Ball Hammock underwear; appears on soona's 'Add to Cart' podcast
- **2026** — Shinesty launches fart-blocking underwear fabric co-developed with Livinguard Technologies, third-party verified by Intertek

## Achievements

- Co-founded Shinesty in 2014 and grew it from a vintage resale experiment into a direct-to-consumer apparel brand with roughly 85-100 employees
- Leads all channel and creative strategy at Shinesty covering customer acquisition, retention, digital product, business intelligence and customer experience
- Helped take the company from thousands of dollars a month in 2014 to roughly $5 million in sales by 2016
- Built the marketing behind Shinesty's trademarked Ball Hammock pouch underwear line, including national TV advertising
- Shinesty named a 2022 Inc. 5000 honoree
- Subject and participant in a six-episode MTV2 documentary series about the company (2017)
- Featured CU Boulder Leeds School of Business alumni spotlight (2017)
- Oversees a catalogue program that ships close to a million copies annually

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Shinesty launched what it billed as the world's first fart-blocking underwear fabric, co-developed with Livinguard Technologies and verified by Intertek to neutralize up to 99% of odor.
- **2025-07** — Appeared on soona's 'Add to Cart' podcast discussing how marketing, visuals and comedy built the Shinesty brand.
- **2025-04** — Shinesty introduced the Inflatabulge pump-up Ball Hammock underwear.
- **2024-06** — Guest on The GAS Line podcast episode 5, on being authentically irreverent.
- **2024-01** — Featured in the 'Building an Irreverent Brand' video interview about Shinesty's superfan community.

## Links

- Website: https://shinesty.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jensnicolaysen
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/jensnicolaysen
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jensnicolaysen/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jens-nicolaysen
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-27