San Francisco-based Chubbies was launched in August 2011 by four friends from Stanford who had moved to the city to pursue careers in private equity, venture capital, technology development and fashion. Rainer Castillo, a former merchandiser and designer with The Gap; Kyle Hency, who worked in private equity; Tom Montgomery, a former venture capitalist; and Preston Rutherford, who worked in a consumer internet company; launched Chubbies to sell a summer lifestyle brand built around vintage-inspired shorts.