Ashlee Sullivan: Founder of WOMAN + WARRIOR®

When you ask Ashlee where she is from, her military spouse knee-jerk reaction is, “I’m from everywhere” she jokes. But home for her is originally South Florida. Ashlee and her now husband met in college just two short months before he left for basic military training in 2008.

Ashlee describes herself as an accidental entrepreneur after leaving her PhD program to raise four kids. During this time, woven with parenthood and military life, her husband was (and still is) serving in his 17+ year career, which started in the Coast Guard Reserves and later led to a commission to active duty in the Army.

Deeply immersed in military life, Ashlee began feeling the pull toward entrepreneurship. She wanted a way to be present with her family while also expressing her creativity (and tackling six-figure student loan debt).

Building WOMAN + WARRIOR®

In 2019, she took it to Google to find the next thing. Later, she gave her husband her best Shark Tank pitch for her T-shirt business—don’t worry, she made a deal. Ashlee launched her Etsy shop in April of 2019, and just a year and a half later, that Shark Tank pitch paid off their student loans in full!

Ashlee reflects on this moment, “He believed in me — and that helped me believe in myself, too.” That belief turned a small Etsy shop into what is now the proud brand and community: WOMAN + WARRIOR®.

Shortly after, in 2020, her husband received his Army commission. “I like to say that the Army baptized us by fire: they hit us with three PCS moves and a nine-month deployment all in one year.”

During this next chapter, Ashlee fell into a season of depression, running the household solo during a deployment. She took a break from the business just to catch her breath. “Military life is wild — beautiful, but also incredibly isolating and lonely at times.”

Through this season, the idea to rebrand her platform took root, and on May 12th, 2023, Military Spouse Appreciation Day, she officially relaunched WOMAN + WARRIOR® as the apparel brand and community it’s known as today: one created for the military family, by a military family.

A Platform with Purpose

“I want WOMAN + WARRIOR to help those in our community feel seen, look good, and feel great while navigating this wild thing called military life. Our journeys and struggles are so unique, and I believe that’s exactly what makes us such a powerful and resilient force.”

Ashlee’s brand extends far beyond apparel. It’s a strong community platform built on connection, encouragement, honesty, and a sprinkle of humor (ok, maybe more than a sprinkle). WARRIOR+ WOMAN® is a place where every single person can feel the life of this community; it’s a place where they are seen and genuinely cared for.

“The WOMAN + WARRIOR is YOU. It’s all of us –those serving in countless ways, both seen and unseen, within the military community.”

Part of the mission surrounding Ashlee’s platform is to give back. Ashlee serves as an ambassador for Stronghold Food Pantry, an organization that provides food assistance and essential resources to military families facing food insecurity.

She also collaborates with Homefront Heroes Ministries, whose mission is to bring the gospel to military wives and strengthen faith within the military community.

Through both her apparel and platform, WOMAN + WARRIOR® stands on the heartfelt mission to pour back into the community.

Ashlee acknowledges that running a business is not for the faint of heart and admits that “the limit does not exist” for the number of times she has wanted to quit. But she knows that this is her calling and continues to show up through grit and determination. What keeps her going? The heartfelt messages and honest reviews from her customers. One of her favorites:

“I just received my ‘This Is My Deployment Depression Hoodie’ and I seriously can’t wait to cry in this every single night of this deployment. It even comes with a snack hole! (Hoodie pocket).”

“Like, how amazing is that?! How could I ever quit when I get feedback like that?” Ashlee shares.

Ashlee’s Key to Resilience?

Faith…and tons of humor!

“My faith in Jesus keeps me anchored when everything feels scary or uncertain –there’s always a light to lead you out of the darkness. And humor might sound like a funny answer, but it truly is a resiliency tool (my therapist says so!). Because if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry –amirite? And sometimes…you’re just going to have to do both!”

Ashlee has learned through the seasons of military life that resilience is not about avoiding the fall; it’s about finding a way and making a way to get back up. Every. Single. Time.