Back in 2017, when private equity firm Berkshire Partners needed to close an 11-year investment fund that included Citizens of Humanity Group, the parentco of Agolde and Citizens of Humanity, the group’s management team faced a choice: Sell to another private equity investor, which would demand aggressive growth, or buy the company back. The team, financed through a term loan and capital from what an insider described as “supportive long-term friends,” acquired both Berkshire’s stake and a co-founder’s ownership position. The decision gave Citizens C.E.O. Amy Williams the opportunity to focus on profit margins over top-line revenue, build the brands slowly, and largely ignore industry expectations of discounts and broad distribution.