I feel like there was a time when Victoria's Secret was the only option." When Victoria's Secret, then the dominant brand in women's swimwear, left the swimsuit business in 2016, it opened the floodgates for start-ups to conquer that market, which brings in more than $4.5 billion in sales in the U.S. "When Victoria's Secret exited, we were all [trying] to recoup that market share. But we came at it with style and also comfort," said Lively founder and CEO Michelle Grant. Lively started as an online lingerie business in April 2016.