One year after a bipolar episode put him in the hospital, Bonobos cofounder Andy Dunn sold his company to Walmart for $310 million

Over the course of his two-decade career, entrepreneur Andy Dunn has launched several businesses and invested in dozens more. One of his biggest moves to date was selling his menswear brand Bonobos to Walmart in 2017 for a whopping $310 million. But behind the glitz of extraordinary business success, Dunn had just gone through one of the most destabilizing periods of his life.

One year before Dunn sold Bonobos, Dunn was confronted with a brewing mental health crisis in a very big way. He had been grappling with a Bipolar I diagnosis ever since college: a mental health condition marked by extreme mood and energy shifts, manic episodes, and depressive slumps. There were days when he was catatonic, and could barely get out of bed, let alone get to the office; other times, he was operating on enormous energy, and an elevated sense of confidence and possibility. 

For a while, Dunn had been “in denial” of the diagnosis—but years of mounting stress and compounding circumstances opened the floodgates. Dunn’s Bonobos cofounder had bowed out of the company, executives were cycling in and out, and he was burning through cash on a glitzy New York City lifestyle. One March night in 2016, it all boiled over.

Dunn had a manic episode in his apartment. His head ran wild with the idea that he was the president of the United States and Batman. During his episode, he hit his head on the doorway; his then-girlfriend (and now wife) Manuela rushed in to help stop the bleeding, but in his altered state, Dunn hit her. And when Manuela’s mother also came to help, Dunn fought back against her too. It didn’t take long until eight police officers showed up and were able to restrain him. Dunn then spent a week in a psychiatric ward at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, and over the next six months, worked to pick up the pieces with his girlfriend, family, and business.

It was a disastrous moment that completely altered the trajectory of Dunn’s life—for better, and worse. After the episode, he began medication and therapy, closely monitoring his sleep and routine. Dunn says Manuela stayed by his side through the aftermath, including visiting him in the hospital, and the two eventually married. Bonobos kept him on as CEO until the company was sold to Walmart one year later; and ever since, Dunn has opened up about Bipolar I to millions across TED talks and his 2022 book, Burn Rate. The 47-year-old has also used his mental health journey as........

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