We think everyone has been there as a teenager.. Trying to find your first bra as a teenager, most of us probably got some help from our moms or older sister. Let’s say it’s no secret that the first bras for young girls can be difficult to find, fit, and buy. It can be a bit of a shock and awkward to add one of her first bras to her up-until-puberty typical wardrobe. But there’s more to it than that; a teenage girl needs to learn about bra styles that help her adjust to a new and changing breast life. Teenage girls don’t always need wired, fancy or structured cups, and if they do, they might not wear similar sizes offered to adult women.
MyFloretz
Ketzi Hernandez as the co-founder of MyFloretz is one of those moms who was searching for bras for her own daughter and realized that the selection of body appropriate products for young, developing girls was very limited. After reminiscing with Co-Founder Mariden Lord about the struggles of puberty, the founders were determined to bring girls everywhere products they need to flourish through their adolescence.
Not only is MyFloretz a subscription box service that provides pre-teen and teen girls bras and feminine products, but MyFloretz also strives to help girls on their journey to become body-positive women.
"We recognized as we started talking to people how the developmental period affects girls and women as well as how we can help make a difference."
Are the bras made by yourself?
In the first phase of our business, we are working with manufacturers with their pre-existing product. We select the designs to make sure they are age and body appropriate for a variety of developmental phases and body types. We seek to maintain a wide variety of bras at accessible price points so that a girl with any body type can find products that fit her in any budget. We are currently working towards our second phase, where we will offer original designs as well as other feminine hygiene products.
Tell us what makes MyFloretz so special from all the other bra companies?
MyFloretz is unique because there are not many companies that cater to girls through their developing years. You can go to many major retail stores and buy generic bras for girls to wear as they grow. But those bras are often boring or they don’t fit well. What we strive to do is provide a fun and wide variety of bras for every stage of development, while educating girls and their parents about this exciting and chaotic time called puberty.
Can you describe your customers?
Initially, we thought to focus on moms who would place the orders for their daughters. What we found is that the girls themselves are very influential in making decisions. We received a lot of momentum from tween and teen girls on Instagram who were active in the cheerleading community as well as tween fashion. It’s been really special to be the company they share their first bra experience with.
Your first customer. How did that go?
We were so relieved and excited all at the same time when we received our first order! There are a lot of subscription boxes out there, so it’s always nice to have the validation that the product and service are interesting to others. We love seeing girls who have received their boxes be so excited and share their wonderful experiences with the selection.
Starting a business needs investment, what was yours?
We were extremely fortunate to have a strong community of friends and family who saw our vision and who were able to invest in us up front. As we continue to grow, we are looking for angel investors and grants to help us continue into the second phase of our business plan.
What are your companies goals currently? As in vision and mission.
Our vision is to be the main provider for all feminine products that girls need as they develop throughout their adolescent years. This would include feminine hygiene products tailored to young girls bodies, as well as personal care products like shaving razors and depilation, etc. We also make it a priority to be a company that gives back the community at large. We have plans to expand the service to help girls in disadvantaged situations access to product they require as they develop.
Are there any trends that you absolutely love or would love to see bra brand owners leave behind?
The bra and feminine hygiene industries are beginning to understand the importance of diversifying their products for women of all body types. And isn’t it about time?! One of our biggest concerns was providing bras for girls who are wider in their torso, but not as full in their breasts. There aren’t a lot of cute options out there for small chested or not fully developed breasts. This can make a girl feel like there’s something wrong with her body, when it’s perfectly beautiful as it is! It was important for us to feature bras for both smaller chests and bigger girls. We wanted to try to reduce the feelings of inadequacy or self-consciousness girls feel, which is so prevalent during the teen years.
As an entrepreneur do you have innate qualities, or is it something that you learned?
Anyone can be an entrepreneur if they enjoy learning new things. We have had the opportunity to work in jobs where we were required to wear many hats and because of that we are able to understand and complete different aspects of the business ourselves. To be successful, maybe even in any career, a person has to constantly learn new trends and ways to accomplish business in the most efficient manner. Because of technology, every industry is changing frequently, but because we love learning new things, it’s actually a lot of fun!
There is also a bit of a restless visionary in most entrepreneurs. We are the kind of people who see opportunity everywhere we look and think it’s really fun to go into uncharted areas as we figure out how to make things work. There’s a thrill in the process of developing an idea.
Lastly, being disciplined is very important to being an entrepreneur. It’s great to have a ton of ideas, but in order to make things come alive, one has to be able to follow through and do the work everyday grunt work.
If you had one piece of advice to our readers to those just starting out as a business owner, what would it be?
Our advice to others thinking about dipping their toe in the business owner pond, is not to get discouraged easily. Especially if things don’t work out as you thought they would or if they aren’t as easy as it seemed at first. One of the things we say a lot to each other is, “What did we learn from this and how do we improve on it the next time?”
