Ep 12 | Heidi Zak
Taking on Victoria’s Secret by Building a $750 Million Dollar Bra Business
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Heidi Zak is the co-founder and CEO of ThirdLove, the fastest growing and most disruptive brand in the lingerie industry.
When Heidi couldn’t find a quality bra that fit her correctly and looked great, she realized there was an opportunity in the market for modern women. In 2013, Heidi left her job at Google to pursue her dream of offering high quality, better fitting bras and marketing them in a way that didn’t push impossible beauty standards. Heidi is on a mission to build a brand for every woman, regardless of her shape, size, age, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation. She believes inclusivity should be the norm, not the exception, and has led the charge, inventing half-cups and offering women more than 80 sizes.
Since inception, more than 16 million women of all shapes and sizes have used ThirdLove’s innovative Fit Finder tool to find a bra that truly fits her body. The company has been valued at a reported $750 million dollars and is generating over $100 million in revenue annually.
Heidi has been recognized as Fortune's 40 Under 40, EY Entrepreneur of the Year,and Goldman Sachs' 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs.
Show Notes
Heidi shares why she became an entrepreneur and skills she learned working in her corporate career that have helped her as CEO [2:37]
Why walking into a Victoria's Secret sparked Heidi’s idea for ThirdLove and why she wanted to create a bra brand for modern women [5:57]
Two questions Heidi asked herself before quitting her lucrative job to work on ThirdLove full-time [7:41]
Heidi discusses the slow growth ThirdLove had in the first two years of the business & what they did to completely changed the trajectory of the business [10:02]
The importance of networking and why you need to be okay with asking for things [15:12]
Heidi walks through how she thinks through difficult business decisions and challenges she faced with her first manufacturer in the early days [18:57]
The power of mentorship and having a diverse group of mentors in your network [23:27]
Heidi gives advice on how to think through partnerships and co-founders when starting a business [25:39]
Why she decided to have her first kid around the same time ThirdLove officially launched [27:34]
Heidi shares advice she gives all women entrepreneurs she mentors [31:05]
Heidi discusses the future of ThirdLove and the ever-changing role as a founder when leading a high growth business [35:10]
Follow Heidi:
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidi/
ThirdLove Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ThirdLove/
Website: https://www.thirdlove.com/
