Taking on Victoria’s Secret by Building a $750 Million Dollar Bra Business with Heidi Zak, Co-Founder of ThirdLove

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.


In this episode, we'll talk to Heidi about:


* 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/


 


Follow Yasmin:


* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/


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