THE entrepreneurial story of Heidi Zak was born out of a frustration she felt in common with millions of women across the world, when shopping for bras; or more accurately, the time-consuming difficulties in shopping for and finding a correctly sized bra.

“For us, it‘s not about the bra — it’s about how you feel in it.”

Heidi Zak previously held a position in Google, and underpinned by this experience in the tech sector, and fuelled by her passion for retail and finding a bra that was a perfect fit—her research revealed that 80 percent of women wear bras that do not fit them correctly—and supported by the financial experience of her co-founder husband David Spector, Thirdlove was born in 2013.

Running counter to an industry dominated by out-dated ideas of ‘sexy’, Heidi Zak and the ThirdLove team, from their base in San Francisco, aim to empower women by allowing them to be comfortable and supported throughout their busy days as parents, professionals and at all times of the day.

The ThirdLove experience employs tech to help the company achieve this global mission. Women can now size themselves accurately in the comfort and privacy of their own homes using the ThirdLove Bra Sizing App, in addition to a Fit Finder quiz facility on the company’s website, while the company has also developed half-cup sizes for all cups from A to E.

In addition to making their Business a success, Heidi Zak and the ThirdLove team are also fired by a palpable altruistic streak. Since the company was founded, ThirdLove has donated more than $1m worth of bras to women in need across the US.

10 Questions for Heidi Zak

Heidi Zak cleared some time in her busy schedule to talk to AGENT about the story of Third Love, her business mission, who and what inspires her to achieve these goals, juggling life as an entrepreneur, wife and parent, as well as the lessons learned in the past three years that she would pass on to her younger self starting out in business.

1. Briefly tell us how ThirdLove first got into business, and describe your business goals.

ThirdLove started as an immediate reaction to how much I dreaded bra shopping. A few years ago, it was time for me to go bra shopping and refresh my lingerie drawer, and as per usual, I was dreading it. I disliked the entire process, from finding time to drive to the store, getting ‘fitted’, trying on tons of bras and finally finding one that fit, and then having the bra fall apart after a few washes. My years in tech and in retail signaled to me there had to be a better way. Our mission is to design bras that really fit real women. We’re doing this in a few ways at ThirdLove. First, we spent over a year developing our iOS sizing app that allows women to size themselves from the comfort of their home. All you need is a few minutes (it takes fewer than 5), a supportive bra, a tank top and a wall-mounted mirror. We also have a Fit Finder that allows you to identify common fit issues you may be experiencing to find your size through a quiz on our website. We also developed half-cups, so in addition to standard cup sizes (A, B, C, etc.) we carry half sizes for cups A-E (ex: A ½, B ½, C ½, etc.). We’ve actually found 40% of women between an A and E cup wear our half-cup sizes. These sizes are completely unique to ThirdLove. Lastly, we are changing the way the industry fits bras for women. The lingerie industry currently sizes bras based off of a single-fit model, which leads to a faulty sizing experience and ill-fitting bras. Instead of using standard industry measurements, we actually use thousands of real women’s measurements to create products that fit all women better. That’s our number one business goal: to get better-fitting bras into the hands of women everywhere.

2. What age were you when you realised you wanted to run your own business?

Prior to ThirdLove, I worked at Google and my husband, Dave Spector, was at Sequoia Capital. We would come home from work every day and mull over business ideas, with the common theme being how frustrated I was about bra shopping and how there was such an intense need to revamp the industry. Through these conversations, we finally realized we had come across a really large opportunity and had to take the plunge, so we both quit our jobs to start ThirdLove.

3. Who are your business icons and inspirations?

Mentorship has been very important to me and has inspired me to take risks throughout my life. One of my earliest mentors was when I was directly out college in Investment Banking. She has been a role model, a sounding board, a reference and a good friend. I’ve tried to pay it forward by doing the same for other young women. We must create a strong next generation of young women that have even more opportunities than we did. In terms of business icons, mine is probably Jessica Herrin, the founder of Stella & Dot. She is also a mom and has shown you can build a big business that positively impacts women while also starting and raising a family.

4. What has been your biggest challenge in business, and how did you surmount it?

My biggest challenge being a founder is coming to terms with the fact that I can’t do everything. Instead, I try to focus on identifying the big opportunities that will really move the needle for us, and spend my energy on those initiatives. We’re laser-focused on getting every woman into a great-fitting bra, so that has to be at the forefront of my mind when making important business decisions.

5. Work-Life balance: is it possible? How do you achieve it?

Instead of a “perfect balance”, I believe in doing the best you can with what time you have. I would need much longer days to feel like I could have it all. For me, it’s all about balancing being a mom, being a startup founder, being a wife and being a friend. I’m still coming to grips with the fact that some days, some of those groups are going to get more attention than the others – and that’s okay! Just do your best, take it day by day and don’t beat yourself up when some areas of your life get more attention than others.

6. What is the first thing you do every day?

The first thing I do is check my email, responding to anything that is time-sensitive. Then I try to squeeze in a quick workout at home before the kids wake up. That clears my head and makes me more productive for an intense day of work.

7. What screen saver picture is currently on your phone?

A photo of my two kids, Sloane (3 years) and Zak (9 months).

8. What is the most important app on your mobile phone, and why?

This is a hard one. If you make me pick one, I’d have to say the Gmail app, as I spend the most time in that one, and it makes me much more productive. In terms of social media, Instagram is my current favorite especially with all the new features they’ve been recently launching.

9. What item do you never leave the house without, and why?

My iPhone case now serves as a wallet, since I can keep my credit cards and license in the back pocket. That is pretty much all I have to have when I leave!

10. What advice would you give to your younger self starting out in business?

Build a solid network early, meet as many people as you can. As you progress in your career, your contacts are everything — they will provide advice, intros and will be the best sounding board for you.

The post Q&A with Heidi Zak, Co-Founder of ThirdLove appeared first on Agent.