Sometimes the simplest problems can be the most irritating. For many people these days, trying to wear a backless, strapless or complicated dress or top means struggling with sticky bras that just don't stay put.
For the uninitiated, a sticky bra is basically a pair of cups without the traditional straps. They have adhesives inside that then stick directly to the wearer's breasts.
The problem? They can lose their ability to stay put, are often uncomfortable and their cost-to-wearability ratio can be frustratingly small.
However, if Rose Mangiarotti has anything to say about it, the future of the sticky bra will be a whole different story. She's a 2018 Brown graduate and CEO and founder of ReliaBra, a company that is in the process of developing a product that has the function of sticky bra without the drama; users can buy refill packs of adhesives instead of throwing the baby out with the bath water when their bra starts to have trouble staying put. That way, they can dress the way they want without the hassle of spending a small fortune over and over on the undergarments that help make it happen.
"I want the bra to be about women feeling confident and strong, and women being able to wear what they want to wear when they want to wear it."
But we're getting ahead of ourselves. The ReliaBra story has a beginning, and that's when Mangiarotti was a high school student on vacation with her friends. She had been wearing a stick bra and lamenting about how awful it and the whole lot of them were — to her friends' agreement — and that the bra-wearing public needed something better. Another pal (Gabby) added the idea of an ongoing "invention list," which chronicled interesting potential entrepreneurial ventures, and the idea was forgotten.
That was until Mangiarotti was a junior at Brown taking the "Entreprenurial Process" class. During that experience, she had to develop a fully realized business plan around an original idea — and the sticky bra concept from years ago resurfaced. Her team was onboard, and when she mentioned what she had worked on at school that summer to friends and family members, they saw her enthusiasm and encouraged her to keep working on her plan.
Mangiarotti had her chance during the Rhode Island Elevator Pitch competition. Roja Garimella, from her old entrepreneur class, had invited Mangiarotti to join her, and they took to the stage after only a few times meeting together during their hectic senior year.
"We literally met once or twice," Mangiarotti said. "And we won third place! It was an honor to be there. We got excellent feedback."
Not long after, Mangiarotti took to the stage solo at the first-ever Brown Venture Prize competition. This was an event with illustrious judges (like one of the founders of Casper mattresses, for example) and over 300 people in attendance
ReliaBra's showing at these competitions ended up being an inspiration for Mangiarotti to continue her work with ReliaBra, now in a full-time capacity after Garimella had Mangiarotti take over the business. That meant she applied and was accepted to Brown's Breakthrough Lab, an 8-week summer accelerator for student entrepreneurs at RISD and Brown to develop their startups. She was one in a cohort of 14.
"It gave you a space and time and money to do your thing without real distractions," she said.
During this time, when Mangiarotti was busy using B-Lab resources to the fullest, she got a notification that she had been selected as a #GetStartedRI pitch contest finalist. Mangiarotti was thrilled; it was an opportunity to share her startup on a stage at the WaterFire Arts Center along with six other companies. At stake was a $50,000 first-place prize, and a $5,000 audience choice prize.
While the ReliaBra is still in the product development stage, Mangiarotti still has product developments to share at the pitch competition. She added that although she's neither a designer nor a chemical engineer who works with adhesives, she's networking and speaking with professionals who can help her develop a marketable, inexpensive and high-quality product.
For example, she recently met with entrepreneur Hilary Lambert, founder of American Sports Bra in Los Angeles, who in turn provided the name of a solid potential manufacturer. Mangiarotti is also working out the design of the bra with a pattern maker, and speaking with other professionals on how to concoct the best adhesive.
"My advisors have been great," Mangiarotti said.
Having these folks speak wisdom and provide guidance into her journey has been especially helpful as she juggles being the leader of a fledgling startup and using the funds for said enterprise well. Capital from pitch prizes have helped her get her work going, and Mangiarotti said that she has plans to eventually seek investment from friends and family as she furthers developing her the ReliaBra, a move that is paramount.
"It's really about building up the product," she said. "It's a catch 22; I need a [funding] to bring in a product, but I need a product to bring in investors."
She'll bootstrap and compete in pitch competitions until she gets there, supplementing her income with babysitting in the evenings as she works out ReliaBra during the day.
And while Mangiarotti is still working out the foundation of her product, she already has plans for the company in the future.
"I really hope I can get this product tested and different iterations out, and better final versions in the next six months or so," she said. "I'm primarily focused on being e-commerce, just online."
Mangiarotti is confident that customers will respond when she does debut ReliaBra, mainly due to her own experience and the company's preliminary buzz.
"Everyone’s so concerned about my marketing plan," she said. "I am all plugged into women who are so excited about this product; word of mouth will be good."
In the end, Mangiarotti added that ReliaBra is more than just a handy tool.
"The mission is women’s confidence," she said. "I think that’s huge nowadays ... I want the bra to be about women feeling confident and strong, and women being able to wear what they want to wear when they want to wear it."
Editor's Note: Mangiarotti was named one of Rhode Island Inno's 25 Under 25 entrepreneurs. Read the article here.
Disclosure: Cox Business is a founding partner in Rhode Island Inno.
