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Women-Owned Business Series: Rosie from Perkies
Thanks to Realty Collective for featuring Perkies this month for their Woman Owned Business Spotlight Feature! See below for the Realty Collective blog post.
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Welcome back to our Women-Owned Business Series! We’re happy to share Rosie’s story, founder of Perkies, a company dedicated to developing undergarments for women! Read on to learn more about her company and the ways she collaborates!
First, tell us about your business and anything special we should know about it or you.
Perkies creates innovative undergarments for women to wear- a company that started in a college course that I took while attending Brown. Perkies’ signature product is the Perkies Sticky bra, the only sticky bra (backless/strapless bra that sticks on) with replacement adhesives! My idea was to create a more sustainable, affordable, and BETTER sticky bra.
Since launching, Perkies now sells Perkies Petals: premium, reusable nipple covers that come in three shades of nude (currently sold on Aritzia and Shopbop) and were recently featured in Brides as the “Best Classic Pasties” and in InStyle as “Best [Nipple Covers] on Amazon”.
Another signature product is our patent pending Perkies Nips: Reusable nipple enhancers to provide a consistent perky look (currently sold on Shopbop and Urban Outfitters). Perkies Nips were created to align with the pop culture trend of #FreeTheNip and were recently featured in this WWD piece, while they also were created for women who have had a mastectomy and no longer have nipples post-surgery. Perkies Nips also recently launched on AnaOno, a lead marketplace of bras and forms for women who have had a mastectomy.
Both Perkies Petals and Perkies Nips will be on QVC.com in the coming months. Perkies is dedicated to sustainability, inclusivity, and empowering women to feel confident, while also donating 5% of website sales to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation®.
Why do you feel a connection to your work?
I’ve created a solution-oriented company that provides women with OPTIONS, and a company that empowers women through options. How can one not feel a connection to their work when they’re empowering women?
As a business owner, community is everything. In what ways do you serve your community and how has your community served you?
I collaborate with several local vendors for pop ups, workshops etc. and the communities I am a part of have given back to me TENFOLD. Through goodie bag and silent auction donations for a fundraiser I recently hosted, through carrying Perkies, introducing me to other retailers, through teaching me more about the retail landscape and up and coming brands, I’m so grateful. I also give back to my communities through mentorship and speaking on panels for this younger generation of entrepreneurs.
What advice would you give to young women who want to start a small business?
You have to believe there is always, always, always a way. Don’t take “no” for an answer – it only means “not at the moment”.
What women inspire you and why?
Sara Blakely! She is through and through my North Star. She is so inspiring and never took no for an answer. I love her philanthropic efforts and how she built her successful empire before she built her successful family.
What do you think are the most significant challenges for women business owners or women in leadership positions?
I think access to funding is through a through one of the biggest obstacles for women business owners. Yes, only 2% of VC funding goes to women, but that is directly related to the fact that most of VC funds are run by males. The issues are way deeper and more systemic – we can all do our part to re-write the script and continue to inspire this younger generation of female founders to chase their dreams and create companies that solve problems.
Rosie launched Perkies Nips on Urban Outfitters last month and sold out in 2 weeks! They’re now getting on qvc.com and recently expanded internationally on Amazon (UK and AUS). Rosie also hosted my very first fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation last month and it was such a success!