Hello and welcome! My name is Laura Johnson and I'm the Founder and Chief Support Officer here at Bust'DD. I'm so glad you are here because I absolutely love helping women. I'd like to take a moment and tell you my story about how and why I got started in the bra business.

 

Several years ago I went through a major life change. I found myself in graduate school going through a divorce and once again single. The concept of dating was scary, but I was ready. However, there was one problem; I did not feel sexy or confident in any of the bras I owned at the time. Going bra shopping was frustrating and made me feel bad about myself. The bras never fit and were downright ugly!

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I also had no idea what size I was supposed to be. At the time I was wearing a 38DD and busting out of the cup. I got myself "professionally" fitted and they put me into a 38F, which helped me busting out of the cup, but still I didn't feel like the fit was right. Like many of you, at that time I didn't realize there were sizes beyond a DD. An F seemed huge and like there was something wrong with me.

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One day as I was watching lecture videos for my entrepreneurship class I began thinking about how I'd been frustrated with bras for years and assumed someday the market would catch up. Years later it still had not and I was becoming increasingly frustrated. I was then sitting with some classmates and we were brainstorming some ideas for our group project and I mentioned my frustration with the market. I thought to myself, hey, I'm smart and I obviously understand the gap and issues in the market, why can't I do something about it? My classmates agreed and encouraged me to start something.

 

I began researching and writing a business plan to start my own line. Since I am not particularly shy I told everyone I knew about my idea. One day a friend realized that she knew two women who were working on similar plans and made an introduction. There was an instant connection during our first meeting because the goal was the same: women need better options in the bra market! 

 

Shortly after meeting we entered into a startup competition called Startup Weekend: Phoenix. The concept was pitched on a Friday night and was selected among the top 15 of more than 50 ideas pitched that evening. A team was assembled and the idea to start our own line was worked on all weekend. The weekend wrapped up with a short pitch to a panel of judges on Sunday evening. Bust'DD took first place and was awarded invaluable services to help make an idea become a reality. After winning, we met with numerous mentors and took various classes. We worked diligently to discover not only what women need, but what they want.

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Fast forward a couple of years of us working on our business and I finally learned the right way to measure and fit. Remember how the "professional" fitter put me into a 38F? Turns out my under bust measurement is a 33, which means my true bra size is actually a 34J!!! I was in shock that not only do those sizes exist, but I was actually fitting into my bras for the first time in my life. And what I learned is that my size is not unusual, but rather quite common. Although many women don't know they should actually be wearing sizes like mine.

 

Well, here's the good news ladies: we are actually skinnier than we thought! Who cares what letter the cup is…I'm a 34, not a 38. What a boost to my self-esteem!! Now, armed with the knowledge of my true bra size, I set out on a shopping venture. This is the bad news: I couldn't find this size in the vast majority of stores. I managed to find a specialty store but I cringed when I looked at the price tag…$250.00. What?! Are you kidding me?

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Now we pivot! Any Friends fans out there? Most entrepreneurs will tell you that one of the keys to success is to pivot when things aren't working. I've pivoted many times since I began this journey. I know that starting my own line is an incredible way to help women, but I realized that was going to be extremely difficult. While I'm not afraid of difficult, I've learned over the years that there are actually some really great brands and bras out there for me to help women right now. My goal is to continue searching for and bringing the best options for my customers and to help them through the process to find bras they love.

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