131: Third Love’s Heidi Zak on Taking Entrepreneurial Risks to Change How Lingerie is Bought and Sold

It’s been nearly four years since Heidi and I first met in the original Third Love offices in San Francisco. In this week’s episode of the Spirit of 608 podcast, I get to check in with the innovative fashion tech startup’s founder and find out what’s happened since they set out to upend the women’s lingerie market – spoiler alert: a lot. Dubbed one of the fastest growing startups in America last year in the media, they have amassed fans around the world for their different approach to the age-old bra try-on problem that women everywhere face. More recently, they’ve expanded into new categories, doubled-down on diversity by creating “nude” hues in a wide range of colors and much more. Hear it all on the show.

Meet this week's guest, Heidi Zak, Co-founder of Third Love.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

In a time when digital marketing and online sales are all the rage, Third Love is turning to good old fashioned direct mail to cater to their customers. When I asked why (because, nerd alert, I’m obsessed with direct mail at the moment) Heidi let us in on how it works at Third Love. Listen in to learn how this strategy has made Third Love customers some of the most loyal ones out there.

HOW YOU’LL BE INSPIRED

Every entrepreneur goes through hard days, but not every one of them is willing to real talk about it on a podcast. Luckily for us, Heidi was down. Learn how she’s dealt with bad days, how she picks herself up, her philosophy on staying focused and how she keeps herself on track in the midst of everything life throws her way.

WHAT YOU’LL TELL YOUR FRIENDS

Hey did you hear that Third Love is the only bra company in the world that sells half cup sizes? Sounds like a brilliant idea, right? Kinda crazy that no one else does it. However, Heidi shares that the half cup idea was a huge risk. Despite it being one of Third Love’s selling points today, it was the reason why Third Love had a hard time getting off the ground. Find out the full story in the episode.

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Nuzzle: What Heidi really likes about this news app is that it compiles a list of articles or news items based on what your friends are talking about or sharing and sends these to you in a daily email. Heidi says it helps her prioritize what she’s going to read first, instead of drowning in her social media feed. Thumbs up to that.

Connect with Heidi Zak

Website: thirdlove.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thirdlove

Instagram: @thirdlove

Twitter: @thirdlove

Mentioned in this episode:

Brandless, Next-Gen Consumer-Products Startup, Attracts Sports Stars, Media Execs as Investors in $35 Million Round

Peloton

Nuzzle

T-shirt motto: Get shit done.

Find more episodes featuring women at the forefront of FEST online at www.Spiritof608.com.