Startup Spotlight #21: Holdette
Holdette is an e-commerce brand designing and producing women's workwear with real pockets.
I got the chance to speak with Sarah Greisdorf, co-founder and CEO of Holdette, about what she’s working on at her startup, and any advice she has for emerging entrepreneurs.
Originally from outside Washington, DC, Sarah Greisdorf is the CEO & Founder of Holdette. She founded the company during her freshman year of college at Boston University where she majored in Computer Science. Alongside her work on Holdette, Holdette helped organize and direct BostonHacks, Boston University's 24-hour hackathon. She previously worked at 829 Studios and for the City of Boston before graduating and beginning work on Holdette full time.
Holdette elevates and eases the transition out of college and into the real world - from your closet to your community. On average, women’s pockets are 48% shorter than men’s pockets. Holdette is closing that gap by designing professional workwear with real pockets for women. From our function-forward apparel to Back Pocket, our community membership program offering personal and professional development events, we are 100% there for you.
Startup Spotlight: Holdette
Holdette founder Sarah Greisdorf.
Problem: On average women's pockets are 48% shorter than men's pockets meaning women have to rely on their hands, purses, and men to carry their belongings. This problem is perpetuated by workwear retailers who fail to equip their clothing with pockets, holding women back in an already inequitable work world.
Market: Our total addressable market (TAM) is the 20.8M women aged 20-30 who work in offices. Our serviceable addressable market (SAM) is the 10.8M women who prefer to carry their phone in their pocket rather than a purse.
Solution: With the mission to support women from the moment they get dressed in the morning, Holdette designs women's professional workwear with real pockets. We are launching with a line of women's suits that have eight functional pockets.
Team: We are all female-run with team members who are still in or have recently graduated from college. We have a variety of experience from places like Glossier, the Boston Globe, and Under Armour that combined propel our company forward.
Recent Success:
Greisdorf: As a team, we've been really successful at building community. While the company was founded two years ago, we are only just now on the brink of selling our first line. Instead of waiting to launch to build our community, we started growing our Instagram following at the beginning and recently launched Back Pocket, our membership community focused on supporting women entering the workforce for the first time. We believe in supporting women from the moment they get dressed in the morning, and through our community initiatives are able to be there beyond that time too!
Recent Struggle:
Greisdorf: Having studied computer science, when I decided to launch a clothing line, I was starting from scratch having to learn a brand new skillset. This posed a lot of challenges as I learned how to navigate an industry with which I was not already familiar. I made a lot of costly mistakes along the way that have ultimately led us to get to where we are now, but they were hard lessons to learn along the way.
Founder Advice:
Greisdorf: Just get something out there! You never will learn more about your customers, your target market, or the viability of your product unless you start trying things out. We started with a newsletter that aggregated clothes with pockets long before we ever decided to launch a clothing line. If it wasn't for those first steps, we probably wouldn't be where we are now.
Three Cool Founders You Should Know About:
Greisdorf: Here are three founders you should check out next!
Phoebe Yao, Founder of Pareto: Pareto is a 100% female-led and operated business assistant saving high-growth teams thousands of hours on repetitive processes such as lead generation, market researcfh, and admin operations.
Fiona Whittington, Founder of TechTogether: TechTogether is using the power of community & research to build a gender-diverse future in tech.
Lola Lafia, Founder of Schefs: Schefs is a platform for college students to facilitate themed conversations over a meal on topics of their choice, using “mealtime” as a vehicle for community, dialogue, and knowledge-exchange.
Who should I profile next? Leave your suggestion in the comments:
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