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They were especially curious about how women shop for bras - or to be more precise, why they avoid it like the plague.

In fact, it’s how they bonded when they met as business students at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2015. Understanding what makes customers tick has always been a subject of fascination for Fisher and Kerner. The co-founders declined to disclose revenue or order numbers, but Fisher says customer feedback has shown their approach “resonates really well with women.”

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Among the company’s tag lines: “Don’t let your boobs down,” and “Easy as A, B, C, DD.” The site also has a blog that discusses bra-shopping for uneven breasts, how to properly wash undergarments and more featuring quips, frank language and fun GIFs. Harper Wilde has injected irreverence into its marketing materials, opting for a lighthearted feel over a serious or overtly sexual one.

It was shocking to both of us - women are funny, too,” says Fisher. “We really couldn’t find any other female-focused company that was funny. But it was effective enough that the duo decided to make humor a key part of their overall brand. In fact, women received just 2 percent of all venture capital awarded in 2017, according to investment capital data firm Pitchbook. Of course, it wasn’t a complete cure-all - winning over investors is still challenging, as it is for many women. It wasn’t until the duo injected humor to pitches that they made any headway with VCs. Each bra costs $35.īut many investors remained unmoved. They keep the bras they like, and ship back the ones they don’t using a prepaid label included with the initial shipment. Customers have 7 days to wear those bras in their everyday lives. Then they explained how Harper Wilde addresses those pain points: It lets online shoppers choose their size in the three bras the company sells and receive them by mail. It’s enough to make most women avoid the experience altogether. They described how off-putting the process is - the hours spent sifting through racks to find the right size, the invasions of personal space from staff, and of course, the cost. The co-founders tried telling their own and other women’s unhappy personal stories of bra shopping. One of the pair’s biggest struggles in getting male investors to fund a bra business was making them understand the need for Harper Wilde, which makes simple bras that women order online and try on at home. Harper Wilde has also snagged investments from BAM Ventures and Brilliant Ventures, along with several angel investors. The Los Angeles company, which launched in June 2017, closed a $2 million seed round this month led by CRV, an early investor in social media giant Twitter. They kicked off their pitch meetings with a video showing a man awkwardly shopping for boxers at a store much like Victoria’s Secret - complete with a handsy salesperson, premium prices and a sexually charged ambiance. So “we tried a new routine,” Fisher says. “The majority of investors are men, and it’s typically not men wearing our product,” Fisher says. The co-founders thought the massive market opportunity would impress venture capitalists, but their presentations kept falling flat.

When Jenna Kerner and Jane Fisher began seeking investor funding for their bra startup, Harper Wilde, they struggled to get through to male investors.Īt first, they tried a numbers-based approach - highlighting the fact that America’s lingerie market pulls in $7.93 billion per year, and that bras account for 55.5 percent of it. Jenna Kerner (left) and Jane Fisher used humor to woo male investors for Harper Wilde, their home try-on service for bras.