Are you constantly pulling at your bra straps? Feel uncomfortable wearing tight-fitting tops? Roughly 80 percent of women are wearing the wrong-size bra, according to recent studies.
That’s a potentially huge market for True&Co, a company founded by two former Microsoft execs. The startup raised $4 million in funding today to banish measuring tape and fitting rooms for good.
Getting fitted for a bra is an awkward moment for most women, especially for teens and preteens. Matronly shop assistants peering at you in your underwear, while you jump up and down in a poorly-fitting bra, is not appealing. True&Co’s founder Michelle Lam wants to use cutting-edge technology to put an end to this situation.
Women who are using the online service for the first time will be directed to the “get fitted” tab. They are prompted to take a quiz, and answer questions about the comfort and fit of existing bras. Once you’ve been virtually fitted, True&Co provides a personalized home try-on kit with free shipping and returns.
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True&Co will use the funding to improve its “fit algorithm.” To increase the accuracy of its tech, the company recruited Brian Emmett, who was previously the director of engineering at Netflix, as its CTO. Similarly to Netflix, the algorithm suggests bras that women might like, based on their previous shopping habits.
True&Co isn’t the only company that is using technology to help women find the right fit. HerRoom also offers a bra-fitting service, and MaidenForm is building out its tech. But True&Co’s website is the best designed of the bunch, and it makes lingerie and bra shopping seem like a more pleasant experience.
The company secured its funding from Crosslink, VegasTechFund (managed by Zappos chief executive Tony Hsieh), Great Oaks Venture Capital and Silicon Valley angel investor Pejman Nozad.
True&Co is based in San Francisco and New York, and currently has 20 employees.
