Jaclyn Fu — Embracing the “Flat” in Flattering
The I Have Cool Friends podcast, hosted by Samantha Peszek, is a show that sparks inspirational conversations with experts about business, wellness, and personal development.
INTRODUCING JACLYN FU:
Jaclyn Fu is the co-founder and CEO of Pepper, an unapologetic bra company for small-chested women. Pepper’s mission is to empower women to feel confident and beautiful with the body they have. Jaclyn launched Pepper in 2017, and since then has quickly grown it into a passionate community of underserved women who boldly refuse to be defined by their size. Today, Sam and Jaclyn talk about her inspirational entrepreneurial journey and her passion for helping women who are struggling with body acceptance. Jaclyn shares the incredible story of how she and her co-founder Lia received full funding only ten hours after launching their Kickstarter campaign. Jaclyn speaks to some of the challenges and obstacles she’s tackled throughout her journey, her responsibilities as CEO, and how she remains engaged with Pepper’s target audience.
THIS EPISODE FEATURES INSIGHTS ON BODY ACCEPTANCE, LAUNCHING A STARTUP TO HELP SOLVE A PROBLEM & TENACITY:
- How Jaclyn built a successful company and solved a problem many women face in the process
- Struggling with body acceptance and the journey towards confidence
- The origin of the name ‘Pepper’
- How Jaclyn met her co-founder, Lia
- The Kickstarter campaign
- Growing pains in launching a new company
- How Jaclyn and Lia grew their business 400% year-over-year during a global pandemic
- Jaclyn’s daily responsibilities as CEO and how she ensures she hires the right people for the brand
- Cultivating a culture of connection and community
- Engaging with Pepper’s target audience
- Backlash Pepper has received from other brands and groups
- Something that shocked Jaclyn about the bra industry
- Jaclyn’s vision for the future of Pepper
- The best career advice Jaclyn has ever received
- Jaclyn answers some rapid-fire Friend Questions
- Following Jaclyn and Pepper
WHAT DID JACLYN SAY?
“I knew I wanted to solve a problem and, because my background is in product development and product marketing, I knew I wanted to make a tangible product. The challenge was figuring out what that problem to be solved would be.”
“That’s what I want to solve for at Pepper is getting all of these women to embrace the ‘flat’ in flattering.”
“That Kickstarter success just told me and reinforced the idea that I’m not the only one who feels this way and there’s a huge opportunity to help women never feel what I felt like ever again.”
“Every time I put on a Pepper bra, I want that person to be like, ‘Damn, I look good.’ And, in order to really capture that in products, I have to stay really close to it.”
“I credit the success of Pepper to all those people who took a chance on us and are still involved now.”
“I love seeing the rise of niche brands. I think the more niche brands, the better because you don’t want a company that’s trying to do it all. That’s how, inherently, you’re not able to solve every person’s problem. But if more brands focus on specific problems then everyone has options.”
