This Entrepreneur Couldn’t Find A Bra That Fit So She Created An Algorithm That Could

Four years ago, Orit Hashay was the definition of a multi-tasker. She was visibly pregnant and working her tail off to raise funds for a new start-up – Brayola.com, “the world's smartest personal bra shopper." There are lots of bras out there. So why put yourself through the paces for another one? That answer is simple - Fit. So what made and continues to make Brayola so special in that department? An algorithm that matches every woman to the exact right one.

That algorithm is so effective that in 2016, the company hit a $10 M revenue run rate by the end of the year. And if things keep going as planned, Hashay expects the company to hit a $27 M run rate through this year. Brayola has raised $5 M in Series A financing.

Today you'll find her on Forbes' “10 Female Founders To Watch Out Of Israel" list and listed as one of TechCrunch's “Three Israeli Femme-preneurs To Keep an Eye On." Clearly, it's one heck of an algorithm.

Being the entrepreneurial problem solver that she is, Hashay wanted to find a way to make bra shopping simpler.

Orit Hashay was raised in an ultra-Orthodox family in Petah Tikva in Israel, but, she explains, she “bolted at age 15 for a secular high school." As a kid, she was quite the opposite of what she is today. Then she was as shy as could be. “I mean, really shy, I couldn't even get myself to order food in a restaurant!" But now, she says, she loves “to be on stage discussing what it took for me to get where I am."

Hashay became interested in the lingerie biz because, ironically, she wasn't interested in the bras she was finding. Being the entrepreneurial problem solver that she is, Hashay wanted to find a way to make bra shopping simpler.

“I did not like bra shopping and I thought I could make it better," says Hashay. "I would always leave stores feeling frustrated—some bras I tried on immediately land in the 'no' pile because they were ill-fitting or just off. Others might have looked perfect on, but as soon as I put on my shirt, the silhouette was not quite right. You know how it goes—some bras fit in size, but you can end up looking squashed, separated, droopy, too big, too small…the list is endless!"

When she was growing up, of course, Hashay didn't even give herself the luxury of dreaming about a career, “because in an Orthodox culture like the environment I was brought up in I never saw women having careers. I did know that I wanted to be the boss of my life and have the freedom to say what I wanted."

Hashay is no stranger to tech. She trained as a software developer and, over the course of ten years, launched mit4mit, an Israeli consumer wedding services review site; Ramkol, Israel's leading local reviews site; and Vetrinas, a virtual window on hundreds of stores worldwide. She then joined Israeli venture capital firm Carmel Ventures as an investment manager before founding Brayola, where she had the chance to really see how its portfolio of internet companies got off the ground.

It certainly wasn't easy as a woman pitching to predominantly male venture capitalists about the woes of bra shopping, Hashay says.

A lot of companies are now claiming they offer the perfect bra and the perfect fit. But, Hashay says, Brayola prides itself on being the first online lingerie shop to match women with bras based on their personal sizes, tastes and styles. To date, their algorithm has analyzed more than 50 million data points shared by women, which combined with our Bra Matching technology, has helped them achieve return rates 10 percent below the industry benchmark. With the goal of becoming the smartest way for women to shop for bras, Hashay says, they already carry countless best-selling brands in a size-inclusive range that spans from 28A to 58N.

Raising money as a female founder of a bra startup was incredibly difficult, Hashay explains. It may be 2018, she says, but the tech industry is still predominantly male. She adds, "not to mention, when I was raising money, I was several months pregnant, so some advisors and potential investors asked me if I'd want to revisit this conversation when was I 'less occupied."

"While the investors liked my ideas, they seemed preoccupied with the prospect of my impending motherhood and how it might change my priorities," the Founder explains. "They suggested I wait, which was not in the cards. I didn't want to take money from people that were trying to convince me that I wasn't sure about starting a business that I knew I was passionate about."

Her fundraising advice is simple. “Don't give up and don't take no for an answer!" she says. "Difficult does not mean impossible. There will always be people who will doubt you and your abilities, but it's up to you to prove them wrong. For me, my pregnancy cast doubt in a lot of investors' minds, but I remained passionate about my ideas and confident in my business plan and eventually, they came around. As long as you believe strongly in your ideas, stick to your guns, and put in the hard work, the results will come. I was persistent, using all my patience and guts to push through regardless of the skepticism of what I was trying to do. I have worked as an investor as well as a striving entrepreneur. I know how hard it can be, especially in a male-dominated world. However, I consistently ignored the fact that it is hard and I didn't take no for an answer. Any difficulty that I had, I found a way to resolve it."

Hashay says that seeing the functioning site and the algorithm out there in the real world working to help women find the best bras felt – and still feels – amazing. “You know I founded Brayola when I was pregnant, my body was changing, and bra shopping was the last thing I wanted to do. With my background in software development, I knew I could make bra shopping easier for myself and for women like me. And it makes me so incredibly happy knowing that not only have I accomplished this goal, but I'm helping women feel more comfortable and confident when they shop for bras."

Although this isn't necessarily how Hashay imagined her life. She says it's sure how she hoped it would be. She dreams, naturally, of continuing to grow Brayola, enjoying her family and friends, and, she says, “I'd like to inspire other women to strive for their dreams!" Her work has been full of happiest surprises. But, Hashay says, “I think just the sheer growth we were able to achieve has made me the happiest. Especially because of the speculation we were faced with!"

As for Hashay's advice for turning your own dreams into a reality, Hashay says, “Never give up, and don't take no for an answer! There will always be someone telling you you're not good enough, your ideas are not good enough, but if you learn to tune those out and persevere, you will succeed."