Founder Friday with Helena Kaylin of MINDD
Founded by Helena Kaylin, a born and raised Calgarian and an expert in bra development, MINDD is the first bra and intimates company dedicated to designing wireless solutions specifically for D+ breasted women. The direct-to-consumer company has engineered proprietary and patent-pending MINDD™ Tech: a seven-zone support system tailored to the underserved but rapidly growing share of women who wear a D+ cup bra.
We caught up with Helena to hear what’s new for MINDD, what’s coming up next, insights into what’s happening in the industry, and advice she would give to her past self and up-and-coming women founders.
What’s New
Helena and the team are heading into their third full year selling MINDD with Victoria’s Secret. Incredibly proud of this relationship, VS and their team provided amazing reception to MINDD joining the collective, and the core beliefs of both businesses aligned in the pursuit to helping improve the lives of women through the creation of a wire-free, supportive, and innovative product.
Over the last three years, Victoria’s Secret has taken notable strides with their brand community and for MINDD to be part of that is a wonderful highlight Helena is grateful for.
Additionally, the MINDD team has been working tirelessly to get their product IP protected. Starting innovation mode back in 2019, MINDD has had two US patents approved, and recently (January 2024), they received the certificate of their patent in the UK.
Being product-focused, these US and UK patents have been foundational for MINDD. MINDD’s mission is to improve the lives of as many women as possible through having their bras give them feelings of confidence and support and allow them to think about other things apart from what undergarment they're putting on in the morning.
What’s Next
The landscape has shifted quite a lot bouncing back from the pandemic, and Helena and the team have navigated many changes in the last two years—likely sentiments many founders relate to.
Looking forward into 2024, the focus for MINDD is on stabilizing and growing the operational infrastructure of the company. They have new products in the pipeline and are really investing into sport and sports bras… stay tuned for updates!
Helena and the team are excited about the product coming out this year that will hopefully surprise and delight their existing customers and allow them to attract new ones.
What’s Going On in the Industry
The direct-to-consumer (D2C) model has experienced many changes in the last year, with the iOS 14 update playing a major role in the digital and ecommerce landscapes. In short, Apple’s iOS 14 required users to provide explicit permission for apps to collect and share data. This major privacy initiative means that the percentage of iPhone users sharing their unique Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) with apps would drop from 70% to as low as 10%.
Some companies have been able to weather the storm, whereas others have seen their multi-million dollar investments sold for pennies on the dollar, downsized, or filed for bankruptcy.
While Helena believes the store of the future is still on our phones where you may not have to go into a brand’s brick and mortar store, the global pandemic has created a reality where people want to be in a community and out in the world physically touching and feeling products.
When MINDD expanded into wholesale a few years ago to balance their D2C offering, Helena didn’t realize how important that shift would be. It’s been a learning experience for founders everywhere and accepting that growing slowly is okay, taking their time is okay, and even if you have $100 million, there are no guarantees.
As a founder, you still have to be in the business all the time to be aware of, ‘Okay, what's happening? What shifts are taking place? Are my marketing expenses eating up all of my profits, and how do you balance all of that stuff?’
It's hard because there are no right answers. You have to trust your gut and trust the counsel you get from trusted advisors and your employees.
Advice to Your Past Self & Other Women Founders
“For many women, there are so many things we are tasked with on a daily basis that pursuing something that’s ours can feel a bit selfish,” Helena says. “But at the same time, the most selfless thing you can do for yourself is surrender into the pursuit of something you truly believe in.”
With the idea of MINDD swirling in her head for nearly ten years, waiting until she felt ‘ready’ to take the first step was the hardest part. In retrospect, Helena would tell her younger self she wished she would have done it sooner.
Throughout all the soul searching and reflecting Helena’s done in the past year, she shares how when you’re pushing a boulder uphill and it feels like you’re constantly being tested, remember why you started.
At the end of the day, ask yourself: Do you have any regrets?
Although the perks of a corporate job (think: a consistent salary, dedicated vacation time, etc) go away when you’re a founder, if you have something that’s an itch you can’t not scratch, you have to pursue it. You’ll always regret not trying—especially if it's something that you have in your soul and if you believe you have something to offer that can either change an industry or improve the lives of people.
For Helena, chasing the idea of MINDD is something she’ll never regret. She created it, patented it, and has had customers that have come back over 30 times to purchase their products in three years alone. She knows she and her team have made a difference.
“You can never have a plan B,” Helena adds. If you’re always sitting on that fallback plan, you’ll play safe. You have to trust in your skills, and if it doesn’t work out, something else will. You just have to go after it.
The51 is proud to partner with the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) in telling founder stories to accelerate the representation of women within Canada’s innovation economy.