Built by: Sarah Greisdorf — Holdette
Since I was little, my mom always told me that “a lady should always carry a purse.” For centuries, menswear has been designed with built in pockets, whereas women needed to carry an additional pouch to keep all of their belongings. The $10B handbag industry is fueled by this very notion that womenswear doesn’t provide the same level of functionality as menswear.
Even as womenswear adapted to include pockets, pockets in women’s clothing are often just for decoration or too small to hold anything useful. According to a study from The Pudding comparing pocket sizes across retailers, women’s pockets are 48% shorter and 7% narrower than men’s pockets. From the moment women get dressed, they are at a disadvantage, without a convenient place to keep their phone, wallet, keys, etc.
Sarah Greisdorf decided to solve this issue with her company Holdette. Just this month, Holdette launched the Leslie suit, a blazer and pants set with EIGHT functional pockets. In addition to creating functional women’s workwear, Sarah also started Back Packet, a membership community for young women as they enter the workplace. With over 400 members in the Slack channel, Back Pocket provides young professionals with resources and community events including book clubs, one-on-one mentorship, and workshops.
I’m so excited to share with you Sarah’s journey and tips for building a product with purpose and passion!
Interview with Sarah Greisdorf, founder and CEO of Holdette
To begin, can you tell us about your background prior to starting Holdette?
I started Holdette my freshman year of college. That fall I had arrived at Boston University to study computer science. I first fell in love with CS in high school and was involved with a couple technology clubs and attended hackathons starting my sophomore year. After having the idea for Holdette my senior year of high school, I knew I wanted to start working on it when I got to BU and so upon arriving at college, I started talking to all my female friends about the idea. They loved it and I started working on it right away.
What was your inspiration for starting Holdette?
I actually had the idea while I was taking a shower my senior year of high school. I realized that everytime I left the house I had to carry my phone, keys, and wallet in my hands or a purse and none of my male friends ever had to do that. For me it was always a feminist issue as much as a functionality issue. I knew I wanted to do something about it pretty quickly.
You mentioned participating in accelerators and pitch competitions. How has Holdette developed through that process?
Accelerators and pitch competitions have been super helpful as I’ve gotten Holdette off the ground.
I think what is particularly beneficial about accelerators in particular is that you are working alongside other founders who are really dedicated to their ideas and you all are supporting each other and navigating challenges together. I think the mentorship that typically comes along with these programs is also very beneficial for having a new person weigh in and provide a new perspective.
What has the process been like for you to source and manufacture the suits and how does sustainability play a role into your decisions?
The process has been super difficult largely because we are producing a pretty small run to start with. Suits are a difficult product to produce technically and then combining that with a small run meant we talked to a lot of different partners before finding one to take us on. We had originally hoped to use a biodegradable fabric called Tencel but it really ended up not being the right fabric to make a suit out of us. While our fabric itself isn’t closed-loop sustainable at this time, it is optimized to last a really long time so we hope it won’t end up in a landfill. If you’re done wearing it, it should be in good enough condition even after a lot of wears to pass onto someone else.
Not having come from a traditional retail background, how have you found mentorship and resources to break into the space?
Mentorship was really key to getting me to where I am today. I was lucky to work with a fashion professor from RISD at the beginning and then find partners along the way who helped us move the process along. I’ve also had mentors who aren’t in fashion but have expertise running businesses which has been equally as helpful. As much as it has been difficult to produce the suits, I have had plenty of other difficulties just getting the business itself off the ground.
I know you also have a membership community within Holdette called Back Pocket to support women with their professional and personal growth. Can you tell us more about the resources and events you provide on this platform and how it ties in with the overall vision and brand of Holdette?
Our mission as a brand is to support women from the moment you get dressed. While we would love you to wear our pieces, we know your day does not end the second you get dressed so we want to support you beyond that moment.
We launched Back Pocket this past April when Covid was shutting everything down and we were being more separated than ever. We wanted to find new ways to connect our community. Today, we offer a number of public workshops and host our community on slack. For our paying members we offer one-on-one mentorship, opportunities for coffee chats, and perks from our brand partners.
What have been your biggest challenges and takeaways from starting your own business?
Not coming from a design background and deciding to launch a clothing line made the entire process a challenge. That being said, I have enjoyed learning so much and getting to meet so many people I likely never would have crossed paths with.
The other big challenge is accepting that things are not going to work out as you expect them to and that is part of the journey. Learning how to be flexible is a muscle you will grow and stretch and it’ll get easier as time goes on.
Do you have any advice for other young, female founders?
Make sure from day one that you are running and working on your business for yourself and for yourself only. If you are doing it to please or impress others, you will become burnt out by it. You will have to work on your business so much to get it off the ground that if you aren’t doing it for you and to bring you joy then it will not be sustainable. Find something that you love and pursue it with all your energy.
A huge thank you to Sarah for sharing her experiences building an apparel company and membership community to support women in the workplace!
To learn more about Holdette, visit their website https://holdette.com/ or follow Sarah on LinkedIn
If you’re a founder looking to share your story, feel free to reach out to me at sophiacheng.me@gmail.com
