Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joanne DiCamillo and Nikki Puzzo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Joanne and Nikki, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
We have developed a lot of resilience in our entrepreneurial journey because we wholeheartedly believe in our products and our mission to make lives better with adaptive clothing. Though we have faced many obstacles and numerous rejections, our determination has continued to grow as we have seen the difference we are making in people’s lives. We have a solution to help millions of people who struggle to get dressed every day and we are committed to helping as many people as possible.
The feedback from our customers has also been a powerful contributor to our resilience. We know from personal experience how something as simple as a pair of pants can be life changing. And hearing this same thing from our customers is highly motivating. One of the most moving stories we heard was from an immensely grateful parent whose little boy was recovering from hip surgery with casts on both legs. He was refusing to leave the house for weeks until he received our zipOns and had pants that he could wear. Our product gave him confidence and comfort and aided tremendously in his recovery. Stories like this keep us going even during the most difficult times.
Despite multiple manufacturing disasters, financial hardship, many rejections from the patent office, endless trial and error, and an almost two year shutdown from Covid that nearly put us under, hearing that our product made someone’s life better gave us the strength to keep going.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Nikki Puzzo and Joanne DiCamillo are the Co-Founders of befree. They were inspired to start their company by Nikki’s daughter Stella, who was born with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy. At age five, she underwent double hip surgery and was facing a three month recovery with casts on both legs and a bar in between to keep her hips in place. Nikki asked doctors what she could dress Stella in to keep her comfortable during her lengthy recovery, but they had no recommendations. Nikki realized she would have to make her own, so she took apart a pair of pajama bottoms and added Velcro to the sides so that she could get them over Stella’s casts. The result for Stella was transformative and it changed her recovery dramatically. Stella’s doctors were equally impressed when they saw them at a post-op appointment and encouraged Nikki to pursue making them for the many others patients they saw that were in need.
Nikki shared this story with her friend Joanne, who became impassioned by the lack of available adaptive clothing and the simplicity of the design that was so impactful for Stella. After only a couple conversations, the friends decided to take the medical staff’s advice and formed befree, LLC. Despite limited financial resources, they knew they had to work on evolving the design of the pants and bring the idea to market.
The original vision was to create pants that could be opened from the sides instead of pulled up over the legs. Joanne called on her mom, an expert seamstress, to create the first patterns and zipOns prototypes.
The first iteration of zipOns had hook and loop closures, but Joanne and Nikki were not satisfied with the overall look and feel, and how the pants held up in the washing machine. Next, they tried replacing the hook and loop closures with snap tape, but this design proved cumbersome and resulted in gaps in the sides of the pants. The third evolution of zipOns is the current full-length zipper design that runs from waist to ankle, but there were still improvements to be made.
Nikki and Joanne sought feedback on zipOns from a nursing director at Massachusetts General Hospital. She said she loved the pants, but suggested the zippers be covered because people who are paralyzed would not feel if the exposed zipper was causing irritation or pressure wounds. Nikki and Joanne took this valuable feedback and went back to the drawing board to figure out how to cover the zippers in the interior of the pants and prevent contact. One of the most difficult parts for Nikki and Joanne was figuring out the zipper covering at the waist to ensure skin over the waistband didn’t touch. They came up with a zipper garage design that is similar to what is seen on ski jackets.
Together, Nikki and Joanne figured out the functional aspect of zipOns and the second step was tackling how to make the pants look good. They tried multiple zipper weights and went through multiple redesign phases to finally nail down the aesthetics and were ultimately granted design and utility patents.
zipOns initially started with only a children’s version. Later, Nikki’s parents became the inspiration to create an adult line when her mother requested a pair to be made for her father’s upcoming foot surgery. Once again, the results during his recovery were so impactful they knew they had to also create an adult line. Like many small businesses, befree was stalled and production halted for much of 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The current versions of zipOns for both children and adults launched in March of 2022.
The result of Nikki and Joanne’s hard work is stylish and versatile pants that make dressing easier, safer, and more comfortable for those living with disabilities or short-term mobility challenges due to injuries, surgery, or other medical conditions. The patented design includes zippers spanning waist to hem, allowing them to open and unzip completely on both sides of the legs. They can be put on and taken off easily while standing, lying down, or from a sitting position without pulling up through the legs like traditional pants. zipOns also open from the bottom as needed to accommodate casts, braces and other medical equipment, making them ideal for post-surgery and injury recovery.
Because inclusion is so important to Joanne and Nikki, they want to make sure that financial hardship is never an obstacle for access to their adaptive clothing. befree has partnered with a local non-profit, The Jauron Family Foundation, (http://jauronfamilyfoundation.org) who provides financial assistance when needed in the purchase their products and ensures access to adaptive clothing for all.
befree is committed to making adaptive and inclusive fashion that addresses the real, everyday challenges of people living with disabilities and their caregivers. While zipOns were initially created with Stella in mind, they have evolved to be a stylish and functional solution for millions who struggle getting dressed with temporary or permanent disabilities. The market for inclusive fashion is substantial and growing. Millions of Americans live with a permanent physical disability and struggle every day to dress themselves. Temporary disabilities, too—including lower limb fractures and hip and knee surgeries—leave millions more without good options for simple, attractive and wearable clothing. In the addition to the millions with temporary and permanent disabilities, zipOns can also help aging adults stay and thrive at home longer by promoting aging with dignity. While designers are slowly becoming more aware of the need for inclusive fashion choices, to date those options are still extremely limited. Everyone, regardless of ability or disability, should have a wide range of fashion options to express themselves and feel good in the clothes they are wearing. It is important for the fashion industry and consumers to recognize that the desire for fashion applies to everyone. befree’s goal is to help create a future where adaptive clothing is mainstream.
befree will also continue to promote adaptive and inclusive fashion with the addition of new product offerings. Adult Shorts, with the same full length zippers on the sides, debuted in January. Leggings are currently in production, also with the same design and functionality as our long pants. Next up are joggers, jeans, cargo and dress pants.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1) Solve a problem
Creating a solution to fit pants over casts was the inspiration for our company. Oftentimes, the most impactful products are those that solve a problem. If you have personal experience with a problem or source of pain, chances are many others do as well. Find inspiration in that problem or source of pain and then create a solution which will help others.
2) Measure twice, cut once
We revised the design of our pants many many times and experimented with numerous prototypes. Velcro was first used, but then we tried snaps, snap tape and finally settled on zippers as the most functional and aesthetic. We made samples and produced small quantities to get as many people to try them and get their feedback, which led to several more rounds of revisions. We also consulted with a nursing director at MGH, one of the best hospitals in the country, to understand the needs and functionality from a medical perspective. We will continue to look for ways to improve going forward, but we wanted to ensure we had a solid design and product before entering the market. There is so much to learn from trial and error and do not get discouraged from the errors. They are invaluable opportunities for improvement.
3) Don’t be afraid to hear “No”
We have been told “No” so many times since starting befree. Just to name a few, manufacturers have turned down our production, lenders have rejected our applications, and the patent office rejected our initial submissions multiple times. But we were never deterred because we knew we had a good product and would eventually succeed. The word “No” is not to be feared, it can be a good inspiration to find another way.
All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
Right now our biggest challenge is gaining traction in the market as a small business with limited financial resources. We are a self-funded, bootstrapping startup and have been working with limited capital from the beginning. The Covid shutdown set us back even further financially, and it has been a slow road to recover from. Our woman owned, small company status has proven extremely difficult to secure financing and loans. Unlike larger companies, we do not have the marketing budget for large scale advertising campaigns and website development. We have tried to be very strategic in how we use our marketing dollars and focus on grass roots initiatives and promoting word of mouth with exceptional customer service.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.befreeco.com
- Instagram: @befreeadaptive
- Facebook: @befreeadadaptiveclothing
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/befree-llc
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
