Rose Mangiarotti is the founder of award-winning startup Perkies, a sticky-bra company that offers replaceable adhesives. The company has been honored several times by Rhode Island Inno, including as a 2019 Startup to Watch. Out of 75 applicants, Perkies was one of seven finalists in the Cox Business Get Started RI pitch competition last fall and won the contest’s $5,000 Audience Vote.
Mangiarotti graduated from Brown University and was a participant in Brown’s Breakthrough Lab eight-week accelerator program last summer. In addition to serving as a mentor with the university’s Women’s Launch Pad, Mangiarotti is involved with Brown’s Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship and works with interns from Brown and Rhode Island School of Design.
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PBN: We should start with an update. What is the status of your company now?
MANGIAROTTI: On the product-development side, I am finalizing product details and sending the final specifications to the manufacturer in China to make a mold! I need to be as close to final as possible, as these bra molds and adhesive die cuts are expensive. I am also building out the pro forma with anticipated sales from each channel: retail and [direct to consumer]. I am finalizing the budget, working on my pitch deck and other tasks.
Melissa Studzinski, who I met via [BetaXAnalytics CEO] Shannon Shallcross during the networking segment of the Cox Business Pitch Competition, is my company’s lead adviser. I am very fortunate to be working with someone as intelligent and ambitious as Melissa.
I also work with a team of advisers with diverse expertise, and a couple of Brown University interns who have helped with graphic design, packaging, social media and videography.
PBN: What have been some of the challenges/setbacks of Perkies and its growth to date, if any?
MANGIAROTTI: The idea sounds simple, but the technology behind it is far from it! The adhesive field is not the most auspicious field to go into, as adhesives have complex properties and require a complicated manufacturing/converting process.
The specific adhesive for Perkies must check off a ton of boxes, which often contradict. For example, the bra needs to stay on throughout a night full of dancing but also [must] be gentle to remove. I am definitely becoming an adhesive nerd.
Also, there are no bra-pad manufacturers in the U.S. Thankfully, I found a great manufacturer in China, but now have to be very cognizant of the 25% tariff. I never look at these challenges as setbacks, rather hurdles that I believe are there for a reason – if it was easy, this product would exist already.
I am fortunate to have the support of my parents, sisters, advisers and friends, and am lucky to be part of, and surrounded by, my target market. I rarely go out without someone saying, “I was just thinking of you,” when their sticky bra stopped working or when they couldn’t buy a dress because they didn’t have a good sticky bra to wear with it.
PBN: What did last year’s B-Lab Accelerator program offer you and your startup?
MANGIAROTTI: Brown’s B-Lab Program serendipitously fell into my lap at a time where I was not sure exactly what I wanted to do after I graduated. It gave me a taste of what the next few years would be like, with all my time and energy passionately put towards an idea and turning a dream into a reality. Of course, I learned from the guest speakers and met some awesome Brown and RISD students with inspiring and innovative ideas.
PBN: You said last year that Perkies sales will mainly be online. Why is that?
MANGIAROTTI: My target customer is well-versed in online shopping and often partial to it. Our primary use of marketing dollars will be used on social media platforms. To convert a click into an online purchase is an easier task than having the consumer seek out a store that carries Perkies and then go to the store to buy it.
As a company that will be primarily [direct to consumer], we’ll be able to control the entire buying experience. We can establish a strong brand identity with consistent customer service and brand messaging. This can be lost when selling through third parties. Selling online will also allow for data and results to be measured in a real-time and more-systematic fashion.
That being said, we will initially introduce Perkies to local boutiques to familiarize people with the product and hope for word-of-mouth marketing!
PBN: How would you characterize the process of seeking out investors?
MANGIAROTTI: Ask for money and you’ll get advice, ask for advice and you’ll get money. Let’s just say I have been asking a lot of people for advice. I take every lead I can and set up a call with any who may be helpful for me to speak with.
I send update emails approximately every two months to friends, family, advisers and professionals who I’ve been connected with. It’s definitely a good way to show the progress I’ve made and ask for some simple requests, such as filling out a survey.
Although I have not raised or tried to raise money yet, I’m embarking on a pre-seed/friends and family round and will seek out the people who have expressed interest in investing when I’m ready.
Susan Shalhoub is a PBN contributing writer.
