THE FRIDAY INTERVIEW – WE WEAR BOOST!

This week Underlines chats with Sam Jackman, founder of We Wear Boost, a Cornwall-based company which has developed an innovative new type of breast prosthesis designed to boost confidence and aid comfort and usability. Since its launch in October 2020 the response has been tremendously responsive to this ‘disruptor’ of breast forms.

Your previous life before Boost?

Before Boost, I was working in Arts and Culture. The role I had before running Boost full time was Business Advisor for Museums in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, which was something I really enjoyed. It combined my growing interest in business development with the cultural sector. I have a a background in education and the arts, I am a qualified teacher and I didn’t really think that running my own innovative company would be in my future. However, I’ve found that the skills I had from my previous career have given me a great foundation for what I do now, helping me to run Boost with compassion, empathy and creativity.

How did the brand start and when did you start working on it?

We started to work on the brand in 2018, with a small grant and some mentoring from the Design Council’s Spark fund. At that time, all we had was a vague idea that we wanted to change the way that breastforms were designed completely to make them lighter, easy to wear and to create them as beautiful, interesting items that would make wearers feel positive every time they put them on. By the end of the Spark programme I had a good idea of what would work, but funding this was difficult. Over the next few years the product was refined, manufacturing methods were organised and tested, and Boost continued to test and codesign with women to make sure the product met their needs. We also received patent protection in the US, EU and UK which took a bit of time, delaying the product’s commercial release. We soft launched in 2021 via our own e-commerce website and things have been growing from there.

Who is your inspiration?

I realised that there was a need for the breast prosthesis to be re-designed when my mum had a mastectomy when she was just 47. She struggled with the weight and feel of the traditional prosthesis, and refused to wear it. One day she asked me why it had to be a beige, fleshy object. Why couldn’t it be a pretty shape? After all, it was there to hold her clothes in place and provide contour under her clothing, she didn’t see it as a replacement for the breast she had lost, nothing would really ‘replace’ it. It made me think about the design assumptions made in the development of the breast prostheses and we began to challenge these. It turned out that lots of women felt the same way that Mum did, and when we started talking to them we realised there was a need for the breastform to be designed in a radically different way. If it wasn’t for mum’s experience, we would not have started Boost. She is doing really well (it’s 17 years since her treatment) and helps out at Boost HQ a couple of times a week. Without her perspective, we wouldn’t have got to where we are now.

“she didn’t see it as a replacement for the breast she had lost…”

What is different about designing your products? And what was the biggest challenge?

Our approach to design is human-centred. We work directly with breastform wearers and their ideas and feedback directly influence our product development and design process. Designing the Boost to be easy to manufacture, yet retain an open structure and funky design was a challenge. But actually the biggest challenge for the business was always the funding! In the early days, it was hard to explain our idea to people. We didn’t have prototypes to show, and people always assumed that we would be designing to make the breast forms realistic. I remember that one funding panel (all male!) gave the feedback that our product didn’t even look like a breast so nobody would want to wear it. I remember that this was a huge motivation to make the product happen because I knew that they were so very wrong and I was determined to prove it! I recall thinking, ‘and how many women who’ve had a mastectomy have you spoken with before you made that assumption on their behalf?’.

What are the highlights of your collection?

At the moment, we only have one style of breast form (the Mandala) but our new shape, the Boost Bloom, is due to be released later in 2023. I’m really proud of the new range because it’s been developed from the feedback we’ve had from Mandala customers and delivers 8 new sizes and profiles. Other than that, I think our recent Valentine’s limited edition hot pink was a brilliant addition to the range and we hope to offer a new limited edition colour for Christmas!

What do you read and whom do you follow in social media to keep ahead of trends?

That’s a tricky one. We don’t follow trends, but we do follow journeys. Women who continue to talk about their experiences of breast cancer like Sarah Beeny and Julia Bradbury, or friends of Boost Lizzi England and Kitty Morningstar share their stories and lives. Our products are hugely influenced by the needs of breast form wearers and often people who share their stories so openly generate much need conversation and raise awareness. This helps us understand what might be needed and how our designs could help more people with complex shape needs.

A Typical Week in your life

I have a new puppy (a 12 week old Lab cross called Blue) so my weeks have changed a little recently! Boost’s office is next to my house, so typically I’ll be in and out all week, working with customers and delivering new R&D. We  work on two or three new products or projects, so I’m often on zoom calls or helping Chris our Design Director with new concepts. I might be helping to get the orders packed, or doing some admin. Usually, we have three or four breast form fitting appointments with women coming to the office to choose their products in person and these sessions are a great opportunity for us to listen to the feedback and needs of our customers. I also try to attend business networking opportunities or spend time meeting other female founders or people interested in sustainability, as this really helps us develop our partnerships. I am often asked to speak on panels and events, so I try to fit those requests in where I can, life is pretty varied! We are a small team of 4 so everyone really has to muck in with everything.

Your proudest moment to date?

I would say that being selected as one of the highly commended (top ten) in the Telegraph and Natwest 100 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch list was an wonderful moment. However, I am also really proud of the way that Boost has changed the conversation. My ambition was always to create a paradigm shift, where it would be cool to buy a breast form as a gift for your loved one. The first time in 2021 when we had a customer ask to have one of our products gift wrapped for his fiancee, I knew that we had achieved something remarkable. The traditional breast prosthesis wouldn’t be a welcomed gift, but a Boost is very different!

Your next big challenge?

We are planning to find new ways to reach women outside the UK, and have some new partnerships in the US that we hope will take our products to new markets. We also want to scale up, and expand our Cornish manufacturing so we will be looking at ways to fund this next stage of development.

Your worst move so far?

I’m not sure that we’ve made any particularly bad moves, but sometimes researching the decisions you need to make takes a long time and that can be frustrating. For example, we looked at traditional injection moulding and other ‘normal’ production methods for a few months, visiting potential maunfacurers and looking at the options. I think deep down I knew that we couldn’t get what we needed from this route, so when we finally created our own manufacturong system it was a bit frustrating to think about the wasted time we spent. However, we did learn a lot through the process about the ways we didn’t want to do things so maybe it was worth it overall.

What do you hope to achieve?

Our mission is to get our products to the breastform wearers around the world who would benefit from them. Worldwide access to products like ours could transform the way people wear breast shapers and we are dedicated to making this happen. Alongside this, we are keen to make recyclable and low waste breast forms the industry norm. At the moment, Boost is the only breast form product we know of that can be recycled and comes in zero plastic, eco-conscious packaging. All products should be created in a more sustainable way in our opinion.

What about time out?

That’s tricky, because Boost’s office is so close to my house and I work from home! But I enjoy spending time with my family. The puppy has been a really great addition to our family and also helps to remind me to take breaks, go for walks and enjoy the gorgeous Cornish countryside right on our door step.