This Friday Underlines has the pleasure of chatting with Nicole McCasey, appointed as President of Bravado Designs (maternity and nursing award-winning brand) in August 2023. Born in Canada to Canadian parents she still lives in the same small town that her mother grew up in and is the second eldest of four daughters…which might explain her competitive spirit!
Nicole McCasey, President of Bravado Designs
Business life before Bravado?
I grew up professionally in the world of Sporting Goods. My first ‘real job’ started two weeks out of university and was a secretary role at custom golf club fitting facility, the first of its kind in Canada with TaylorMade adidas Golf. It was the perfect proverbial foot in the door spanning 15+ years, 10 progressive roles, 3 major global brands, 1 cross-country and 1 international relocation. I have been lucky to spend that time working on the adidas, Asics and Saucony brands prior to joining Bravado Designs.
Your proudest moment to date?
Besides becoming a parent, I recently earned my 6-star medal. This is achieved by running all 6 of the World Marathon Majors. It was 11 years, 14 marathons and countless hours of training in the earning.
Why the world of underwear, specifically nursing bras…?
Maternity leave was the defining moment of pause, where I actually had to think about what my return to work as a new Mom would look like. There were considerations that had never factored into my professional decision-making before – did I have flexibility to manage drop-off and pick-up windows, what happens when my kid gets sick, were my peers & colleagues understanding of this new world I was navigating? As the world works, the opportunity to join Bravado came about as my leave was coming to an end. I’ve always loved the hands-on nature of working for a brand, and working with a product I feel deeply connected to. Bravado was no different from my previous world of running shoes, in that I was a consumer of our nursing bras well before the opportunity to lead the brand presented itself. There couldn’t have been a more natural fit.
Sierra – new product for the Bravado rebranding this year
What is different about working in this sector?
Our core consumer! We know she is a soon-to-be, new, or 5-times over Mom. Her preferences and the standard she will hold a brand to before purchasing are very specific, as they should be. She is researching every detail of what she puts next to skin, as that can impact her maternity & nursing journey. We thoughtfully design & engineer bras, apparel and accessories to make her motherhood adventures as comfortable and beautiful as possible. Athletic brand portfolios are much less focused on a super specific time in life, and span consumer-bases broader than ours.
Additionally, our consumer base is constantly turning over. After she chooses Bravado, she may breastfeed for 3 months, 2 years or exclusively pump, whatever is best for her and her baby. With this, we are constantly recruiting new consumers into the brand. We of course love to keep her with us post-nursing and transition into our Everyday bras and panties 😊. It is very different from my previous world of running shoes, where once you find a fit and model that works, the likelihood of moving on is very low and the likelihood of staying with the brand is high.
Intrigue – new product as part of the Bravado rebranding this year
A Typical Week…in your life
Every week is different, and I prefer it that way. Now that said, I have a two-year old son so there is a certain element of structure and routine that we as a small family require to thrive. Consistent times for wake-up, exercise, meals, drop-off, pick-up, etc. but how life falls into place around those known things is what is different every day. The work weeks vary greatly. We just finished working through the Bravado Designs re-brand, which meant days were spent pouring over every piece of copy and every image produced through our new brand lens, every sales tool, every social post, navigation tabs on our now re-skinned website, every detail imaginable. All while developing the best process for us to get incredible product to our accounts and consumers alike. We can and typically do bounce between 4 seasons (or 2 years) of work in any given meeting. Then we have the reporting, the analysis, the planning, the resourcing. If I have 8 meetings scheduled for a day, there’s a good chance all of them have completely different topics that stretch my thinking in their own way. This is what keeps me on my toes!
Those Special Moments in your career
There are the ‘now moments’ which are anytime I get to talk about the work we do at Bravado and the incredible people we have that make our engine run. And the work we do with our community partners. They do incredible work that we simply cannot, yet we get to be a small part of their efforts to support those in need. They dedicate their time to breaking down barriers for women to get the resources they need to thrive, in our case intimate apparel, whether they are pregnant, nursing or non-nursing. work with Good+ Foundation in the US, and Mamas for Mamas and Dress for Success in Canada. All three are incredible non-profits that support Moms, Women & Families in need, particularly through their maternity & early day nursing journeys.
And there are the ‘then moments’ that were my formative years and were really special as it relates to my growth & development. In 2015 I joined the first generation of the ‘Talent Carousel’ within adidas, it was a global program where I was 1 of 20 picked up out of a role/location that was familiar and moved internationally to a new role/location over which the participants had no choosing. At the time I was living in Calgary, Alberta and working in Key Account Sales, and moved to Seoul, South Korea to work in Sports Marketing & Consumer Insights. I had never been to Asia when I packed my bags for the move…
If you were not working in underwear, then what do you think you would have done instead?
While there is no crystal ball for the what if’s of the past, I can say I’d likely still be in sporting goods. Intimate apparel has quickly turned into a passion for me, while running and sport will always be in my heart. Activity and competition is a huge piece of who I am, working in that industry will always feel natural and like a great fit.
What is your greatest challenge?
Bravado Designs makes maternity & nursing bras, above all else. This is a niche market, with a limited consumer base. There are so many investments Moms will make before a child arrives – cribs, strollers, diapers, high chairs – by the time she thinks about her own needs, her ability or willingness to continue spending may be stretched. We aren’t just competing against brands in our immediate space, we are competing for her wallet amongst all the financial demands associated with being a parent.
Your biggest mistake?
Trying to do too much, too fast without acknowledging that change is hard.
The one product you cannot live without?
A properly fitting bra 😊.
Time out…
We love to explore as a little family. Seeing new people, places, things, and letting the childlike curiosity takeover gives me energy. It can be as simple as finding a new bike path in the town I live in, or walking around a city close to home or far away. The mix of fresh air, physical activity and new sights is the perfect mix of stimulation I love.
Pet Hate?
An improperly fitting bra 😊.
