Advice for Starting a Clothing Business

By Jessica Lubahn, MD


When I went to medical school, I never imagined that I would become a Urologist, much less start an underwear company. As rigorous as medical training is, there is something very comfortable about having a step-wise path that leads to a mostly stable endpoint. Entrepreneurship has been anything but comfortable, with no discernible blueprint to follow.
The merging of these dichotomies started soon after I began my first private practice job after residency. In my line of work, I directly bear witness to the impact incontinence has on my patients, as well as my close friends and family members.  Incontinence can drive isolation and depression. I treat women and men with medications, nerve stimulators, botox, and even surgery. The distress may be great even when the leakage is “mild” from a medical standpoint due to the shame experienced by the patient.
The idea for leakproof underwear developed while I was on maternity leave, and I thought about extrapolating cloth diapering technology into stylish, adult underwear.

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5 Common characteristics of an entrepreneur
Navigating the ins and outs of the fashion industry has been --- interesting. For a person with a scientific background, negotiating the lack of standardization at every level was eye opening. For instance, there is no encyclopedia of general fabric properties. Juxtaposed to the urgency of medicine, steps in business seemed to move at a snail’s pace.
To enjoy this environment, certain characteristics apply:

1. Risk tolerance 
2. Self-Motivation
3. Resourcefulness
4. Networking ability
5. Opportunistic

 One of the best pieces of advice that I got was to talk about the idea. Like many, I was afraid of getting “scooped.” However, in speaking about it to everyone I knew, I was able to connect with the right people, who then enabled the development of the product.

Steps to starting a clothing brand
I wish I knew what I know now, and I think that I could have created this brand through a much more efficient route. However, mistakes helped me really learn about the production process.

1. Sourcing materials: At this stage, I went down many search rabbit holes trying to find the right materials. Samples can then be requested from the many different kinds of suppliers. 
2. Creating a Prototype: Here, you need two people: a pattern maker and a sample maker. The pattern maker is the architect, who takes your sketches and ideas and drafts a blueprint that can be made. The sample maker then creates a version of your product. 
3. Production partner: This is finding the factory that can produce the product at scale. There are risks and benefits to choosing an international versus domestic partner. This can start to get complicated with issues such as tariffs and customs.
4. Packaging: The number of options is astounding.
5. Brand creation: This is the hard part in determining who you want your product to speak to. It involves the color palette, the imagery, logo design, messaging.
6. Marketing
7. Intellectual Property protection: patents, trademarks

Each of these steps can be daunting in its own right. The upfront investment is quite high. These steps can be done a la carte, through the hiring of freelancers on sites like Fivver or Upwork. There are many “all inclusive” design firms, fashion accelerators, consultants that can also help guide you through the process.

In the end, this company has been quite complementary to my medical practice. It has brought me more joy to my own practice, as it has made me a better listener to the pain points of my patients. It has challenged me, not only from a treatment standpoint, but also to think of more inventive ways to look at their problems.

About the Author: Dr. Jessica Lubahn, MD is a medical doctor and urologist. She is a health writer and consultant and is the creator of ONDRwear (ondrwear.com) which are plant-based leak proof underwear for preventing leaks.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ondrwear/
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