Female Disruptors: Nikki Chu of Nudies Essentials On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
The best 3 words, well let’s say 4 words: I have gotten along my business journey has been “Have Systems in Place “. NUBIES, the children and toddler line of underwear, is now being sold at Target.com. The onboarding process took us about 8 months- 1year. It’s one thing to sell on your own ecomm but, the process, logistics, billing and marketing that a major retailer requires is a process you have to get used to and definitely need to have systems in place to ensure success.
As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nikki Chu.
Nikki Chu is a celebrity interior designer, author and entrepreneur who founded eco-friendly underwear brand Nudies Essentials and NUBIES. Nudies was originally created for women who are always on the go, love to travel, and still enjoy being chic during that time of the month. NUBIES children and toddler line came about to shift the mindset early on and introduce personal hygiene to your little one.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I have been a product designer for over 20 years (everything from creating my own home decor brand to designing fashion accessories for some of the top brands.) I’ve traveled the world to factories in Asia and India to design trend shows in Germany and France. Oftentimes, when I was traveling over 15 hours on a plane to another country just to see prototypes and new development all I wanted to do was brush my teeth and freshen up before heading straight to the factory right off of my flight. I started looking for disposable underwear I could throw in my bag to take on all my trips, so I didn’t have to worry about laundry or hygiene and I wanted a product that had the convenience, but was also sustainable.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
There was a huge white space in the market for a women’s and children’s brand of disposable, biodegradable, comfortable, yet stylish underwear packed in a small discreet box for travel, personal hygiene, working out, hospital stays, and menstrual cycles. No more carrying around dirty underwear on your trips, Nudies is the perfect solution for all of your feminine needs and your go-to panties for travel and peace of mind. Our custom milled fabric is biodegradable, lightweight, hypoallergenic, made with low impact dyes. They biodegrade in the same amount of time as an apple core (1–4 months) where typically underwear that have synthetic fibers in it can take anywhere from 20–30 years in the landfill to disintegrate.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I wanted to create this really cool box that was completely sealed so that the panties didn’t come out in your suitcase. And if TSA opened up your suitcase all they would see is this cool little white box which had 7 pairs of underwear for one week of travel. What I didn’t factor in is that if I sold Nudies to a retailer how would a customer see the fabric, quality or color of the underwear. What I learned is that you have to allow customers to touch and feel your product and even it is a small hole or window — You Need it!
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
I believe having a great Lawyer and Strategic business partner who runs her own company, have made a huge impact on me and my journey as an entrepreneur. Just to be able to jump on a zoom and run ideas and business problems by them, has changed the way I view being a CEO of my own brand. Being able to hear that having production issues, delays in shipping or pricing increases from another CEO is very refreshing to know you aren’t the only one experiencing start up hardships. Having an advisory board has changed my life completely, I feel solid about my decisions and know that I have a team I can rely on for great advice.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
I think there are 2 ways to go about doing business or creating a brand, having the mindset of tried and true (why reinvent the wheel — just make it better) or take the stance of being disruptive in the marketplace. To be honest I don’t think one is better than the other — you have to be confident in your position, brand ID and marketing approach. We definitely rely on disruptors to push innovation forward and create new segments in the marketplace. The positive outcome of disruption is that you can soar to the top pretty quickly for your innovation since it is new and unique, however a much higher risk for investment.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
The best 3 words, well let’s say 4 words: I have gotten along my business journey has been “Have Systems in Place “. NUBIES, the children and toddler line of underwear, is now being sold at Target.com. The onboarding process took us about 8 months- 1year. It’s one thing to sell on your own ecomm but, the process, logistics, billing and marketing that a major retailer requires is a process you have to get used to and definitely need to have systems in place to ensure success.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
We are continuing to innovate and expand our brand into a biodegradable lifestyle, which will include tech and education.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
I think more and more women are getting a seat at the table. In the past the majority of the ways people would get funding for their brands was through banks. But, now there are countless funds solely dedicated to female owned brands like the Fearless Fund. In my opinion the biggest challenges faced by women disruptors has been funding, but that gap is starting to close because large brands and funds are starting to change the landscape of our business world. Women are the fastest growing demographic of entrepreneurs.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
I love listening to “How I Built This” with Guy Raz, every entrepreneur needs motivation, stories to compare and how someone uber successful overcame adversity. My favorite part about listening to these podcasts is finding the through line amongst all the successful people, there is something in common!
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
If I could inspire a movement it would be my longtime dream to have a creative arts after school program for children. It would be a series of portable rooms that get dropped off onto a school property that are completely “creatively” decorated and outfitted with tech, supplies and crafts to take the kids into another world. This program would allow kids to actually do what they are meant to at a young age — explore their creative mind. Develop ideas, create concepts, color, draw and be taught how to harness their talents into something that could potentially change the world.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite life lesson quote is something my mother always told me: Leap and the Net Shall appear! Take the risk, if you go for it and it’s right, all things will align for it to work in your favor. I literally live by this!
How can our readers follow you online?
@ nikkichuhome
@ nudies.shop
@ nubies.shop
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Female Disruptors: Nikki Chu of Nudies Essentials On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.