“An idea isn’t worth anything, execution is.” I always say this because I think that if we just spin around ideas and keep chasing the next shiny objects, we don’t go deep. So it’s important that whenever you build something, you have to work on executing and growing the thing, as opposed to continuously building other things.
As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rachael McCrary.
Rachael is the Co-Founder and President of Infrawear, LLC and the inventor of the RxBRa, a post-surgical garment recommended by plastic surgeons. RxBra contains FarInfrared yarn for increased circulation and blood flow which leads to optimal results. Rachael has founded and advised many startups and has a background in operations, venture capital and early to mid stage growth companies in fashion and blockchain. Having spent 20 years in the apparel industry conducting business in Asia, Rachael has vast product development and logistical expertise.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know you’ a bit better. Can you tell us your ‘backstory’?
I started my career as a fashion designer and I have over two decades of product development experience. I studied Fashion Design at FIDM. Throughout my career, I’ve worked overseeing creative product development for major brands, including Maidenform and Victoria’s Secret. I’m no stranger to hard work and certainly not afraid to be the first to do or try anything I believe in. As a female who’s led more than three successful startups, I’ve also entered and won major pitch competitions. I was the first female to raise over 1M in Venture Capital in 2015. Now I’ve taken my supply chain and product development experience to our current company, Infrawear.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
My company, Infrawear, is getting test kits in hospitals and clinics everywhere. We’re currently supplying COVID-19 tests and PPE to 100+ U.S. hospitals, government agencies, and corporations with CLIA-certified laboratories. We’re also working around the clock to help create fully tested events so people in America can enjoy events again while remaining safe. Since we’re supplying tests around the country and facilitating tested events for film crews and concerts, conferences, corporate events, film crews, we’re helping people adjust to the new normal. The more test kits go into healthcare facilities the faster we can ultimately help America separate positive from non-positive citizens and do mass testing safely. All the while, it’ll help more people know their status.
In your opinion, what do you think makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?
Infrawear has an established history of having the deepest level of sourcing and shipping expertise and supply chain know-how. Infrawear prides itself on being an agile, forward- thinking company. Since the COVID pandemic, the Company has already built new relationships with more than 100+ hospitals, government agencies, and corporations across the U.S., in less than six months’ time. Infrawear is rapidly providing top-quality, high-demand medical supplies, proprietary COVID-19 Tests and PPE to clinical laboratories or to healthcare workers. In addition to this, our new RxMask helps eliminate bacteria growth while remaining active and wearing a mask, and offers health and beauty benefits.
Ok, thank you for that. I’d like to jump to the main focus of this interview. Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?
Absolutely. Everyone warned us that there were a couple of large players in the medical bra space and we wouldn’t be able to compete with that. Then when we ordered those products and took a look at them, we just didn’t feel that they were that great. The elastic was really hard and stiff and it wasn’t even for undergarments. I just couldn’t imagine wearing it in general, let alone if I had had surgery. It has super soft fabric and I added infrared yarn, which we knew made it a productive garment that could actually help people and increase circulation and blood flow. I’ve been making bras for 20 years and I knew there that I could definitely make a better garment than what I was seeing. And now? People order them all the time. We have top surgeons on re-order and women always let us know they love the product.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
One of my advisors, Tom Marcus, is an attorney in Silicon Valley. He has a completely different viewpoint than me which helps me a lot in business. My viewpoint is as an entrepreneur and dream focused, whereas he looks at things from a risk perspective. In the beginning, I thought he was just being negative, but after seven years of working together, I learned a lot. I learned to look at things from a risk analysis perspective and thinking of problems in advance. Entrepreneurs aren’t just product developers. That’s 10% of the job, you need to know the numbers inside and out, so you can understand your business. You need to know the mechanics yourself. There are so many factors to owning a business, and Tom really helped open my eyes in seeing that there isn’t just one way of thinking. You can’t have someone else create your projections. When the business is operational it’s good to have a professional do your profit and loss statements but always analyze them. You’ll find out what is producing results and what isn’t and how to scale.
It must not have been easy to ignore all the naysayers. Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share the story with us?
In high school, I was working $8 an hour at my job in a restaurant. It didn’t take long for me to realize this wasn’t working for me. However, while there, people always asked me about the clothes I was wearing. So I started making mini dresses and selling them. Then I started screening t-shirts for bands and learned how to run a profitable business while I was in high school. I took this passion for business and clothing and used it to get to where I am today.
Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and do what naysayers think is impossible? (Please share a story or an example for each)
- Have strong self of self
- Have a spiritual practice that helps ground you
- Celebrating small wins, so that you build personal encouragement and encourage others
- Remember why you’re doing it in the first place
- Lead by example by supporting other entrepreneurs
What is your favorite quote or personal philosophy that relates to the concept of resilience?
“An idea isn’t worth anything, execution is.” I always say this because I think that if we just spin around ideas and keep chasing the next shiny objects, we don’t go deep. So it’s important that whenever you build something, you have to work on executing and growing the thing, as opposed to continuously building other things.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Gather safely. Understand that we’re going to be in this situation for a while. Masks and mass testing are imperative. Learn how to live in this new world because people keep waiting for this to be over, but that’s going to take a long time. We need to learn how to carefully and safely live normally and that’s what Infrawear is doing.
Can our readers follow you on social media?
Instagram: @nycbella and Twitter: @rachaelbydesign
Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success!
Rachael McCrary of Infrawear: “They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.