We were lucky to catch up with Brianne Helfrich recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brianne, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

During the pandemic, I was sent home from school at the University of Arizona and went back to Canada before the borders closed. I got rejected from medical schools, went through a breakup, suffered from disordered eating and was on a downward spiral. I knew at that time that I needed to find something that would bring me happiness. During this, I felt extremely isolated and like I was the only one going through my struggles. So, my biggest goal at that time was to let others know they weren’t alone. One day, I told my mom that I wanted to design something to raise awareness for mental health. I had just started my journey with therapy and was working extremely hard on building a better overall mindset. I absolutely live in hoodies and sweatpants, so I decided to create a hoodie to raise awareness. Having no business knowledge and no fashion knowledge, I did as much research as I possibly could. I designed the hoodie from scratch. I came up with the weight, the fabric, the thread count, the sizing, etc. and eventually, the Trust In It hoodie was created. This hoodie represented my need to trust in the fact that life is working FOR me not against me. I had to trust that everything was happening for a reason and I was exactly where I needed to be at that moment in time. The first collection I created, donated a percentage of proceeds to two mental health organizations and physical hoodies to a local women’s shelter. When I first launched the hoodie, I expected only family and friends to buy it. However, many people started inquiring about more items, and from then, Helfrich Collective was born.

Brianne, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a 25 year old Bioethics PhD student, the host of Welcome to the Collective podcast and the CEO/founder of Helfrich Collective. Helfrich Collective is known for being more than just a brand. It’s a platform to advocate and raise awareness for various charities. With each collection we create, we advocate and donate for different organizations globally. Helfrich Collective provides high quality (trust me the quality is unmatched) sweat sets and activewear. Our brand stands out from others due to the story behind the brand, being female owned, having employees all in our 20’s, the quality of our items and our advocacy. Being a STEM major and not heavily immersed in the business industry, my mindset surrounding my brand is a bit different. I think outside the box compared to what a typical brand would do and am focused on using this platform/voice to help others.

I am super proud of how far this brand has come. 2 years ago, I would have never guessed that celebrities would be wearing my clothes or that I would have attended the Forbes Under 30 Summit. Of course I have days where I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything, but taking a step back, I realize how much this brand has grown from the small idea I had in my bedroom. Everything Helfrich Collective does or creates, I put 110% of myself into. We may not be as big as other brands (yet!) but, we have a lot of love and respect for our brand, supporters and the charities we work with.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When I first started my business, I felt like as the CEO and Founder I had to do it all myself. As the company began to grow, I realized that 1) I wasn’t very good at certain things 2) I wasn’t able to put my all into them. So, I had to hire on a team whose strengths complimented my weaknesses. I quickly learned that a boss/ceo/founder is only as good as the team that backs them. So much of what my brand has accomplished would never have been possible to do on my own. I am extremely thankful for the people supporting me who have had so much faith in this brand from the very start.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Social media is definitely a great way to keep in touch with customers. I strongly believe that being real and authentic builds brand loyalty. I constantly share Helfrich Collective’s wins and losses on our social media so that others know we struggle too. Much of social media is a massive highlight real, and I think showing our customers that we are real people, allows them to resonate with the brand.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://helfrichcollective.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helfrichcollective/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helfrichcollective
• Other: Welcome to the Collective podcast – https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/welcome-to-the-collective/id1555142277