The Innovation Project: Sophia Berman and Kayla Geer

Sophia Berman is CEO and Kayla Geer is Industrial Designer for Trusst.

(left) Sophia Berman, CEO
Kayla Geer, Industrial Designer
​Trusst Lingerie
 

For years, the bra industry has focused heavily on fashion. This leaves many women, and particularly fuller-busted women, with a product lacking the very support and comfort it was created to provide.

Fortunately, the women behind Trusst are working to bring that focus back to what truly matters.

“We approach an industry that has been almost purely focused on fashion by using innovative techniques, materials and design processes,” says Trusst CEO and Cofounder Sophia Berman.

Trusst was founded in 2014 at AlphaLab Gear, Innovation Works’ accelerator for companies creating physical products such as electronics, hardware and, in this case, a product that is worn.  Started with just the two founders, the company is now comprised of eight designers and engineers. Together they have developed a structure for bras that provides support underneath the bust rather than relying on shoulder straps.

The company was inspired by “the desire to innovate and change a product that has remained virtually the same for decades.”

“Laura [West] and I started the company when we realized we both had a passion for entrepreneurship and cut-and-sew products,” says Berman. “We had many late night brainstorming Skype sessions to flesh out the idea and come up with a solution that we felt was viable.”

Berman says she’s especially proud of Trusst’s quick success. The company has gone from concept, to crowd-funding on Kickstarter, to angel investments and is now looking to complete its first mass production run overseas all in less than two years.

According to Berman, “collaboration, sharing information, growing as a team and helping one another be the best each of us can be” have played a major role in Trusst’s success.

The company hopes to “have a successful first product launch by the end of 2016 and to continue to design new products and solutions for our amazing customers,” she adds.

“It’s amazing to see what an impact you can have on another person.”