124 - Fran Dunaway Delivers Freedom through Underwear - a podcast by Nicole DeBoom

Fran Dunaway is the co-founder of TomboyX – a gender neutral apparel brand that made its name in undies. She describes herself as coming out of the womb a boss, but I would say that Fran is the farthest thing from bossy. She’s gracious, humble, compassionate, thoughtful. She’s also incredibly smart, one of the best strategic thinkers I’ve ever met, incredibly brave and she’s seriously disrupting an industry. She says that when they launched their first women’s boxers, they accidentally stepped into a white space that so desperately needed to be filled. Well, they filled it! And they didn’t stop at boxers either. TomboyX added a full line of underwear from thongs to mid thigh shorts; now they offer bras, sleepwear, sweats, swimwear and more.

Today we uncover some of the core values that drive Fran; the stuff that makes her tick. And like so many others, that secret sauce is rooted in experiences good, bad and ugly. I will say that when we stumbled upon Fran’s journey with eye cancer which floored me, she mentioned that it was 5 years after her breast cancer journey. For some reason during the interview, that statement didn’t hit me. I think I was hung up on the eye cancer journey so I literally didn't absorb that statement. It wasn’t until after I listened to the episode on a hike that I realized, Fran is a two-time cancer survivor. This woman is an absolute gift to the world and she is meant to be here doing exactly what she’s doing.

Episode DEALS!

TomboyX is offering 15% off with the code BLOOM15 – the funny thing is that after the interview she said she meant to say BOOM but it came out as BLOOM which I thought was sort of a play on Bloomers! We had a good laugh about that – so BLOOM15 it is. Go get some skivvies!

Skirt Sports has your back – use code RUN20 for 20% off at Skirt Sports – if we’re doing a big sale, the code won’t work, but other than that, it’s yours to get a deal on our high performance, super comfy, thoughtful women’s products that work for your insanely busy lives. I love this company I've built and hope you’ll check it out because we are doing so much good in the world!

Today we talk about:

TomboyX didn't start with undies - it started with button-ups! (not button-downs)
The power of a name
Coming out: closed doors opening & why some people weren't happy about it
Naomi: Fran's wife & business partner - how they make it work plus their wedding story
Eye cancer came out of nowhere
TomboyX in all its glory: the origin, genesis and where they are today
Gender neutral clothing: How is this possible?
Leadership nuggets
Side note: Do you think Skirt Sports should partner up with TomboyX and make some active undies?

Further episodes of Run This World with Nicole DeBoom Podcast

Further podcasts by Nicole DeBoom

Website of Nicole DeBoom