Monica Anand Helping teenage & young woman balancing their womanhood with her bra brand Switchers by Undercover

Everyone struggles a little with balancing that perfect outfit and a matching bra. Most of the time, each look calls for a different bra, which is expensive and painful to maintain. But no more! Switchers by Undercover – an all-new innovation in the lingerie segment – is here to save the day.
The launch of Switchers by Undercover has brought to India an exclusive range of detachable, mix-and-match bras. You can completely take apart the bra by removing the Back portion and Shoulder Straps, then rebuild it with our fun, colourful Accessories to up the fashion quotient on your attire. They are stylish, quirky, fashionable, cute yet extremely comfortable and supportive. No more struggling or having second thoughts while picking out your favourite tube dress, off-shoulder, backless or racerback tops. Just pick from Switchers line of Shoulder Straps and Backs to perfect your look.
Monica Anand, Founder of Switchers (also creator of the lingerie brand “Undercover”) says, “It all began with a question. Why can’t a comfortable, everyday bra also be high fashion and complement every occasion? Different days, or even different times of the day aren’t the same. Why can’t a bra keep up? Most outfit changes call for a bra change. That’s expensive and painful to maintain. Plus your sexiest bra in all likelihood won’t be the most comfortable or supportive one. It was time to go back to the drawing board.”
Each Switcher Accessory can be paired with different kinds of outfits. Diamond studded straps can be paired with a traditional outfit or one can opt for hand embroidered straps for a classic evening look. If on-the-go is more your style, Switchers also offers quirky prints and bright pop-coloured straps to add more character to your casual wear. Not only this, you can style one bra and wear different straps with it in many of ways. Just buy one single bra along with different styles of shoulder straps and Backs and you are all set to style any outfit with it.
1.What is the Name of Your Venture?
Switchers by Undercover
2.Who is your target Audience?
Women in the age group of 15-30
3.Where is your venture based ( city, state, country) & What are your target areas?
Mumbai. Target – Metros.
4.What problems does your venture solve? What are your products or services.
Switchers is a line of mix and match bras that allows the wearer to match their bra to any kind of outfit, irrespective of cut or style. It removes the need for the wearer to keep different bras for different kinds of outfits, and worrying about the fit and comfort of every bra. All the wearer needs to do is change the bra back and strap accessories and they are ready to go!
5.Share the idea or story behind the venture. How did it come to an existence?
For far too many years lingerie has been under serviced because people didn’t understand the importance of good lingerie. All women had were options of white, beige or black cotton bras. This is why we started a brand of sexy lingerie. We wanted to build the importance of good feeling, well-fitted lingerie and how it can make the wearer feel and transform their look. That’s why we launched Under Cover Lingerie.
For Switchers, it all began with a question. Why can’t one comfortable, everyday bra complement every occasion? Different times in life, or even different times of the day aren’t the same. Why can’t my bra keep up? Most outfit changes call for a bra change. That’s expensive and painful to maintain. Plus my sexiest bra in all likelihood won’t be the most comfortable or supportive one. It was time to go back to the drawing board and rethink the bra entirely.
We worked with professionals with decades of experience in the field of lingerie, sat them down and told them to forget everything they knew about making bras. When we shared our brief, they actually thought we were joking! The good thing was that they liked the idea and found the challenge intriguing. We had several rounds of sketches before we found something that seemed workable. But that was just the beginning. We now had a long road of prototyping ahead.
Our team worked on 8 prototypes before we had everything we wanted in terms of design for the bra. I had a complete crash course on bra design and construction. We sat late nights in factories working on how to make the bra, what components to use, the measurements, etc. I was completely out of my comfort zone, making decisions on things that I really wasn’t very sure of. Through each step, I kept 2 guidelines in mind: versatility and comfort. We ourselves tested each prototype. From the cups to every hook and loop were tested numerous times till we finally had something we loved.
After nearly a year of work, we proudly launched – Switchers by Undercover on 10th January 2017. Switchers is a first of its kind modular, mix and match fashion bra. Over the last month, we have been working feverishly to build a distribution network both online and offline for the brand. This side of the business always goes slower than an entrepreneur would like, but the response from the fashion industry and our target audience has been great. We have received great feedback on the product and its design, which is great encouragement and reinforces our belief in the product.
The possibilities on Switchers are endless. With the product’s modular design, we now have created a great foundation to build upon and create great fashion lingerie for women. We intend to reach these women both online and offline, whether they are in India or anywhere across the world.
6.How did you identify your co-founder?
I am a sole founder, but if I do have to find a cofounder some day, it would be someone with the skills that I lack and the values that I have.
7.What expansion plans are you looking for the next 2 years, next 5 years?
In the next 2 years, we would like to expand our distribution and product line for Switchers within India. The next 5 years are about global growth.
8.Where do you want to see yourself in next 5 years?
I would love for the brand and myself to be known internationally for innovative design, distribution and marketing work done in the lingerie segment.
9.Have you raised any funding? Or have any plans for the funding?
The venture is self funded. We would look at funding in the future to fuel growth.
10.What were the problems you faced during the starting days and how did you resolve them?
Getting my supply side sorted. Finding factories and teams that were willing to work on a new product with my budget was my biggest challenge. We had to plead, work on their timelines, go to their factory and sit late in order to get any work done. But once the prototype was finalized, everything came together pretty well.
11.Are you married, single or in a relationship?
Married with child
12.What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
When I am not working, I like to spend time with my son. What little I have left I spend reading or by going for a swim. I am also addicted to DIY arts and craft videos.
13.Whats your favorite food & holiday destination?
My favourite food is definitely pizza. While I love travelling internationally, I think the most relaxing vacations I have are in Goa.
14.Whom do you consider your idol or biggest motivator?
My idol is entrepreneur Elon Musk. I think he has great vision for product and innovation. He foresees market requirements way before his competition and is willing to put everything into developing a product to fit the need. His clear thoughts are that a your product cannot just be better than the competition. It has to be way ahead of the curve. This is something I now ask myself when creating products or plans. I still have a long way to go.
15.What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
The ability to take risks with no surety of returns.
16.If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Ask more questions.
17.How has being an entrepreneur affected your family & Social life?
Tremendously. I tend to be preoccupied with work for about an hour after I get home. I think my family is getting used to it but I wish I wouldn’t be. I try to take my son to the park every evening, but that isn’t always an option. Weekends are for family and friends.
18.Anything, you would like to say to our readers or upcoming entrepreneurs?
Always have a goal and go single-mindedly toward it.
19.Tell us something about your education & family background.
I grew up in Mumbai the dark horse of my family. My father is an architect and my mother is a psychotherapist. I have two siblings – a sister and a brother who are a physiotherapist and actor respectively. I am an MBA, entrepreneur J
I am now married to a professional in the payments industry and we have a wonderful son together.
20.What is your USP which makes it unique & different from other start-ups in similar domains.
Our product – the Switcher Bra and the need we address is unique. We have created one bra that can be accessorized to suit any occasion. Just buy the bra once and you can keep buying accessories to style it. The Switchers Bra is a patented product that we only launched a few months ago.
21.Please share complete name, address, phone number, email id & website of Your Business & Contact Person
White Light Retail Pvt Ltd
702, Nav Bahar, Khar West, Mumbai
www.switcherbras.com
[email protected]
Monica Anand