Mighty Well

Mighty Well produces apparel designed to discreetly and functionally cover a person's wearable medical devices.

The apparel is what the company calls "wearable wellness."

These products allow those forced to carry around catheters or feeding tubes to go through their day without feeling embarrassed or stared at by others.

As Mighty Well says, "Patients don’t have to look like patients."

One out of every three Americans suffers from an illness:

More than 29 million people battle Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes…

More than 14 million suffer from a form of cancer…

And each year, more than 500,000 people have feeding tubes inserted.

This high incidence of illness has transformed the global medical fashion market into a $40 billion industry.

But currently, patients seeking to hide or cover up the medical devices they're using have few options.

Available products tend to focus on function or style, but not both.

Meanwhile, hospitals and patient advocacy organizations are actively looking for better "quality of life" products to recommend to their patients.

Mighty Well has created a solution to these problems. In brief, it's created products for patients battling a variety of illnesses.

Rather than attack the market of chronically ill patients as a whole, Mighty Well is focusing on submarkets including cancer patients, those requiring vascular access, or diabetics.

The company’s first collection of medical wear focuses on patients needing long-term vascular access. This is when patients need a rapid, direct way to introduce or remove chemicals from their bloodstream, generally with what’s called a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC).

PICC’s are often inserted into a patient’s upper arm and are used to draw blood from or deliver medication to a person’s bloodstream. In 2017 alone, more than 8 million PICC lines are expected to be implanted.

Mighty Well’s first product, PICCPerfect, is a patent-pending, fabric-based sleeve that goes around the patient’s upper arm and discreetly covers a person’s IV tube.

PICCPerfect is sold in 17 countries and throughout the U.S. It’s also available on Amazon.com and certain cancer centers.

Sales of the PICCPerfect have helped Mighty Well achieve 250% revenue growth from Q1 2017 to Q3 2017. And in the past 12 months, Mighty Well’s revenues have grown 350%.

Following the success of the PICCPerfect, Mighty Well is currently developing additional product lines.

These include:

Mighty Med Organizer - this product organizes diabetic supplies, holds an Epi-Pen and inhaler, and has space for medications and supplements. It features a hard exterior to protect against drops and disguises itself as a cosmetics pouch.

Mighty Pack - This backpack-style product has insulated compartments to keep food or medication cold. It also converts from a backpack to a tote bag and is designed for those with feeding tubes.

Mighty Everyday Tank/Tee - This apparel (tank for women, tee for men) allows access to devices including feeding tubes and pockets to conceal medical supplies.

Mighty Wrap Jacket - In addition to providing warmth, this jacket conceals medical devices and allows cancer patients to continue chemotherapy treatment without taking the jacket off.

Mighty Well aims to launch these product lines in 2018. And with each product, the company expects to achieve a 70% average profit margin.

In January 2017, Mighty Well received an investment from Breakaway Innovation Group. Breakaway was founded by Dennis Baldwin, former Chief Marketing Officer of Reebok International.

One month later, Mighty Well recruited Leslie Smith to become the company’s Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Chairman. Smith is the former CEO of Ralph Lauren Footwear and former President of Rue La La, an e-commerce fashion company that was acquired by Kynetic in 2011.

With respect to its future, Mighty Well plans to expand distribution through retail outlets such as HSN and QVC in September 2018.

And by 2019, the company aims to build an online patient platform to collect HIPAA-compliant patient data. This data will be used to better understand customer trends.

In addition, Mighty Well plans to classify some of its products as Class One medical devices. This classification would make it possible for the company’s products to be reimbursable through health insurance.

For example, wigs and bras for breast cancer patients are currently reimbursable by insurance.

Team Background

Emily Levy - Co-Founder & CEO

Before starting Mighty Well, Emily worked at the Wentworth Institute of Technology. This is an accelerator program designed to help college students map out their ideas for start-up companies.

In addition, Emily served as Community Manager for Veems, a social messaging mobile start-up. While there, she was responsible for analyzing user traffic and developing content for the app.

Emily previously worked for Quiksilver, an apparel company, and Smith Sport Optics, a company that manufactures outdoor winter sports apparel.

Emily was formerly an assistant at La Jolla Group, a surfing apparel company.

She received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Babson College.

Yousef Al-Humaidhi - Co-Founder, CFO & CTO

Yousef brings a background in finance to Mighty Well.

He previously served as an analyst with Wafra Investment Advisory Group, a global investment firm. While there, Yousef completed the company’s rotational program, which exposed him to several forms of investing including securities, private equity and real estate.

Prior to his time with Wafra, Yousef served as an audit intern with Grant Thornton, an accounting company. While there, Yousef evaluated and reviewed financial records.

Yousef received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Babson College.

Leslie Smith - CSO and Executive Chairman

In addition to her duties with Mighty Well, Leslie is a member of the Board of Directors at Boston Children’s Hospital League.

For more than 12 years, Leslie was the Founder of Sheridan-Smith Group, a consulting firm providing experience with Brand Strategy and Brand Marketing.

As part of Sheridan-Smith, Leslie was hired by Rue La La clothing company to help with the company’s brand development. And within 30 days, she was offered a full-time role as Rue La La’s President.

Leslie was formerly the President of 110% Play Harder, an apparel company selling compression and recovery gear for athletes.

She was a partner with Decision Matrix Group, a private consulting company that acquired telecommunications company Yankee Group in 2004.

For more than three years, Leslie served as President and CEO of Ralph Lauren Footwear. During her time as President, she increased the company’s revenue in her first year by 31% and launched a new brand called “Lauren Brand.” This resulted in $17 million in sales in the brand’s first season of availability.

In addition, Leslie served for four years as Senior Vice President of Global Footwear for Reebok. While there, she was responsible for the design, development and marketing of Reebok’s products.

Leslie received a degree from Colby-Sawyer College.

Julianne Gauron - Creative Lead

Julianne brings extensive design experience to Mighty Well.

For three years, she served as a creative advisor for Descience, a Boston-area non-profit helping designers grow their business.

Julianne was previously a sports apparel design consultant for Dear Kate, a company producing yoga apparel for women.

Julianne was a former apparel developer for New Balance footwear and clothing company. While there, she was a founding member of the company’s “Apparel Innovation” team and created content for new products.

She spent more than a year as an associate professor at Rhode Island School of Design, where she created a curriculum for a course on industrial design.

In 2007, Julianne was awarded a grant to work with NASA, where she helped develop airlock systems for a 2020 lunar space module.

Julianne has designed for several apparel companies including Burberry and North Face. In addition, she has designed Olympic uniforms and apparel for divisions of the U.S. military.

Julianne received a Master’s degree in Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design and a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from Bowdoin College.

Maria del Mar Gomez Viyella - Co-Founder

Maria previously worked with co-founder Emily Levy at the Wentworth Institute of Technology. This is an accelerator program designed to help college students map out their ideas for start-up companies.

Prior to that, Maria served as a marketing consultant with Green Point Catering, where she designed the company’s website to increase brand recognition.

Maria received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Babson College.

Elizabeth McGarry - Lead Product Designer

For three years, Elizabeth served as the Creative Director for YORK Athletics, a Boston-based apparel company featured in Men’s Health magazine.

Elizabeth is the Principal and Creative Director for MCGARRY&sons, a sportswear company led by Elizabeth and her husband.

Elizabeth formerly served as a designer for New Balance apparel company, where she worked to develop a line of outdoor clothing.

She has worked as a designer for several top athletic apparel companies, including Puma, Reebok and Nike, where she focused on designing women’s clothing.

Elizabeth studied Apparel Design at the Art Institute of Seattle.

Paula Lamagna - Healthcare Advisor

Paula is a registered nurse who works at Boston Children’s Hospital.

She is also a team member for the Association of Vascular Access Education team.

Paula received a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Villanova.

Co-Investors

Breakaway Innovation Group

Capital firm that helps companies increase brand exposure. Portfolio includes Drizly (alcohol delivery mobile app) and Unreal (natural candy producer).