A miserable mammogram turned into a patented product, and the customer validation process behind it is a masterclass for any founder building a physical product from scratch. Debbie and Troy Sutton, the mother and son co-founders behind The Healing Bras, bootstrapped warming and cooling therapy pads for women's breast pain at every stage of life, from first cycles to breastfeeding to menopause. It started with one cranky drive home from a painful mammogram, when Troy asked his mom how it went and then did something most people never do: he went looking for a better solution, found only clunky, outdated ice packs, and invented one himself. What followed is a product development story every entrepreneur should hear. A biomedical engineer and former college catcher ended up designing an intimate product for women he could never use himself, and the approach was simple: ask, listen, and stay humble. Debbie and Troy donated over 500 pads to partner organizations to get real feedback on shape, size, and fit before selling a single unit. They brought a two-time breast cancer survivor onto their board to guide the design, partnered with an FDA-regulated manufacturer in New Jersey, and built the entire company self-funded from their garage. We also talk about the harder side of co-founding with family: how a mother and son learn when to be business partners and when to be family, why the relationship sometimes matters more than being right, and how they pivoted their original product based entirely on what their customers told them. They are now scaling toward hospitals, universities, female college athletes, and insurance approval. If you are building a product from a problem no one else has bothered to fix, this one is worth your time. Chapters: 🎙️ 00:00 Meet the mother-son founders behind The Healing Bras 💡 02:41 The painful mammogram that sparked a patented product ❤️ 04:42 How a male founder designed an intimate product for women by listening first 📋 07:52 Donating 500 products to validate the design before selling one 💰 11:31 Why the market only rewards value, not effort 👥 12:19 Co-founding with family: when to be business partners and when to be mother and son 🔄 25:22 Why pivoting from bras to insertable pads changed the whole business ⚙️ 27:20 Building systems that scale the business beyond two people 🏥 29:39 Hospitals, universities, and 200,000 female college athletes 🌸 32:57 Why the size of a room matters less than who is in it Links: Website: thehealingbras.com Instagram: @thehealingbras Visit thehealingbras.com to shop the healing pads and see testimonials from women across every stage, from first cycles to breastfeeding to menopause. She Leads listeners get a special discount: use code SHELEADS10 at thehealingbras.com/discount/Sheleads10 at checkout. We're always seeking aligned sponsors.⭐️ If you're interested in supporting our podcast - one episode or a season, reach out to Adrienne at Adrienne@sheleadsmedia.com.⭐️ Reach out to Adrienne: hello@sheleadsmedia.com Visit our website: www.sheleadsmedia.com to learn about upcoming events or to work with me directly and get the clarity you’re seeking. As a gesture of support for this podcast and sharing women's voices everywhere - I would greatly appreciate if you would take a moment and give our podcast a 5 Star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. By you taking this simple action, you are making a difference in sharing women's voices, thoughts and opinions. One last thing - if you haven’t done so already, please hit the plus sign + to follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. Thank you so much!! XOAdrienne (00:00) - 🎙️ Meet Debbie and Troy Sutton, the mother and son behind The Healing Bras (02:41) - 💡 The miserable mammogram and the aha moment that started a company (04:42) - ❤️ A son's empathy, and designing for women he could never speak for himself (07:52) - 📋 From a survivor-guided design to 500 donated pads and real feedback (11:31) - 💰 The market only cares about the value you create, not how hard you work (12:19) - 👥 Mother and son, business partners: when to switch which hat you wear (25:22) - 🔄 Why pivoting from full bras to insertable pads was the smart move (27:20) - ⚙️ Building the systems that build the business, not just the product (29:39) - 🏥 Where the business is headed: hospitals, universities, and student athletes (32:57) - 🌸 Why the size of a room matters less than who is in it
