Nicole Cuervo (Kellogg ’22) founded Springrose, a bra company aimed at those with upper mobility restrictions, in 2020. The Daily spoke with Cuervo about her business and time at Northwestern prior to the brand’s upcoming launch.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

The Daily: Where did you get the inspiration for Springrose?

Cuervo: I got to spend a lot more time with my grandmother after she moved from Argentina. Despite her being fully independent and capable, I noticed how challenging and painful it was for her to get dressed in the morning, particularly to put on very finicky things like a bra and underwear, and I wanted to buy her something that would give her a better solution. I was really shocked to find that there weren’t many adaptive bras, and the ones that were adaptive were quite ugly and size-limited.

I always really liked lingerie and lace and things like that, and I didn’t ever want to reach the point in my life where other companies were making a decision for me about what I could and couldn’t wear. So I started interviewing a lot of women and realized this was a bigger issue, and then decided to attend Kellogg at Northwestern to pursue the idea full-time.

The Daily: What makes Springrose products different from traditional bras?

Cuervo: Our bras are specifically engineered for women with limited mobility, and that can include a wide range of injuries, illnesses and disabilities. Ultimately, what makes our bra really special is that you can put it on multiple ways — eight, insofar as we’ve counted, but there’s probably more of them. That means that they can put them on with one hand, they can put them on with limited dexterity in both hands, there’s really a wide range of abilities that we serve. What makes us even more special is the way we came up with this by interviewing women, physical therapists and occupational therapists and including their perspective and voice at every step of the way to make sure we’re building something that works.

The Daily: How was your time working on Springrose at Kellogg?

Cuervo: I had and still have community, resources, support and access to incredible professors. I’ve just found it to be a really wonderful experience and place to be an entrepreneur.

The Daily: What has been the reaction from potential customers?

Cuervo: It’s been rewarding but also motivating, because almost every single person I’ve talked to who has limited mobility in some way, shape or form, or knows somebody who does, sees the need for it. It’s validating that people are out there who really want this. It also puts pressure on us to make sure that the product is right and works and making sure that those details are thoughtfully developed. 

The Daily: What’s the timeline for release?

Cuervo: We’ll do a presale early next year, I’m going to say late winter, early spring. 

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @nicolejmarkus

Related Stories: 

— Student startups awarded over $300,000 in annual VentureCat

— Kellogg alumna funds women in business, expands programming

— Q&A: Northwestern graduate student Samantha Kurit paints Evanston landmarks and custom pet portraits