Businesses We Love: Skanties’ Susie Taaffe on balancing comfort and confidence

SmartCompany is proud to introduce ‘Businesses We Love’, a new series in partnership with Optus Business. In each edition, we chat with Australian founders and business leaders about productivity, connectivity, technology and the realities of running a modern business.

In 2016, Susie Taaffe was at a crossroads.

After building a maternity clothing business and then carving out a career as an engineer in remote Australia, Taaffe found herself searching for a new direction following an unexpected divorce.

She was also trying to solve a practical problem: finding comfortable underwear she could wear under dresses without chafing, digging in or making her feel squeezed into uncomfortable beauty standards.

Unable to find a solution she actually wanted to wear, Taaffe decided to create her own.

What began as a personal fix quickly resonated with other women experiencing the same frustrations. Today, Skanties has grown into a global business with customers worldwide.
SmartCompany spoke to Taaffe about building a purpose-led business, staying connected across continents and why founders need support too.

How would you describe Skanties in twenty five words or less?

“Skanties are anti-shapewear underwear designed to make you feel good in your own body without shrinking or squeezing into uncomfortable beauty standards and societal expectations.”

What inspired you to start Skanties?

“I used to own a maternity clothing company with my sister. As I was exiting that business, I was starting to find my style a little bit more and wearing more dresses and skirts. But I was experiencing chafing, so I created the first pair of Skanties for myself.

“Before I actually decided Skanties was a business, I had a few girlfriends ask me, ‘well, you wear dresses all the time, how do you not get chafe?’ And I said, ‘well, I have these.’
“So I made them some pairs and they tried them. That’s when I realised this could actually be commercially viable. It was a product women would love that could also help them feel good about themselves.

“Fast forward, I had an unexpected divorce. Previously, I was working as an engineer doing fly in, fly out roles in remote Australia. Being a newly single mother, I realised I now had the chance to direct my life in a way that fills me with passion and where I can help other people feel good.”

How has being globally connected shaped the way you run Skanties?

“We're based in California. It is currently the right location for Skanties because the American market is just so large.

“We have access to bigger distributors, PR opportunities, influencers and celebrities. Everything is just bigger!

“I'm still getting used to the fact that Australia hasn't woken up when I wake up. I have a team of consultants across Australia and the United States and we stay connected with email, WhatsApp and phone calls.

“The person I speak to on the phone the most is another founder, Dr. Anna Harrison, who founded RAMMP. We talk a lot because founders need to support founders. It can be a very lonely journey and sometimes you need someone to pick you up off the floor when you’re rocking in the corner.”

What sets Skanties apart?

“Skanties originally were about stopping chafing. But if you are experiencing chafing or you have a muffin top or elastic digging in or your underwear is riding up, it starts a negative thought pattern in your brain.

“So you aren't thinking ‘Wow, I'm amazing. I'm having a great day today’. It starts a negative thought pattern and Skanties switches that thought pattern off and enables you to then tackle the next part, which is feeling good about yourself.

“I have started creating meditations and affirmations and recording YouTube videos all about how to peel off the layers of everything that makes you feel like you're not enough within yourself, peel them back and realise the divine, universal miracle and creation that you are.

“We're not just a product. We are shifting the dial one bit at a time about how people feel about themselves on the inside.”

How do you think your background as an engineer has shaped your entrepreneurial journey?

“It 100% plays a part, it’s like the chicken and the egg. I don't know if I'm an entrepreneur because I was an engineer, or if I'm an engineer because I have an entrepreneurial mindset.

“I'm so solution focused, but I have quite a creative brain as well.

“I think my ‘engineering brain’ allows me to look at a problem and not just go to the solutions that are already available. I’m always thinking about what would make this better? How can I pick apart the pieces that are good and make them into one product?

“I always laugh about how earlier in my career, I went from maternity clothing manufacturing to gas compressor station construction. People were like, ‘Whoa, that's a big pivot’. But it’s actually not.

“Maternity clothing is 10 times harder than gas compressor station construction. You have to consider how to create a garment that fits someone when they're growing a baby and then afterwards. Can it be adapted to breastfeeding? And so the engineering brain is definitely a huge part of all of this.”

As a founder, how do you manage burnout?

“The way I manage burnout and something I learned the hard way, is noticing the signs that I’m getting close to burnout.

“I can gauge my level of stress by how I react to accidents like spilling my coffee or stubbing my toe - the words that automatically come out of my mouth tell me very clearly what level I’m at.

“Then have a 'magic toolbox' of things you know can restore your energy. For me, I do meditations, go tech free for a few hours, walk on the beach and schedule whole days off where I do only the bare minimum to operate the business.

“There is always something to do. However you will get nothing done if your health is terrible. Accepting that rest is just as important as everything else on the to-do list is the number one step! That was a hard one for me to learn. But burnout and chronic stress are real and can be seriously debilitating - listen to your body!”