Giulia Stands by Women
“Our mission is to ensure that women can feel feminine again, can feel free in their own bodies, even in a difficult situation such as that of living with breast cancer,” says Bocconi alumna Giulia Faoro about the startup she cofounded with three other partners, ONEBra. She currently serves as CFO of the company, which was established in 2022 and utilizes 3D technology to produce custom-made cups for women with breast asymmetry as a result of a mastectomy or natural causes.
The creation of ONEBra and introduction to the startup life was a gradual process. After graduating from Bocconi with a Bachelor degree in Economics and Finance, as well as a Master degree in International Management (part of a Double Degree program at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad), Giulia landed a job in the fashion industry. “I started at Trussardi, where I was key account manager for Italy and Europe before working as a wholesale specialist for the Far East at Bally,” she explains, “My last role was business development manager for a Roman e-commerce startup, YOCABE’. It was here that I understood that the 9-5 life was not a good fit for me, so I opened my partita IVA and began consulting fashion brands in omnichannel sales.”
One day, while Giulia was working remotely from Spain, she received a call from a friend. “At the time, Sofia Santi was a post-doc in materials engineering at the University of Trento when the initial idea for ONEBra came to mind,” Giulia continues, “She asked me, ‘Would you want to create a startup and be in charge of the revenue and business aspect of it?’ From there, we cofounded ONEBra along with Silvia Chiera, who oversees marketing and customer care, and Danilo Tomasoni, who handles IT.” It took two years to proceed to market launch, the necessary amount of time for product beta testing. Then the B2C model launched, followed by B2B — also thanks to a first round of investment that closed in 2024 — and this year, the company was accepted into a startup accelerator.
“The creation of a custom-made product,” says Giulia Faoro, “is possible thanks to a 3D scan that can be done autonomously via a special app on your smartphone. However, for those not adept at technology, we have opened — thanks to the collaboration with various women's associations — several scanning centers around Italy. We are currently growing and also in negotiation with medical device distributors nationwide.”
The startup has therefore been a turning point in Giulia's life, who feels she has found her way at last. “I always need new challenges and to meet different people,” she explains. “I do not enjoy office work, so in creating my own business, I finally found my niche. Entrepreneurship is challenging and is what I will do in the future.” Regarding the ONEBra project, she adds: “It is also a way to help others. We wish to make a difference; it is right that businesses look beyond profit and consider their social impact.”
