Rising Stars: Meet Ali Wigart

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ali Wigart.

Hi Ali, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
A few years ago, I was on a trip to a remote part of Mexico with my mom. We took a small passenger plane during the journey and somehow, our luggage did not make it. My mom is a very savvy woman and as I complained about having no appropriate clothes or underwear before our long hike, she pulls out a pair of undies in a plastic bag from her small purse proclaiming that she ALWAYS travels with a spare pair. That was my lightbulb moment.

Fast forward to 2019 when I decided to not go back to my apparel design job at the end of my maternity leave, still feeling burnt out from my job pre-baby and burnt out from having a baby. As we know, Covid entered the picture shortly thereafter and put a wrench on me re-entering the workforce. (If you’ll recall, retail jobs were few and far between!) But with all the uncertainty of the time, it gave me permission to go full throttle with a few concepts I had been fiddling with, one being an on-the-go undies product I had mentally concepted years prior.

Having experience working with overseas manufacturers in my career, I felt confident sourcing and communicating with factories. China opened their workforce far ahead of the US in 2020 so I was able to get my prototype and packaging design made while we were still shuttered in California. To our great surprise, we got pregnant with #2, once again putting my priorities back into flux. With the approaching “deadline”, I was able to launch a beta test of my product where I wear-tested Bonks of nearly 200 women and perfected my fit so it was production-ready once I was out of my baby fog.

I received my production in winter 2022 and it’s been a whirlwind ever since! I’ve learned more than I ever thought possible about the world of import, ecomm, digital marketing, social media, sales and displays. It’s been the MBA program I always wanted. Today Bonks is enjoying success in boutique brick-and-mortar, placement in our first hotel, attended our first tradeshow and have onboarded a sales rep to help take it across the country and beyond.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
My main struggle has been work/life balance. When you’re launching a company, you’re always on the clock. And that’s hard when you’re also always on the clock raising a young fam. I look back to my former office job and kind of chuckle at how much easier it felt to just show up and get my work done. But I quickly remind myself about the reward in creating something that is mine and the flexibility that comes with being my own boss.

Another major obstacle is funding. Thus far, Bonks is self-funded; but in order to scale and compete with a stealthy VC-backed CPG market, I know I’ll need to begin fundraising very soon.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My traditional career was in women’s apparel design. I started my design career at Splendid who was, at the time, made domestically in Los Angeles. I ended it at Cherokee which focused on big bucket global retailers and was made overseas. I think the pivot I made between contemporary and mass market gave me a really diversified education into both sides of the industry.

What sets me apart is that I’m able to concept, sketch, design, tech pack, fit, source, cost, create prints, create packaging designs, negotiate price and import my product, all on my own. These skills put me at a major advantage over other individuals who started their product companies as an outsider. It’s also helped me save a lot of money. However, on the flip side, it’s been incredibly time-consuming. I look forward to the day when I have an employee to delegate tasks!

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My family has had a home in Lake Tahoe since my dad was young so I have had a lifetime of wonderful adventures along its beautiful west shore. (We actually moved up there in Covid for nine months which is where I did the bulk of my early work for Bonks from!) Fishing off the dock for crawdads with a rope, rock and a chunk of raw bacon is a vivid memory of mine that I now get the pleasure of enjoying again with my kids.

Pricing:

• $10 retail / $5 wholesale

Contact Info:

• Website: www.buybonks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialbonks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialbonks/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/officialbonks
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@official_bonks

Image Credits
Daisy Rast Sterling Olmstead