It often ends up being frustrating when your weight keeps on fluctuating and you have to buy new clothes every time. Tyler Farley, who graduated from Northeastern University, faced the same problem due to a health issue. He disliked wearing belts as well, so to provide a cost-effective solution, he resorted to suspenders.
However, when he perused websites like Google and Amazon to look for suspenders that suited his criteria, he failed to find one. None of them fitted the benefits and design that he required; some of them were too fancy, while others were not suitable for work. He decided that he would make his own line of suspenders in collaboration with his sister, Tori.
Tori, who also graduated from Northeastern, co-founded “Better Than Belts” with Tyler. The suspenders they designed are suited for all occasions and can be worn with a t-shirt as well as a tuxedo. Tyler, who has a degree in Business Administration and a concentration in Entrepreneurship, said, “I was shocked there wasn’t a nice, versatile suspender made for everyday wear. For me, this was all based in function. It really was ‘how do I find a suspender I can wear with a t-shirt or a suit and everywhere in between.’”
Tyler aspires to bring back this 70s fashion back in style, just like fanny packs. His suspenders come in different patterns, among which the most popular one has prints of pink flamingos. He said he found inspiration to bring this back in style from Gordon Gekko from the movie “Wall Street”.
When asked about their plan on getting funds, Tyler and Tori replied that they would seek mentoring and funding from IDEA which is a business accelerator led by students at the Northeastern University. They found inspiration to start this business from their professors and their working experience at Amazon and TJX. They learnt about new tools to operate their company and got a taste of the professional world.
The co-founder siblings plan to raise funds to produce their suspenders through a Kickstarter Campaign. They raised more than $10,000 in a time span of two weeks which was a huge milestone for them. What encourages them to follow this dream is the happiness on people’s faces when they try the suspenders on for the first time.
Subarna Basu