Full Name
Fran Dunaway
Job Title
Co-Founder and CEO
Company
TomboyX
Speaker Bio
Fran Dunaway likes to call herself the accidental entrepreneur. In 2013, she had a great life – partner in a media strategies firm with big budgets, lots of vacation time, regular exercise, excellent sleep habits. She and her wife, Naomi Gonzalez, started a little side business because they wanted some cool button-down shirts like a Robert Graham for women. They picked the name TomboyX because they thought it was cute. When the name started resonating with women and girls around the world, they knew they had an instant brand. It turns out that the word tomboy opens the door to a conversation about being whoever it is you want to be. Women were elated to have a brand that saw them for who they are at their core. So, when customers started begging for TomboyX to design the first boxer briefs for women, Dunaway and Gonzalez obliged. In September 2014, they presold two styles of boxer briefs designed for women and sold out in two weeks. Since then, they have never looked back. In 2016, TomboyX pivoted out of apparel and refocused solely on the underwear/loungewear market. Business is thriving, because people of all shapes and sizes want to be part of a brand that stands for values they share. The customers continually prove that there is a toughness required to express your individuality – the defining characteristics of a tomboy.
Fran Dunaway