Chloe Freeman: Redefining Wellness for Folx Outside the Binary

Hi friends, it’s Spiffy, back again on Planet Earth with an eye on entrepreneurs making the world a more equitable place! I have one more interview for you this week. Today I’m excited to cruise around with Chloe Freeman, the founder and CEO of For Them. Are you ready to be inspired?

Spiffy: Welcome, Chloe! I’m excited to hear about the work you do. What can you tell me about the challenge you are addressing through your company For Them?

Chloe: Thanks for having me, Spiffy! We are redefining wellness for the queer community and for those who do not sit in the binary. We are underserved as a community in many areas of wellness—we don't have access to the products, services, and community we need to fully thrive—and For Them is changing that.

Spiffy: What motivated you to do it?

Chloe: For Them was born because I couldn't find a chest binder that was safe and comfortable for me to wear all day, and that also helped me feel less dysphoric.

Spiffy: Can you elaborate on how For Them’s mission aligns with a more equitable world?

Chloe: We are building an ecosystem that speaks to support the unique wellness journeys of our members, and one that is representative of our beautifully diverse community. All of our products are ethically sourced, made from recycled materials, and are at an accessible price point. We are striving to ensure all For Them products are accessible for all parts of our community, especially in a time where we are driving towards a recession and folx need wellness support more than ever.

Spiffy: Tell me about a recent company milestone and the impact it makes on your community.

Chloe: A recent milestone was to have The Binder in the hands of 7,000 customers that really needed them. We recently hit that goal and have received thousands of positive experience reviews. For me, personally, reading how our product creates euphoria and reduces discomfort for the community is beyond wonderful. It helps the team see that we are driving towards something that is life changing to folx, and that can genuinely change their day-to-day lives for the better. I'm beyond grateful for the opportunity to help serve the community in this way.

Spiffy: Please share an experience when you faced failure and didn't give up. What did you learn from it?

Chloe: We originally launched our community on an open Discord platform, completely free and open access for everyone that wanted to be a part of it. This was a fantastic and accessible idea in theory, and we as a team really advocated for it. Ultimately, having no curation in any community does not work. We made the mistake of not fully ‘holding’ the space, and therefore folx were not feeling as well as they could be! We were honest with ourselves, listened to feedback from our customers, and closed down this space we had built for over 4000 community members and started again—this time letting our members give us ideas on how to curate the space. We put as much focus and intention into our community as we do with our products.

Spiffy: I love that! What is something you've unexpectedly learned from someone recently?

Chloe: A friend said that if I was ever worried about making a big decision, remember that the right thing for you is always something that makes you smile when you think about it. It doesn't have to be that complicated. That really had a personal and positive impact on me.

Spiffy: Thanks for speaking with me today, Chloe—it’s been an honor!

Chloe Freeman is the founder of For Them, which is redefining wellness for folx that don't sit in the binary, using an ecosystem of product, content, and community. They are a trained CFO from the UK and moved to New York to pursue acting (‘The Blacklist’ and ‘New Amsterdam’). Their first company was a production company (Boycott Entertainment) supporting under-represented talent behind the camera. (Nominated by Lorenzo Thione at Gaingels. First published on the Ladderworks website on July 22, 2022.)

© 2022 Ladderworks LLC. Edited by Anushree Nande. Spiffy’s illustration by Shreyas Navare. For the Ladderworks digital curriculum to help K-3 kids advance the UN SDGs, visit Spiffy's Corner here.