Women Who Inspire Us: Nikki Puzzo & Joanne DiCamillo (Co-CEOs of befree, LLC)



• What were the main reasons you created your business, befree Co?

Nikki:  Having children is life altering. Having a child with a disability is world altering. Stella was born at 31 weeks and spent ~2 mos in the NICU. At 8 mos,  Stella was given a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy. We spent the first 3 yrs of Stella’s life in & out of doctor appts and therapy sessions.

Cerebral Palsy is lack of oxygen to the brain in utero, during delivery or even after a child is born. It affects so many different parts of someone’s body based on the brain damage, and can affect someone’s speech, vision, only one side of the body, behavior and learning abilities. Stella has spastic quadriplegia which means she has high muscle tone in all four of her limbs. My challenges with Stella have been both big & small, but one in particular led to the creation of a product capable of helping Stella and many others in similar situations. Stella uses a wheelchair & a walker to move around her world. At 5, Stella underwent double hip surgery leaving her in bilateral spica casts with a bar in-between to set her hips in place. This surgery required a 3 mo recovery. Among the many questions I asked doctors & nurses at Boston Children’s Hospital was one that seemed simple – where could I find pants that would fit over Stella’s casts? Astoundingly, there was no answer. The hospital suggested blankets, dresses, & large Tshirts, but as a mother, I could not imagine Stella feeling so exposed and self-conscious along with all the other struggles already looming in her recovery. 

So, I decided to make my own. I bought a pair of pajama pants, cut open the outer seam, and replaced the stitching with Velcro that could open & close on the outside of the pants over Stella’s casts. The results were amazing. Stella felt instantly more comfortable and at ease with the many visitors at their house and at her numerous medical appointments. 

Joanne:  I was at Nikki’s house one day visiting with her after Stella’s surgery when she showed me the pants she had made. I was shocked that there were no pants like them already on the market and even more so when I learned that there were hardly any adaptive clothing options available in general. I became very impassioned by this lack of adaptive clothing and the simplicity of the design that was so impactful for Stella. My mom, Josephine, is an amazing sewer and I knew she could easily make a few more pairs for Stella. After seeing how these pants were able to transform Stella’s recovery, it became clear that we were on to something that could help so many others. Friends, family & medical staff were all amazed by the pants that were so novel. It is very inspiring to see something so simple make such a huge difference. And makes you want to share it with the world. So Nikki & I decided to do just that and formed befree, LLC. 

• What have you found to be the biggest challenge as small business owners?

Nikki & Joanne:  befree, LLC is a small, woman owned company and our main challenges are funding, achieving brand recognition in mainstream markets, and manufacturing resources. Securing business loans has proven extremely difficult. Currently we are self-funded and while our progress to date has been amazing, we need capital for marketing and advertising to break into the market and reach our millions of customers.

And, like many small businesses, befree was stalled and production halted for much of 2020 & 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Manufacturing resources & supplies were very limited at the time due to nationwide shutdowns, but we knew we couldn’t give up. We made sure the company stayed on track and were able resume production. The current versions of zipOns for both children & adults launched in the beginning of 2022.

• Do you have a motto or words to live by that encourage you on your mission?

Nikki & Joanne:  Be Kind – you really never know what someone is going through and a little kindness can make a huge difference. 

• How has the fact that you're both mothers informed your decisions and to what extent has this benefitted your business? 

Nikki & Joanne:  Moms can be great entrepreneurs because we are really good at problem solving. When you see your child struggle and need something that doesn’t exist, you make it happen yourself. You don’t give up until you find a solution. And then you share it to help others. And that’s exactly what we did.

• What's the one best piece of advice you'd offer to other women who may be thinking of starting their own venture?

Nikki & Joanne:  Believe in yourself and your idea(s). Don’t be afraid of being told “no” and don’t let it discourage you.

• Please share your favorite business success moment to inspire others to reach for their dreams :)) 

Nikki & Joanne:  We are most proud of the ways we have improved the lives of our customers. Their feedback is very powerful and demonstrates how something as simple as a pair of pants can be a game changer.

One of our favorite stories we heard was from an immensely grateful parent whose little boy was recovering from hip surgery with casts on both legs. He was refusing to leave the house until he received his zipOns and had pants that he could wear. zipOns gave him confidence and comfort and aided tremendously in his recovery.

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