Some people believe that, in order to make it as a successful startup founder, you need to fit in with the “renegade college dropout” trope. But not Hayley Segar. The founder of onewith — the TikTok-viral swimsuit brand that’s made to fit like underwear — actually believes her college experience was integral to her journey as an entrepreneur.
Segar first came up with the idea for onewith in 2019, when she was trying on swimsuits before a trip to Miami and found herself wishing the options she had fit her body more comfortably… like the way underwear does. “If swimsuits that fit like underwear didn’t exist, I had to create it — and they didn’t,” Segar tells Her Campus about her thought process.
At the time, Segar was working as a bridal consultant and content creator, so she had a general idea of how the clothing industry operates. But there was still a lot to consider in order to get her concept off the ground. “I really took my time in figuring out how I wanted to bring this product to life,” she says. “It was about a year between thinking of the idea and taking my next big step.”
That’s when Segar began to lean on her alma mater, the University of Connecticut (where she graduated as an English major in 2017), to make things happen, going through UConn’s fellowship program to receive $15,000 to start her business. “I’m so glad that I chose UConn [because] it afforded me the opportunity to tap into my college’s entrepreneurial resources after I graduated,” Segar says. “If it weren’t for UConn, onewith would not be here, at least in the way it is now.”Â
Segar officially launched onewith in November 2021 and has been growing the brand ever since. One of her priorities for onewith — through both marketing and the products themselves — is to ensure the brand appeals to and serves a wide range of bodies. “The name [onewith] comes from being one with your body,” she says. “To me, that means inclusivity and diversity as just part of that. I want to ensure that everyone feels like they can look at one with themselves”.
Since launching, onewith has gone viral multiple times. “The first time onewith went viral, it was wild,” Segar says. “Even with my background in content creation, it was something I’ve never experienced before. It was a total nervous system overload in a great way.”Â
Although the rush of recognition and influx of orders were great, going viral was not without its downsides. When the activity on onewith’s TikTok became too much to keep up with, Segar decided to shut off TikTok comments — a decision she’s upheld for the past two and a half years. She says she’s often questioned about this choice, but says it’s a way for her to maintain boundaries for the sake of her mental health while still having a social media presence.
Caring for her mental health is key for Segar, which is why she prioritizes her morning routine. “I have a pretty ironclad morning routine that I stick to and have to do before I ever sit down at my desk,” she says. “I work out every single morning; it’s so necessary for my mental health. And I try to fit my to-do list in the working hours that feel most productive for whatever I’m trying to get done.”
But her to-do list is pretty much never-ending, so she does find herself working a lot — like, a lot. “I’m still a pretty early-stage founder, so [my] work can bleed into the late hours of the day,” she says. “There really is no work-life balance for now, especially at my stage. I believe sacrifice produces results like this early on, and I have to sacrifice a lot in my personal life.”Â
Thankfully, she loves what she does. “Oftentimes, there’s nothing I’d rather be doing than working on onewith,” she says. “I love the silly little tasks, like choosing music for [product] rollouts. It’s so frivolous, it means nothing, but it also means everything. Things like that, when I get to be really creative with no real strings attached, that’s always a lot of fun.”
Segar hopes all her hard work will culminate, one day, with onewith being a household name for anyone who wishes they felt as good in swimsuits as they do in their favorite underwear. “I can’t wait for onewith to be recognized universally as [a] solution … much in the way that Spanx is recognized [for] smoothing and shaping,” she says.
For other aspiring entrepreneurs with ambition like Segar, the startup founder shares her No. 1 piece of advice: “Perfect is subjective,” she says. “Your definition of perfect isn’t someone else’s, so stop worrying about it.” TBH, that’s a great lesson for everyone to hear.