The six-figure turnover business built with grants – and no employees

Former IBM consultant, Kate Taylor, has built a thriving six-figure-turnover global business addressing a problem affecting millions of women – and she's done all of it through grants, not investment and no employees.

When Kate discovered she wasn't alone in struggling to find a bra that fitted both breasts properly, she created an entire business to solve the problem.

Now, five years after launching Evenly, her innovative silicone breast asymmetry Bra Balancers™ are now sold in over 40 countries, and she's just won a prestigious pitch competition hosted by Dragon's Den entrepreneur, Theo Paphitis, and judged by a panel which included writer and activist Katie Piper and senior business leaders. 

The journey from IT consultant to lingerie innovator started with a chat with friends. Kate said:

"All the women I spoke to said bras are a big problem. Most of us were wearing a bra that fitted the smaller breast and squeezing the other one in. It never occurred to me that I should be wearing a bra that supports my larger breast. 

“It made me realise breast asymmetry is incredibly common, yet nobody was talking about it or doing anything to help.” 

The power of grant funding 

With no background in lingerie design, Kate threw herself into understanding the industry. She worked with a lingerie technician, attended trade shows in Paris, and partnered with a product design company in Poole. She admited about bra construction:

"I had no idea it was that complicated."

Her big breakthrough came in 2020 when Kate won a Women in Innovation Award from Innovate UK, securing £50,000 in grant funding. The timing was challenging, though, because Kate was pregnant with her first child, and it was lockdown. She said:

"That year, which should have been my maternity leave, was actually one of the busiest periods of my work life." 

But the Innovate UK grant provided far more than just money.

"You get a lot of mentoring and support as part of the grant and it forces you to think strategically about your next steps, to research costs and returns. That's really invaluable." 

For example, rather than creating the complex asymmetrical bra she'd originally envisioned, Kate launched with Bra Balancers™, silicone partial prosthetics designed to be accessible, affordable, and modern. Unlike medical prosthetics that can cost hundreds of pounds and require hospital fittings, Evenly's products start at under £30 and can be ordered online. She said:

"We intentionally didn't want it to feel like an old lady brand or have medical stigma."

'I'm a big fan of grants'

After Innovate UK, Kate has secured multiple grants from the European Regional Development Fund and, more recently, funding through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for rural businesses in Dorset. Last month, she won £7,500 at Theo Paphitis's Small Business Sunday NatWest Accelerator Pitch. 

"I'm a big fan of grants," Kate said. The prize money will fund the development of an adjustable insert that can adapt to women's natural fluctuations, the next evolution of her original patented design. 

Avoiding external investment and choosing instead to grow through grants and reinvested profits has been a deliberate decision. Kate said:

“I've grown it really sustainably alongside my personal life.

"I wanted to grow the business without taking external investment. You need to be able to have that flexibility in your business. That's very important as a founder, especially in times of uncertainty." 

The rigorous application process itself actually became a strategic tool.

"I've had it before where I started drafting a grant application for one thing, and then as part of going through the application and really justifying it all, I absolutely pivoted. I realised some decisions actually weren't the best way to go. The application process forces you to take a step back and ask: is this actually the best use of the money and the time?" 

By the end of year one, Evenly had broken even. She said:

"I've been profitable ever since. "I've just been able to reinvest the profits." 

VIDEO: How to prepare for grant applications

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Staying flexible  

Five years on, Kate remains the only person on payroll, working with freelancers, manufacturers, suppliers and distributors to keep the business lean and sustainable. For Kate, it's not just about saving money; it's about maintaining flexibility in an uncertain world. She explained:

"It means you can pivot.

"No one knows what's going to happen. If I took on an employee, I don't want to set someone up for disappointment because I can't keep them on. The stress of that, the lack of continuity, you'd have to really rethink your strategy and everything else." 

Her approach challenges government schemes that focus solely on employee numbers, like Help to Grow: Management, which requires five employees to be eligible. She said:

 "I wanted to join, I met all the criteria apart from needing five employees.

"But I'm still managing people. They're just not on my payroll. I have my marketing manager on a monthly retainer, so I pay her every month by invoice rather than PAYE. 

"Maybe have more of a turnover threshold or some other measure rather than just the number of people on payroll," she suggested. "I can't see myself putting anybody on payroll anytime soon, only because it works to have things flexibly." 

Going global 

The business now exports to over 40 countries and stocks over 100 lingerie boutiques worldwide. Evenly has received coverage on BBC Breakfast and featured on the Drew Barrymore Show in the US. The company won 'Highly Commended' in the Department for Trade's Made in the UK, Sold to the World awards. 

Breaking the ‘taboob’ 

Evenly has also grown its community and become a safe space for discussion. Kate runs a breast asymmetry support group on Facebook with over 1,000 members from around the world. The company's mission is to "break the taboob" which is about ending the stigma around breast asymmetry. Kate said: 

"Pretty much all women experience it, so it shouldn't be something that's so embarrassing. 

"What's lovely is we've built that community and given women the confidence to be photographed, to talk about their asymmetry, which five years ago no one seemed willing to do." 

From the funding expert 

We asked About Tomorrow founder, Melissa Wusaty, about how to identify the right funding opportunities. She explained: 

“Start by stripping everything back to the core challenge you address. Having absolute clarity on what your business is trying to achieve and what the grant will enable is incredibly important. 

“Being challenge orientated is a really smart way to move forward. What is the challenge that you're trying to solve?” 

“It’s really important to understand what the funder is looking for and what their objectives are in terms of supplying that grant. Understanding their specific mission, priorities and criteria is the starting point.” 

Once you have a list of potential grants, you need to prioritise – what do you have the best chance of winning and what’s going to have the biggest impact? 

Melisa added that taking a “scattergun approach” is a mistake, and instead advised founders to work with the provider: 

“I think trying to find a way of building a relationship with the people that are providing the grant is really underestimated.” 

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