Up-and-coming entrepreneurs have the challenge of either finding a new, unique niche or disrupting age-old systems. The key is to find an underserved market sector and create an innovative product that elevates an industry. One example is within healthcare. Many of the medical scrubs on the market are designed for functionality rather than quality and comfort. Even with the medical scrubs market expected to reach $140.64 billion by 2027, companies like Moxie Scrubs are finding innovative ways to modernize and disrupt the market.
Alicia Tulsee, founder and CEO of Moxie Scrubs, and her team are disrupting the medical apparel market as the first direct-to-consumer brand for nurses. The scrubs’ design provides nurses with a sense of fashion, functionality and professionalism. The company has raised $2.4 million in pre-seed funding and is preparing for the next round. Recently, Tulsee was named to Forbes Next 1000 list. This month, the company is celebrating Nurses Week (May 6-12) by honoring the unsung heroes.
“Moxie is for nurses, by nurses because nurses are the beating heart of healthcare,” Tulsee shares. “We don’t just celebrate Nurses week in May; we celebrate nurses every single day at Moxie Scrubs. This year, we’re highlighting the sacrifices they make to keep us safe and healthy by sharing their stories and giving them wellness gifts and resources to care for them during life on the shift and beyond. Every day is a thank you to the nurses for us.”
At 19, Tulsee started an import-export business of costume jewelry. Unsure of what she wanted to do in life, she pivoted between pre-med, fashion and marine biology. Then, she decided to take a gap year to figure out what made sense for her career path. Taking an internship at a large music publication landed her a sales manager position in south India. Eventually, she transitioned over to an alcoholic beverage company and was later asked to spearhead the Budweiser Brand Ambassador Program launch in India. Tulsee increased Budweiser sales by 29% after three months as a direct result of the Program and recruited 24 employees nationally to meet sales targets.
During this time, she earned her associate’s degree and turned down having her own cooking show. Instead, she wanted to come back to the States. She applied for and was accepted into Harvard. After graduation, she worked for various companies before joining a team at the Harvard Innovation Labs. The company, no longer in business, designed medical apparel. Tulsee initially started as a consultant helping push 90,000 units of inventory. After a couple of weeks, they offered her the cofounder position. She raised capital for the business and restructured the supply chain. In the end, she had a falling out with the company.
Although the situation was devasting at the time, Tulsee saw it as an opportunity. She had the research and connections and decided to bootstrap the launch of the company. Continuing to network with investors through Harvard’s Innovation Labs, she has secured partnerships, including the Ember Fund and the Harvard Business School Alumni Angel Association.
The genesis of Moxie, a brand for nurses by nurses, grew from Tulsee’s admiration for the healthcare workers who took care of her aunt and father during their time in the hospital. With the data to back up her theory, she knew she wanted to create a brand to give back to the workers who assisted her loved ones.
“It turns out that nurses are the largest segment of the healthcare workforce and the fastest-growing segment,” she states. “I couldn’t find a brand, particularly for nurses. So in all of that, that was my aha moment. And I said, ‘I’m going to create a brand dedicated to serving all unique performance needs and lifestyles and on the shift and off the shift community of nurses.’”
Tulsee recruited nurses to help design the scrubs and each design was named after the nurse. Additionally, real nurses model the scrub collections.
As Tulsee continues to transition within her career, she focuses on the following essential steps:
- Map out your opportunity costs. If you’re going to pivot, what are you giving up? And what are you gaining? Ensure that you are committed to the good and the bad of the opportunity costs.
- Work on removing the fear or anxiety around your decision. Take it at face value, and don’t attach your vision to any perception.
- Invest in yourself. Believe wholeheartedly in what you’re doing and share the mission with others to attract the right investors.
“It’s amazing what you can do when you put your mind to something,” Tulsee concludes. “It’s a little scary what I’m able to do when I put my mind to it because the downside to all of this came at a cost to my health and mental well-being. I’m just really relentless in the pursuit of my vision.”
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Updated: $2.3 million to $2.4 million
Ashley Top
$35.99
DESCRIPTION  Designed by #MoxieNurse Ashley Jerome, the Ashley Scrub Top offers the perfect blend of fun and professionalism you seek in your workwear. With a split neck, semi-tailored fit that looks sharp even when you’re running to answer a call… read more
Catherine Pants
$39.99
DESCRIPTION  The Catherine Scrub Pants are the must-have item in your selection of comfortable and professional workwear. At Moxie, we have taken the classic straight leg scrubs pant style and upgraded it to a whole new level. Our 4-Way Stretch,… read more