Renata Black and the Rise of EBY: Redefining Intimates with Impact

We sat down with Renata Black, the Founder and CEO of EBY (Empowered By You), the inclusive intimates brand redefining what it means to feel comfortable, confident, and supported from everyday wear to the wedding aisle. We talked about her journey from studying microfinance under Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus in India, to building a brand where social impact and commerce go hand in hand, the launch of their latest Naughty Bride Collection, and what's next for EBY as the brand enters an exciting new chapter in retail. 

Renata Black, founder & CEO of EBY

EBY was built on the idea that commerce and social impact could genuinely coexist. Where did that vision come from, and what gave you the confidence to bet on it?

The vision came from my time in India. I had gone there after college, I didn't get my dream job and decided to travel for a year and ended up studying under Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. Under Yunus’ mentorship, I developed a grassroots microfinance program with 800 local women and established the Seven Bar Foundation soon after. 

I fell in love with the idea of empowering women out of poverty and into business. But I quickly realized I couldn't rely on charity to sustain it. I needed a business. When I came home, I watched the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, and it hit me: what if we redirected the power of seduction toward the empowerment of women? That was the spark. The confidence came from knowing the problem was real and that I wasn't going to stop until I found a solution for it.

What did the early years of building EBY actually look like, and what surprised you most about becoming an entrepreneur?

In the early days of building EBY, I lived in the factory in Sri Lanka for three months because I needed to truly understand how our product was made. I would go into small stores and watch women shop for underwear so I could understand their buying habits. I was pitching investors, mostly men, and explaining why women buy underwear in handfuls, which apparently was not common knowledge. One investor told me he still had his underwear from high school. What surprised me most was how much you have to adapt without losing your vision. You have to be relentless and flexible at the same time.

Social impact is core to how EBY operates, not just how it communicates. How do you protect that as the brand grows?

We started by giving 10% of proceeds to microfinance, but when you’re not profitable, that model gets hard to sustain. We didn’t want to lose the mission, so we evolved it. Now we turn excess inventory into startup capital through our program, From Sets to Saves. It’s allowed us to support thousands of women, reduce waste, and stay true to why we exist – while also making the model work for the business.

Who is the EBY woman, and has your sense of her evolved since you first launched?

The EBY woman is me. She's super driven, a young mom, figuring it out as she goes, super hard on herself, trying to fill all the roles while still trying to be true to herself, having a great time, dealing with PMS, scared of perimenopause, and ultimately realizing that she's been wired to accept pain to get support. This is our EBY customer. She's ever-changing, ever-evolving, but with EBY and through EBY, learning that the invisible rules that she's been wired to accept as normal are restricting her, and with EBY together she is breaking free to be her truest self.

Tell us about the new bridal collection. What was the inspiration, and what do you hope women take away from it?

We’d never done bridal because it all felt really predictable and a little too boring. But then we started looking at how much discomfort brides put up with just to get through the day that is meant to be one of the most special moments of her life, and it clicked. We’re the solution for a woman to feel as good as she looks on her wedding day.

If we were going to do it, though, it had to feel like EBY with a ton of sass and attitude. So we leaned into the chaos of bachelorette culture and recreated a Hangover-style moment because that’s what it really is like for women too! It was funny, a little unhinged, and very us.

The response was massive! The Naughty Bride Collection is based on one of our core bestsellers, expanded into incredible new colors and we haven’t been able to keep it in stock since.

What's the next chapter for EBY, and what are you most excited about right now?

The next chapter for EBY is where you see us totally explode. The bridal collection is just the beginning of that. What excites me most is this summer we will be introducing a completely new retail experience. We are totally reimagining retail in a way that will make traditional retail seem like using a rotary phone. I can’t wait to share more soon.

By ML Staff. Images courtesy of EBY