Feature Friday: Hairstrong Founder Nicole Baranowski

We’re incredibly excited to showcase Nicole Baranowski, the innovator behind Hairstrong, introducing the adjustable scrunchy for the perfect long hair solution!

Tell us a bit about yourself and your experience in sport:

My name is Nicole Baranowski and I am currently a 26-year old entrepreneur and former athlete. I completed my undergraduate degree at Western University in Kinesiology with a specialization in Sport Management in 2019. I completed a dual master’s degree in international business with a CEMS certificate at Ivey Business School in 2021. I’ve grown up playing team sports most of my life like soccer, rugby, basketball, and volleyball. I didn’t join any of those teams in University as I wasn’t as competitive in them but in my second year of university I decided to pursue a brand new sport – rowing. I joined Western’s novice team in the fall of 2016 and made it onto their varsity team the following year winning provincial and national championship banners. The following years I was part of multiple championships and was captain of the team. What I loved most about the sport is that there’s a clear path to success. You put in the work consistently everyday and you will see the results. I really fell in love with the lifestyle required to be successful within the sport.

How did you create Hairstrong?

In my fourth year of my undergrad, I took a course called Entrepreneurship in Kinesiology. One day during one of the classes, my professor asked us all – “What kind of problem do you face daily?” At the time, I was balancing a full-time school course load, a full-time training load of 20-30 hours of rowing training per week, and part-time jobs. You could say I was a bit busy which meant I truly valued my time and tried to get the most out of each hour of my day. What was frustrating to me at the time was wasting time during training when my hair wouldn’t stay up or my hair elastics would constantly be breaking. I had so much on the go and to have this small inconvenience almost daily really frustrated me. Based on that context, when it was my turn to speak to my problem, I voiced the frustration of not having anything able to hold up my hair. To my surprise, other people with long hair in the class resonated with that. It was the first time I realized that my hair was never actually the problem – it was the products advertised as one-size-fits-all that just didn’t fit well for high impact activity.

Why do you think others would benefit from your product?

I am someone who strongly identifies with my long hair; I could not imagine cutting it. Before Hairstrong, I just accepted the fact that if I wanted to have long hair, I had to deal with the maintenance that came from it. I also felt that there was something wrong with my hair type because if products were advertised as one-size-fits-all, and it didn’t fit me, it meant that I had to change, but that isn’t the case at all. There are over 900,000,000 people in the world with long hair and a one-size band shouldn’t be the only option that people have. With Hairstrong, you can control the size exactly for your hair so that you can be confident that it stays up when you need it, without the damage, constant adjusting, or elastics snapping. It’s finally time for a hair band that fits you instead of the other way around.

The small details matter because the impact they have when added up are what sets you apart from your competitors. If you were able to get more focus out of each and every training session because you had less distractions coming from your hair or less time spent adjusting your hair – that really adds up in the long run. If you’re expected to be your best, you should also have the right tools that help you get there – including ones used for your hair.

Curious to discover more about Hairstrong? Stay tuned and visit their Instagram and website to get your hands on one today. Also, don’t forget to visit our Instagram for a chance to win your own Hairstrong scrunchy along with some exclusive Fast and Female swag!