How category creators like Willow and Oura ward off dupes and defend their leads

When the wearable breast pump company Willow was founded in 2014, pumping breast milk was a sit-down endeavor.

Most nursing moms tended to use an electronic pump connected to a large battery, a bulky and multi-part contraption that required the mom to sit down and stay put with cords dangling from her chest. But the Willow was a wearable pump that could be placed inside a bra, allowing moms to walk around while pumping hands-free.

“We had breast pumps that were not designed for the women who used them,” said Willow CEO Sarah O’Leary. “They were so inconvenient, and tied you down and all of that. Our core innovation of a pump designed around the person using it, that could go in your bra so you can move around while you pump, was an idea that turned a whole category on its head very fast.”

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