Introduction
In Episode 65 of The Incredible Machines podcast, hosts Jon Oliff and Luke Holden are joined by Liza Clifford, the founder of Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio, mother of two, and an advocate for women’s confidence, body acceptance and entrepreneurship.
In what's also Liza’s first podcast appearance, she shares the journey from growing up on a farm in an Italian immigrant family to building a business centred on a simple but often overlooked idea: women shouldn't have to question their bodies because the products designed to support them are failing.
What begins as a conversation about bra fitting quickly becomes something much bigger. Liza speaks openly about motherhood, gender, beauty standards, perfectionism, shame, social media, entrepreneurship and the pressure women experience to meet expectations that are often impossible.
This episode is ultimately about learning to stop disqualifying yourself, trusting that you do not need to be perfect before you begin, and building a business that genuinely serves the people it exists for.
Key Highlights from Liza Clifford in Episode 65
1. The Bra Squad Campaign
One of the most powerful stories in the episode is the creation of Bra Squad.
The original idea was relatively simple. Liza and her team wanted to create their own South African content rather than relying on the same polished imagery supplied to lingerie retailers around the world.
They invited ordinary women to participate, some of whom had never felt comfortable standing in front of a camera, let alone being photographed in lingerie.
The campaign deliberately avoided airbrushing and perfection. It created something women could recognise themselves in. Bra Squad became a way of changing the conversation women were having with themselves.
2. Done Is Better Than Perfect
Perfectionism is a recurring theme throughout Liza’s story. One of her clearest examples is social media.
For years, Liza avoided putting herself in front of the camera. She believed she needed to look different before doing it. Eventually she started creating videos anyway, and it became one of the biggest sources of revenue for the business.
The lesson extends far beyond social media. Businesses often delay projects, founders delay ideas, and people delay opportunities because they're waiting to become a future version of themselves.
3. Authenticity Matters More Than Success
Liza also speaks candidly about the gap between what people see online and what is really happening behind the scenes of a business.
At one point, she attended a forum where members were asked to share their recent wins. Around the table, other entrepreneurs spoke about one success after another.
When it came to Liza, she chose to be honest about the harder reality behind the visible momentum. That honesty shifted the tone of the conversation and encouraged others in the room to speak more openly about their own challenges.
For Liza, authenticity does not mean sharing everything. It means resisting the pressure to make success look effortless and creating space for a more honest picture of what building a business actually looks like.
4. Build a Business That Knows Who It Is For
The Liza Clifford model is intentionally different from traditional retail.
The studios are private, discreet, and appointment based. That creates limitations on scale, but it also protects the experience Liza wants clients to have.
For someone who wants a quick retail transaction, the model may seem unnecessarily complicated. For someone who wants privacy, personal attention and education, that same model becomes valuable.
Liza’s willingness to accept that distinction allows the business to protect what makes it different instead of attempting to appeal to everyone.
“A goal without a plan is a dream.”
“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”
Advertising Campaign Mentioned
Always #LikeAGirl Campaign: Liza chose Always #LikeAGirl because it is an example of marketing that goes beyond selling a product and instead changes the conversation around the issue a brand exists to address.
The campaign took the familiar phrase “like a girl”, which had gradually become associated with weakness or incompetence, and challenged people to think about what that phrase was teaching girls about themselves.
In the original ad, adults and older children are asked to demonstrate what it looks like to run, throw and fight “like a girl”. Their responses are exaggerated and weak. Younger girls, however, simply run as fast as they can and fight as hard as they can.
For Liza, that contrast revealed something powerful: at some point, girls learn that being a girl is supposed to mean being less capable.
What makes the campaign especially effective is that Always did not make the product the hero. Instead, the brand identified a cultural tension affecting its audience and made that tension in the centre of the campaign.
The #LikeAGirl hashtag then allowed the idea to extend beyond the original advert. It became something people could participate in, share and reinterpret, turning the audience into part of the distribution of the message.
The campaign also grew beyond a single successful advert, developing into a broader conversation around girls’ confidence, puberty, sport and challenging stereotypes.
That thinking strongly reflects what Liza has tried to build through Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio.
The product may be bras, but the bigger conversation is about women, bodies and confidence, and the way women are often taught to question themselves before questioning the standards they are being measured against.
Through campaigns such as Bra Squad and the wider Put On Courage philosophy, Liza has seen that the most powerful marketing happens when women recognise themselves in the story rather than simply seeing a product being sold to them.
For Liza, that is the lesson behind #LikeAGirl: great marketing does not always need to sell the product directly. Sometimes its greatest impact comes from changing the conversation around the problem the brand exists to solve.
Watch the #LikeAGirl campaignConclusion
Liza Clifford’s story demonstrates how body confidence, entrepreneurship, motherhood and authentic marketing are connected by one important idea: women should not have to question themselves before questioning the standards they are being measured against.
Her conversation encourages us to challenge perfection, trust ourselves sooner, and build businesses that genuinely serve the people they exist for.
Whether you’re interested in entrepreneurship, passionate about women’s confidence or curious about how authentic brands can create meaningful impact, this episode is a must listen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Liza Clifford is the founder of Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio, a South African business focused on professional bra fitting, education and helping women find the right support for their bodies. Through initiatives such as Bra Squad and the Put On Courage philosophy, the business also challenges traditional beauty standards and encourages greater body confidence.
Bra Squad is a campaign created by Liza Clifford Professional Bra Fitting Studio featuring real women rather than traditional lingerie models. The campaign uses unretouched imagery and greater representation to help women see normal bodies reflected in marketing and challenge unrealistic expectations around breasts, ageing and body image.
Put on Courage represents the idea that the business exists to give women support and confidence rather than simply sell bras. The goal is to remove one source of discomfort or self-doubt so women can focus on the things they want to do in their lives.
The Incredible Machines podcast is a thought leadership series produced by Tim Africa, featuring conversations with visionary entrepreneurs, leaders, and changemakers from across the continent.
You can listen on all major platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and the Tim Africa Podcast Hub.