Joe & Bella Named One of America’s 10 Most Disruptive Small Businesses

We have some exciting news to share: 

Joe & Bella has been named one of the 10 Most Disruptive Small Businesses in America by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as part of its annual CO—100 list honoring 100 of the country’s top small businesses.

Out of thousands of businesses considered nationwide, Joe & Bella was recognized in the Disruptor category for the work we’re doing to rethink how clothing is designed for older adults and people with disabilities.

We’re incredibly proud of the recognition. But what makes it especially meaningful is why we received it.

Rethinking What Adaptive Clothing Can Be

Joe & Bella started with a simple idea: getting dressed shouldn’t have to be difficult.

For many older adults and people with disabilities, everyday details like buttons, zippers, cuffs and waistbands can turn getting dressed into a frustrating task. And for years, many of the clothing options designed to make dressing easier looked exactly like what they were: specialized, clinical products.

We believed there should be a better option.

That’s why we design clothing around real dressing needs, using innovations like hidden magnetic closures, easy-access zippers and thoughtful construction to make dressing simpler while still creating clothes people actually want to wear.

Because adaptive clothing for adults with disabilities shouldn’t mean compromising on personal style.

Why Being Called a “Disruptor” Matters to Us

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s CO—100 recognizes small businesses making an impact through innovation, growth and new ways of thinking.

For us, disrupting the apparel industry isn’t about creating technology for technology’s sake. It’s about questioning assumptions that have existed for far too long.

Why should a button-down shirt require two steady hands?

Why should easier dressing mean settling for clothing that looks medical?

Why shouldn’t clothing designed for an 80-year-old receive the same attention to fit, fabric and style as clothing designed for someone who is 30?

Those are the kinds of questions that continue to drive Joe & Bella.

“Adaptive fashion has been overlooked for far too long. We’re working to move the category forward and prove that clothing designed for older adults and people with disabilities can be every bit as stylish, thoughtful and innovative as anything else in the apparel industry.”

— Jimmy Zollo, Co-founder of Joe & Bella

How Joe & Bella Got Here

Joe & Bella was co-founded by father-and-son team Peter and Jimmy Zollo.

The idea grew out of Peter’s experience spending more than a decade helping care for his aging parents. He saw firsthand how something as ordinary as getting dressed could become increasingly difficult, and how few clothing options existed that made the process easier without sacrificing style.

That experience became the foundation for Joe & Bella.

Today, we continue to design clothing that helps people dress more easily and independently, whether they’re navigating arthritis, limited dexterity, changes in mobility, a disability or simply looking for an easier way to get dressed.

This latest recognition follows another milestone for our team: Joe & Bella was previously named a winner of CoCreate 2025, selected from more than 20,000 applicants by Shark Tank judges Daymond John and Lori Greiner.

This Recognition Belongs to Our Community, Too

Awards are exciting, but Joe & Bella wouldn't be where it is today without the people who have believed in what we're building.

To everyone who has worn our clothing, purchased something for a parent or loved one, recommended us to a friend, shared feedback with our team or simply told someone that better adaptive clothing exists: thank you.

Every piece of feedback helps us make the next product better. Every recommendation helps more people discover that getting dressed can be easier. And every person who chooses Joe & Bella helps demonstrate that older adults and people with disabilities deserve better options from the apparel industry.

Being named one of America’s most disruptive small businesses tells us we're moving in the right direction.

And we're just getting started.