I’m so excited to chat with this week’s guest Lauren Lee Crane, CEO and Co-Founder of Semaine Health. She is such a quiet force who’s deeply passionate about her work and her mission to change the femcare industry, not only through her products, but also with the conversations she’s fostering around women’s experiences.

We get personal and talk about taboo topics surrounding around our health and bodies. She shares how she started a business in the pandemic as an introvert, creative, and complete entrepreneurial newbie, found her role in the CPG and femcare spaces, and became a CEO that looks and acts differently than whatever stereotypes come to mind.

Whether you’re a solopreneur service provider or aiming to scale your product-based business to multi-million dollars in revenue like Lauren has, her story absolutely translates to whatever your business vision is.

This is an unedited transcript and the timestamps don’t match exactly with the final audio. Thanks for your understanding!

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Yeah.

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Scott, okay, I wanted to record on my computer, hold on. Record. Alright, there we go.

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Alright, Lauren, I’m so excited to talk with you. Listeners don’t know, but we just had a 15 min conversation.

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We did, we did!

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So, I am so, so excited to see where this, where this conversation leads. First and foremost, I would love for you to share what’s your personality type from any framework that resonates with you.

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Wonderful. Thanks so much, Ashley. So, okay, I know a couple of different sort of personality tests.

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I did Meyer’s Briggs like everybody does. So I’m I in Fj in that.

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That was a while ago. And then Anya Graham, I’ 3, but I’ve only taken that’s only been like an online I haven’t done like a deep dive into niogram, but my most recent one was with our mutual friend Heather I did my human design chart which I had never heard of previous to 2,023 I don’t think and so I’m a mansion, a

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Okay.

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manifesting generator. And it was really interesting because I feel like every other personality test I’ve taken a lot of it, you’re like, yep, yep, that’s exactly it.

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Okay.

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There were some things on my human design chart that I was like, That seems really wrong. And then diving into it more, it made me realize like a lot of what I considered like my personality traits were maybe some response to trauma or just how I’ve responded like societally to things.

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So I learned a lot. I highly recommend human design if anybody’s curious and diving deeper or you’ve done all the other personality tests and you want to figure out some other things.

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It’s been kind of eye-opening.

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Very cool. I’ll definitely link Heather in the show notes too and love that you’re in INFJ. So am I.

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Oh! Yes. I know me too. Do we just like connect?

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We are supposedly 1% of the population, but I think I meet a lot of them in my little orbit.

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We just gravitate towards each other.

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I think so. Yeah, I also feel like entrepreneurship sort of suits us. For a lot of reasons.

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I think you’re right.

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Also really funny that you are a manifesting generator because I feel like, I don’t know, 50% of my guests or something have been mansions.

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Really?

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Interesting.

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So I don’t know what it is about me attracting or resonating with mans, but yeah, you are you are in the majority I think for the podcast.

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Okay, very cool.

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So, Domain has had amazing growth in a pretty short amount of time. What is your current trajectory?

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What’s your vision for your life and your business? This is such a different ballgame than so many of us sort of online service providers are in.

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So yeah, what is your trajectory? What’s your vision?

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Well, and I just wanna preface that by saying too that this is an entrepreneurship is not my background like I feel like so many people I’ve met who are either starting CPGs or in service areas too.

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It’s like they they’ve always kind of known they’ve had that spark. My co-founder who’s my husband Matt he definitely is that way even though his background is completely research-based he’s a PhD in bioengineering.

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My background is completely creative. I’ve always been a graphic designer and art director before that when I was younger I wanted to be a ballet dancer and performer so there was like no business background, I wanted to be a ballet dancer and performer. So there was like no business background whatsoever approaching this.

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emp We are set for a really big year of growth again, which is very exciting. And when I say we’ve been growing, it’s like, you know, it’s not that like straight upward line there it’s waving all over the place we’ve had lots of highs we’ve had lots of lows like we were really grateful for all the things that we’ve been able to do so

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far and ways we’ve been able to expand but it hasn’t been linear and it hasn’t obviously been easy everybody who’s who owns their own business knows that but saying that we we did essentially become a multi-million dollar company last year and just thinking about it too from the same point where we’re at and if a lot of people who are listening are sort of in the service provider industry sphere.

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It’s a little bit different with CPG. We are, we bootstrap to start, but we do have investors now.

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So when I’m talking about multimillion, that’s in revenue that’s not in profit.

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It’s, we, we definitely have, you know, some major financing behind us and we’re hoping to grow that even more this year.

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And the goal with Semain has always been to grow a really strong brand and then to exit to sell.

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It wasn’t meant to be a family business and that was mainly just because we knew how hard it would be to grow a business and that we wanted to grow it really fast.

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Because it’s kind of ironic. The women’s health space is sort of like very trendy now because it hasn’t been before and so it’s kind of an interesting time to be in it.

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And so the goal over the next 2 years is to really grow it as much as we can and then exit with a large strategic company or exit in some way working with a larger health company that can bring some into an even bigger audience.

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Yeah.

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Okay, so much to unpack there. And you say it so seamlessly, but those are all huge things working with your husband.

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Yes.

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Completely shifting industry. Tackling women’s health. That’s what our 15 plus minute conversation before we hit record with all about.

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Yes.

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Yeah, I can hear it.

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And I know we were talking about how Oh, I have a siren, sorry. Oh, okay, yeah, that was that was super close.

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Okay.

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Yep.

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Okay. Alright, I’m the one that’s gonna have to get cut out. Okay, yeah, we were talking about how underfunded and under researched and And how horrible the patient experience can be, how sort of underestimated we are in our own wisdom of our own bodies and I am so so grateful that a company like yours that is funded that is growing that is making it stamp.

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On the world focuses so heavily on women’s experiences on their bodies, on their needs. And that is such a beautiful gift that you are giving to the world.

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And I feel like that’s something that could easily be crossed over, but it is absolutely worth celebrating.

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Oh, actually, thank you so much. That means so much because I really it’s funny we started cement, so my background is I have endometriosis and it took me 15 years to get diagnosed, the average amount of time is about 7 years for white women and then about twice that much for women of color and you know that’s one of so many quote unquote diseases or conditions that women can face.

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I should say people with uterus is women. I’m saying anybody who identifies as such and also has a uterus and ovaries or has had them, there’s so many conditions, whether it’s Indo, whether it’s PCOS, this fibroids, there’s so many things that affect most of us at some point in our life and having to go through those things, any

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listeners who have had to do that, you realize how little support there is. And it’s not that doctors, I’m not at all vilifying doctors, it’s not that they don’t want to help, just the education and the research isn’t there.

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And so being able to provide an educational platform in addition to a product that I hope also helps women is so so important to me because I’ve learned so much.

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Okay.

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Starting a supplement company about women’s house because I’ve just had to become more knowledgeable and partly to also help with my own condition of having endometriosis and I also PCOS it’s just like the secondary condition that I have and having to learn so much about both of those things.

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And as we’re expanding our product line, we launched our Minopause product a year and a half ago, and I’m not yet in Perry Menopause or Minopause, so having to learn so much about that and realizing, oh, this is yet again another massive area where it’s so underfunded and there’s very little research and women usually are at their wits in by the time they’re trying to

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find solutions because there isn’t a lot of support and there isn’t a lot of help out there.

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Yep.

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Yeah, so I also have PCOS and I had to self diagnose. I went down like this health rabbit hole and figured out oh man I check all these boxes and I sort of had to ask my doctor do you agree and and it didn’t even really it was sort of like probably but just stay on the pill and then like probably but just stay on the pill and then it like it’s just fine like.

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Yeah.

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Oh my gosh, actually I have the same thing. That’s how I did it with my indo diagnosis.

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I was like, I, I was googling online, googling Dr. Google, trying to figure it all out and was like, I literally fit every single one of these things for endometriosis, took it to my doctor, it was like, I literally fit every single one of these things for endometriosis, took it to my doctor and she’s like, And that was the end of the conversation.

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It’s been ambulance for close. Yeah, it is so frustrating to have to diagnose yourself.

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Yeah.

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You’re not the one with the medical degree. You’re not the one with all the time to research all of the symptoms.

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I sort of stumbled upon it and Endo is so much more invasive and disruptive than PCOS.

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It can be. Yeah.

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Yeah.

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So I’m just so sorry that it took you so long to be diagnosed and like, it’s just so annoying that so many other people are having that same experience.

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Yep.

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I mean, hopefully conversations like this, platforms like yours, VSMA, are changing that and however quickly or slowly.

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And I also, it’s so funny because we were in Yellow Co’s guidance groups together.

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So I know menopause and your menopause supplement was on your mind. So I think of you as the menopause woman, which I love.

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Love it.

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I love that for you and I love that you are raising that conversation because it is such a mystery and such a taboo topic.

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Exactly.

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For pretty much everyone. So I’d love that you are taking the taboo off the table or shining a light on it.

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Yep.

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So it has it’s you know the centerpiece of the table. I just think that’s such a beautiful role to play.

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Yep.

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And, and that’s for me the power of business. You’re using a CPP, you’re using a supplement line.

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To have these much bigger conversations and much broader impact, which I just think is so, so cool.

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Thanks, actually, yeah, that’s exactly, and that’s what gives us life, you know, it’s like running your own business is hard and we’ve gone through periods that it just feels like, you know, sort of drudgery, like day-to-day just pulling things along and trying to make things happen, trying to make things grow and getting into conversations with customers or even

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non-customers who are asking about, you know, we don’t give medical advice, but it’s like, you know, we don’t give medical advice, but it’s like, this is what I’m experiencing is, has anybody else experienced this or, you know, these are my symptoms with Perry Menopause.

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Will this help with that? And so often that’s helpful because A lot of people are isolated and by themselves, either they don’t feel like they can talk to family or friends or even doctors about it.

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A lot of the times there’s even hesitancy to talk to doctors. And or they just think they’re going crazy and they’re like I don’t know what’s happening and like I tried your supplements and I feel great you know those conversations mean everything because yeah that’s what we want to do is help people feel better you know we didn’t we didn’t even though I was just talking about

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yeah we want to go our business and we want to exit and we want to sell which would be great but we didn’t start some to make money.

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I’m guessing there’s easier ways to do it. We didn’t start something to do that.

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It really was to do it. We didn’t start something to do that. It really was because it was answering my to do that.

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It really was because it was answering my own pain point and realizing there were so many other people out there that We’re desperate for answers, you know, whether it’s period pain like I had with endometriosis or recurrent UTIs.

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We have a urinary tract supplement because One thing I just learned too is that as you move into menopause and post menopause, your UTI recurrence really increases just because of estrogen levels decreasing.

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Estrogen does really help block a lot of bacteria. This is all stuff we never learn, but so UTI has become much more frequent as you age.

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I think a lot of people think of UTIs and that’s what happens to twenty-something college girls who are having a lot of sex.

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It’s like, yes, it can happen when you’re younger, but it will definitely happen.

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As you get older and the more prepared we can be for those things even if we don’t want to think about it.

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And it sounds like horrible. It actually is. They’ve done studies where things are much easier if you know what to expect, obviously, right?

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If you know this is normal and there are things I can do about it.

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Hmm, yes. And coming back to your idea of there are probably easier ways to make money. Yes.

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Yes.

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Yep.

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It is probably much easier to find a high paying job than it is to create. An empire, right?

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Yeah.

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But you’re part of a movement, right? It’s on your own terms. It’s based on your own values.

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It’s based on your own vision, which is such a priceless gift. That you receive and also that you give.

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Yeah. Yeah.

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And so, yes, mirroring that for sure on a much smaller scale in my personal experience and basically every entrepreneur I’ve talked with, it’s it comes down to the passion, right?

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Absolutely.

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The vision, the mission. Why you keep showing up every single day.

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Yep, absolutely.

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So what was the one decision or experience that changed the trajectory of your life?

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I mean, we sort of touched on it a little bit, but definitely my endogenosis, I feel like You know, a lot of people start companies and start their own businesses to help people because they’ve experienced a pain point and that was definitely the case for me.

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I have always had super painful periods, but like we were just talking about, never get diagnosed with anything, I was just told to take more painkillers go and stay on birth control and that those are really the only options.

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Those are usually the only options now if you go to your gynecologist and you’re like I have period paid they’re like go on birth control take ibuprofen and I’m sorry and it’s it’s understandable too because I think there’s been you know because periods are kind of like considered taboo still like most people don’t talk about them there’s this idea that periods kind of

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are painful, which apparently that that doesn’t have to be the case. I mean, most people experience period pain.

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But a lot of people don’t and there’s not like wires in through research into that.

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Like why aren’t there things you know? You know if men were experiencing painful periods, there would be hundreds and hundreds of pills, supplements, things that could help them with that.

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We always talk about like, you know, how many different pharmaceutical options there are for erectile dysfunction.

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And yet there’s like right now on the market, they’re still, you know, MIDL and Pamphrine that haven’t really changed since the, I don’t know, seventys or eightys.

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They’re basically just packaged ibuprofen, you know, but for periods. And that’s insane to me that there are more options out there.

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And all of this did change with my own experience with endometriosis, having to self-diagnose.

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I also with Indo, you’re right, it can be pretty severe, so I ended up in the hospital.

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With an emergency surgery to get rid of an endometrial mode which is basically like a benign tumor on my left ovary.

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And that all happened because I wasn’t taken seriously and the doctors were just like, oh yeah, pain kind of sucks.

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You should just take pain, pain meds. And after decades of taking, you know, the allotted amount that you’re supposed to take of ibuprofen.

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Basically my stomach lying is completely shot. And so I was looking for other options to help with my period pain that was plant-based that you know I had already become plant-based with my food and I was trying to clean up like all of the products I used, but I was taking loads of ibuprofen until I cut it.

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And so I really wanted something that could help with my pain that would also not hurt my body. Goal.

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And luckily I married Matt. The scientists in the brains behind the formulation of all of our products and he was with me on this indo journey and he was like we are going to make this better for you we are going to look at the clinical research around painful periods and we’re going to figure out how to make a plant-based supplement for you that actually works.

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And so that Really it was my health journey that was the big the big turning point

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Yes.

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What a stroke of fate to have found a partner like that not only with the knowledge but also the emotional capacity to take that on.

00:17:10.017 –> 00:17:19.067
Exactly, yes.

00:17:19.067 –> 00:17:35.919
Yeah. Yeah, what, a powerful story to have to share and to be the guiding force behind this main.

00:17:35.919 –> 00:17:51.468
Yeah, and very similar along those lines. What are some of your guiding values that the main holds or you hold personally and how have they sparked action in your business?

00:17:51.468 –> 00:17:58.270
Definitely the 2 that come to mind is their empathy and empowerment. Definitely the empathy is something my own personal value as well and I think, you know, having gone through a very difficult time and had vulnerable moments with my body and my health.

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I think it helps me be much more empathetic to whatever else anybody else is going through and having to battle.

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But as a company, the empathy is really important because we make products that are specifically for pain points that we can do that can be excruciating, whether it’s a horrible UTI, whether you feel crazy because you’re going through Perry Minopause and you’re estrogen and progesterone are changing and that’s creating tons of mood swings and tons of rain fog, which just feels really

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scary. It’s so important for us to spend. A lot of time and resources on our customer service so that there’s most of the time it’s my twin sister who’s one of my co-founders who’s at the other end of customer service.

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We have a small team now she uses 2 other people with her but it’s so important for us it’s not an AI bot like it’s a real person answering people’s questions and interacting them to resources that can help and give them resources that they can take to their own doctors so they have more more education and more information so the doctors can help them more because again a lot of the time if you go to the doctor

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you’re just like I’m in pain and that’s why they just say take paid medication because if you don’t have the language to even explain what’s going on, we always talk about it too because there’s there’s so little education for ourselves as women around our bodies that even talking about, let’s say, if you have pain around your vault, like most of us would call that a

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vagina. We haven’t even been told the difference between a vagina and vulva and so that makes it harder just talking to your doctor not knowing and being able to say this is where it’s painful and how it’s painful.

00:19:53.821 –> 00:20:02.718
And, so. Along with that empathy is that empowerment that I think comes through education and understanding more about your body and not being embarrassed by your body or even embarrassed by your lack of knowledge because we just aren’t taught these things like we to other women entrepreneurs who are sort of in the period in menopause space we always talk about like we want to be the eighth grade health class education that we never

00:20:02.718 –> 00:20:12.170
got, that we should have been learning about not just how to put a condom on a banana or that we shouldn’t be having sex, we should be learning about the cycles of our period.

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We should be learning about perimetopausal menopause. So you know, 30, 40 years from that point, these are things that you’re gonna feel and that’s normal.

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We just have no education. You know, we count on the fact that maybe families will pass down that information, but there aren’t when we’ve talked to other women those conversations, you’re not talking about Perry Menopause with your aunts and your mom, usually.

00:20:38.520 –> 00:20:39.080
Like, that doesn’t happen. So it’s really important for us to have that angle of education so women feel empowered to either go to the doctor of education so women feel empowered to either go to their doctor or talk to other people and talk to either go to their doctor or talk to other people and talk to their family members, talk to their friends members, talk to their friends about their health and how they’re

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feeling.

00:20:50.418 –> 00:20:57.317
Oh.

00:20:57.317 –> 00:21:05.219
Yep.

00:21:05.219 –> 00:21:09.517
Yeah. One of the most Interesting books I’ve ever read is taking charge of your fertility and because I put PCOS I couldn’t really follow it because it just my cycles just aren’t how they’re you know quote unquote supposed to be but they even touch on that right they even touch on here are the phases that are quote unquote normal but also it is so common to have anomalies in your cycle

00:21:09.517 –> 00:21:16.768
Yep.

00:21:16.768 –> 00:21:20.367
for whatever reason. Whether it is some sort of border or disease, whether it is stress or anything else that’s going on in your life, you know, illness that can change your cycle, right?

00:21:20.367 –> 00:21:33.819
Yep.

00:21:33.819 –> 00:21:38.968
So, It that was such an interesting book that I feel every woman should already know and because we don’t grow up knowing these things should read as an adult or as a teen.

00:21:38.968 –> 00:21:43.619
And so I’ll definitely link that in the show notes. I know you have a lot of favorite women’s health books as well.

00:21:43.619 –> 00:21:55.121
I don’t know if you have a list somewhere or if, if any come to mind that you want to share.

00:21:55.121 –> 00:22:04.868
I can definitely send you lists, but just like thinking off the cuff right now, there’s a book that’s called period.

00:22:04.868 –> 00:22:10.469
There’s actually 2 books called period and this there’s one that was started around the period movement but the the book I’m thinking about is by Maisie Hill who’s a British author and that teaches you so much about the different phases and your menstrual cycle.

00:22:10.469 –> 00:22:30.369
There’s also the menopause manifesto, which is amazing. I think that’s Dr.

00:22:30.369 –> 00:22:41.846
Jen Gutner who wrote that and that is also a great book to read even before you hit Perry Menopause or any way close to it or definitely if you’re in it and have gone through it and we’re just like that was wild and what just happened I wish that I had been around before and I had known. I wish that I had been around before and I had known about it.

00:22:41.846 –> 00:22:47.622
Another great book to read if you’re sort of in midlife is known about it. Another great book to read if you’re sort of in midlife is what to read if you’re sort of in midlife is what fresh hell is this she is an amazing comedian I’m going blank on her name but I will make sure you have this. She is an amazing comedian.

00:22:47.622 –> 00:22:51.921
I’m going blank on her name. She is an amazing comedian. I’m going blank on her name, but I will make sure you have this list so you can link on her name, but I will make sure you have this list so you can link it in the show notes, Ashley.

00:22:51.921 –> 00:23:02.220
They’re books that are so empowering because you begin to know your body better and there’s times where you’re reading them and you’re like, oh, OK, this makes sense.

00:23:02.220 –> 00:23:19.471
And maybe these are things you don’t want to have. You don’t want painful periods, you don’t want to have hot flashes, but knowing other people are going through them as well and that it’s very normal.

00:23:19.471 –> 00:23:24.619
Is, is just It helps so much. It is such, such a huge help. And, and yeah, I just recommend every woman just getting as educated as they can around their different life cycles and different things that are gonna happen.

00:23:24.619 –> 00:23:42.318
It’s funny because when you go to the doctor, they always ask you, when was the first day of your last period?

00:23:42.318 –> 00:23:51.870
And they don’t explain why they’re asking that they’re asking that and I don’t ever know any doctor who’s ever been like that’s interesting so how was your period how was this cycle compared to the last cycle it’s weird that you know there is there is some sort of impetus to be aware of the menstrual cycle and I don’t know if now they’re just asking it to

00:23:51.870 –> 00:24:08.198
know if you’re pregnant or not. But there’s so much information you can glean from your menstrual cycle.

00:24:08.198 –> 00:24:19.321
And as you said, it could be like, oh, different conditions or diseases or maybe being sick. Or it could just be like, this could help you know that maybe the fourteenth day of your mental cycle every month, you are going to feel amazing and then by the seventeenth day you’re going to feel like crap and just being aware of that really helps you sort of like schedule things if you can or be less hard on

00:24:19.321 –> 00:24:29.318
yourself. Because you know you’re going to have less energy at this point in your cycle. I always like to tell people that, you know, the work day is based on a 24 h cycle, which we all have hormones.

00:24:29.318 –> 00:24:35.719
Men and women have hormones that are based around the 20 four-hour cycle but women also have these hormones that are based around essentially the lunar calendar, the 28 day cycle, roughly give or take.

00:24:35.719 –> 00:24:55.570
But men just have that 24 h cycle and the workday is basically based around that when testosterone peaks and dips.

00:24:55.570 –> 00:25:03.821
So for most men when you wake up in the morning your test asteroids high you’re getting ready you go to work you’re working out whatever by the end of the day your test testering is lowing which is you know you’re going home you’re resting getting ready for the next day for women we have that added additional cycle that’s happening throughout the month so we’ll have days where we feel like we can

00:25:03.821 –> 00:25:12.669
power through things in days where we can’t, whereas men are a lot more consistent in the workday and our whole society is sort of built around that much easier.

00:25:12.669 –> 00:25:28.569
So days when you feel really tired and you’re frustrated at yourself, just know that we’re not set up to work really well with with female hormones.

00:25:28.569 –> 00:25:29.069
Yeah, cycle thinking is something I always wanted to be able to do and then I just again because I just physically did not follow that pattern I could not but there are so many amazing resources specifically for business owners around cycle seeking.

00:25:29.069 –> 00:25:34.769
Yeah, yep.

00:25:34.769 –> 00:25:37.918
I don’t have any specifically that come to mind. I will link the for books that you just mentioned in the show notes.

00:25:37.918 –> 00:25:55.017
Okay.

00:25:55.017 –> 00:25:57.721
Yeah.

00:25:57.721 –> 00:26:06.369
But I feel like if you want to go down the rabbit hole type, you know, cycle sinking for business owners and I there are so many Instagram accounts blogs podcasts so many resources around optimizing your energy listening to your body being in tune with the natural cycles that your body goes through so that you can be the best.

00:26:06.369 –> 00:26:08.169
Yeah.

00:26:08.169 –> 00:26:11.188
Business owner but also all your other hats and roles that you have and where. I think it’s such a powerful tool that is so overlooked.

00:26:11.188 –> 00:26:23.269
By so many people.

00:26:23.269 –> 00:26:28.669
Absolutely, and I love that it’s getting more play, like the more people know about it. And I know a lot of people tend to think like, well, even if I know I’m gonna feel great during this part of my cycle and not so great like I can’t reschedule my life around my cycle.

00:26:28.669 –> 00:26:42.171
I mean, I always tell people like, that’s okay, it’s just being able to give yourself that little bit of grace to be like.

00:26:42.171 –> 00:26:45.768
I know I’m not gonna fill my best today and that’s okay. I think that’s the most important thing because yeah as a business owner you know there days you’re gonna feel kind of crappy and you still have to do like your pitches, you still have to try to reach out to people and that just has to happen.

00:26:45.768 –> 00:26:53.185
But being able to give yourself some grace is so important.

00:26:53.185 –> 00:27:00.968
Yes, so along those lines, what has been the biggest lesson? You’ve learned as an entrepreneur.

00:27:00.968 –> 00:27:13.419
Is it is it that ability to give grace or is it something bigger different? What’s a big lesson that you’ve learned?

00:27:13.419 –> 00:27:24.466
Yeah, actually it’s along those lines. I mean, definitely resilience, which I feel like, you know, you hear that a lot, but in order to be able to work with those eps and flows and the highest loads of owning a business.

00:27:24.466 –> 00:27:27.969
The resilience part is important but what goes with that, which I think is sort of hand in hand with this idea of grace, is the rest period too, which I know that just sounds like, well, of course you need to rest.

00:27:27.969 –> 00:27:32.420
But honestly, what’s really funny to me with the main, I was never a napper in my life.

00:27:32.420 –> 00:27:43.193
I’ve never been able to nap. I’m not a good sleeper and I’m not a good napper.

00:27:43.193 –> 00:27:49.969
Even when I was a teenager, like I never went through that period where you sleep 10 HA day, I slept 6 h every single night in college, I maybe slept 4 or 5, like I just, I don’t sleep and I don’t nap.

00:27:49.969 –> 00:27:53.568
And with the main, I find that it’s not so much long hours, because that’s what you kind of expect.

00:27:53.568 –> 00:28:03.918
There’s days you have to put in long hours, but working in ad agencies before I had to do that.

00:28:03.918 –> 00:28:21.184
So what really really has changed, I don’t know if it’s my brain chemistry or just the amount of tiredness that I can feel as a business owner is the decision.

00:28:21.184 –> 00:28:33.018
Fatigue. I feel like every single moment of every single day there’ll be days where it’s just back to back to back making pretty big decisions that I mean my brain just goes into overdrive and I can feel it burning out and I’ll just have to lay down and literally take a 15 min nap.

00:28:33.018 –> 00:28:40.118
And I’ve never done that in my adult life, in my teenage life, but I just have to do it because I, I am so mentally and emotionally tired from that decision-making cycle and I cannot be resilient without that.

00:28:40.118 –> 00:28:51.517
I cannot bounce up and do the next thing and I’ve learned that the hard way that I really do have to rest.

00:28:51.517 –> 00:29:01.671
And I think partly to owning your own business, right? If you don’t put the boundaries in at all, you can just sort of spin out and keep pushing and pushing and pushing because your work is with you all the time.

00:29:01.671 –> 00:29:13.018
But realizing you can’t have that resilience without having that rest. And whether that’s napping or not, it doesn’t have to be napping, but whatever rest is for you.

00:29:13.018 –> 00:29:15.068
Oh. Yes, yes.

00:29:15.068 –> 00:29:23.818
Yeah, I think that’s an important caveat. I know there’s this TED Talk circulating about the like the 7 types of rest or something there’s like spiritual rest and physical rest and creative rest and all sorts of things.

00:29:23.818 –> 00:29:24.468
So whatever that rest looks like for you in that moment. Love you are now like a CEO power napper.

00:29:24.468 –> 00:29:30.268
Yup. Yes.

00:29:30.268 –> 00:29:34.617
I love that for you. I am also got an napper even in like the thick of I have a newborn or like a sick toddler.

00:29:34.617 –> 00:29:38.569
Yep. Yep.

00:29:38.569 –> 00:29:42.317
Nope. I just cannot physically nap unless I’m like deathly ill and even then it’s like that weird half sleep that sort of leaves you more tired.

00:29:42.317 –> 00:29:44.417
Yeah, yeah.

00:29:44.417 –> 00:29:50.018
Exactly, exactly. No, I can totally relate. Yes, so I, I don’t know what switched it for me.

00:29:50.018 –> 00:29:54.567
There was some point, yes, so I don’t know what what switched it for me. There was some point like 2 years into Sumay that I was Okay, and now I’m gonna go to sleep.

00:29:54.567 –> 00:29:59.567
Yeah.

00:29:59.567 –> 00:30:08.768
I don’t do this daily, but there’s just certain like there’s certain weeks that get really intense and I’m just like that’s it I can tell I’ve hit my limit and I’ve just got to step away for just a little bit.

00:30:08.768 –> 00:30:15.068
Yeah.

00:30:15.068 –> 00:30:22.218
Good for you for listening to that. And that decision fatigue is so real, no matter what scale your business is, I imagine it’s a lot more pressure, you know, when you are a multi 1 million dollar company, when you have investors and customers and team members.

00:30:22.218 –> 00:30:25.817
Vouch for to be accountable to. But in general, we are all the CEOs of our own business, right?

00:30:25.817 –> 00:30:31.118
Yeah. Yeah.

00:30:31.118 –> 00:30:36.317
Of our own life too, however you have our own household, however you want to view it, and our entire role all day is to make those decisions.

00:30:36.317 –> 00:30:36.768
Yep.

00:30:36.768 –> 00:30:44.018
Decisions on how we spend our time decisions on how we allocate our resources, decisions on the conversations.

00:30:44.018 –> 00:30:56.018
We have, how we have them, the the prices we set, the products we create, all the things.

00:30:56.018 –> 00:31:01.068
And that’s why I am such an advocate for values is because It takes out a tiny bit at least of the emotional stress that comes with all of those decisions.

00:31:01.068 –> 00:31:10.318
At least you have a framework. I believe in these things. I want to be known for these things.

00:31:10.318 –> 00:31:19.567
I want to make people feel these things. So you’re not operating from 0 every single time. You have that starting point.

00:31:19.567 –> 00:31:25.018
You already had the very intentional self-reflection of these are my values. This is what my priority is and you’re able to check for alignment.

00:31:25.018 –> 00:31:45.968
Rather than. You know, just grasping at straws of, oh, is this an opportunity I should pursue?

00:31:45.968 –> 00:31:48.070
Yes.

00:31:48.070 –> 00:31:49.917
How should I pursue it? And even I don’t I don’t know how this ties to your values, but I’m even thinking of the way you show up so authentically and I know from our guidance groups conversations that you wore pink sparkly cowboy boots to meet really big traditional investors, right?

00:31:49.917 –> 00:32:09.821
Yeah

00:32:09.821 –> 00:32:26.618
And I love that for you. Like that is how you’re able to show up as yourself. That’s how you’re able to tell your story in the most authentic way and if they don’t resonate with your pink sparkly cowboy boots how in the world are they going to resonate with your vision how are they going to put their not only money behind what you’re building but also their

00:32:26.618 –> 00:32:31.668
passion and their belief and their trust in you, right? So I All that to say, the decision fatigue is so real and showing up in alignment with ourselves and our vision is the the best antidote I have come across.

00:32:31.668 –> 00:32:33.317
Oh my gosh, Ashley, that’s so good. Do you like do this for a full-time job or something?

00:32:33.317 –> 00:32:51.419
Yeah.

00:32:51.419 –> 00:32:57.417
No, seriously, so, so good and it’s such a good reminder. And yeah, I don’t know why I don’t have sparkly boots as one of my values because that really is it really is one somehow some way but it’s it’s so true because I think I often the fatigue does come because you can’t ground yourself in something because you’re just Like, okay.

00:32:57.417 –> 00:33:12.368
I gotta, I gotta move forward, I gotta keep going, I gotta make this decision, and then the next decision keep doing things.

00:33:12.368 –> 00:33:24.618
But it was interesting you bringing up wearing the sparkly boots to invest your meetings because I think that is a big thing that I’ve learned is trying not to be what I thought a CEO was supposed to be like.

00:33:24.618 –> 00:33:42.718
I’m sure everybody has felt imposter syndrome at some point or other. I definitely never thought I’d be the CEO of a big if a company let alone a supplement company never thought I’d be selling supplements.

00:33:42.718 –> 00:34:04.269
You know, like I said, my background is creative and art direction and I’m kind of artsy fart see and that just didn’t seem to align with what a CEO was and we were specifically getting a lot of insights from people in the SAS world when we were first starting Simaine because we had some family connections.

00:34:04.269 –> 00:34:13.868
In the sort of San Francisco startup world and you know I was like wow I’m not going to wear a Patagonia jacket and I’m not gonna like I was just like this is so different like I’m I’m that’s not me and what really helped when we were first starting actually we were put in touch with the CEO and founder of the Honeypot, which is another femme care

00:34:13.868 –> 00:34:34.819
brand. I’m sure a lot of people are familiar with it. And being really inspired by their CEO B Dixon because she really did things her own way.

00:34:34.819 –> 00:34:43.818
I mean, apart from being one of the first black women to raise, I think, multi-million dollars from investors for a CPG company, but she didn’t do it looking like somebody in a Patagonia jacket, you know, a white dude at a Patagonia jacket she did it her own way and even told her her her pitch and her story was talking about her ancestors coming to her to dream

00:34:43.818 –> 00:34:56.018
and talking about the formulation, you know? And so being able to do that and seeing somebody who was able to do that, I was like, well, I can wear those damn sparkly boots.

00:34:56.018 –> 00:35:02.867
Like, that’s nothing in comparison. It was helpful just to see other examples of a really big expansive person thinking big that didn’t look like the classic

00:35:02.867 –> 00:35:09.067
Yes, I think that’s a lesson we can all translate to however we show up even if we do sort of look like or fit into traditional boxes.

00:35:09.067 –> 00:35:15.186
Our point of view, our lived experiences are going to be unique. That’s why people come to us.

00:35:15.186 –> 00:35:34.318
Right? It’s about being able to communicate what those are. So yeah, such a wonderful example.

00:35:34.318 –> 00:35:47.718
And I’d love to know, given your Sort of newfound, I mean you’re 4 years in so you are not a new CEO, but given your newfound ish expertise with running a company with being in the CPG space with being in the women’s health space.

00:35:47.718 –> 00:35:59.767
Anya or all of the above what tactical tip do you have for fellow business leaders? Something that they could apply to their business in whatever way they show up.

00:35:59.767 –> 00:36:10.668
This is going to sound really obvious at the top level, but I would tell people to take the meetings with anybody and everybody you can within your industry, especially if you’re new to it.

00:36:10.668 –> 00:36:19.317
So for instance, obviously we didn’t know anything about starting a CPG company or going into retail, which actually has heard me talk ad nauseam about how difficult that journey is.

00:36:19.317 –> 00:36:29.018
And I knew. Absolutely nothing, and I didn’t know what I didn’t know, I didn’t know who to talk to, I didn’t even know what, what like sort of questions I should be asking.

00:36:29.018 –> 00:36:40.170
The more people I met and the more people I who put me in touch with other people, even if it seemed like kind of really fairly a tenuous connection.

00:36:40.170 –> 00:36:58.317
It was so helpful to just be able to pick people’s brains, but also not have expectations coming out of the conversations like, oh, maybe this person can put me in touch with a fundraiser.

00:36:58.317 –> 00:37:09.118
Maybe this person knows this investment banker who knows all these people at this strategic place, you know, it’s like it was literally just being like, okay, this person is saying they know somebody who, if they’re in the same care space or if they’re in like, yeah, any other sort of CPG area.

00:37:09.118 –> 00:37:16.218
Learning from their experience but also being able to just learn the industry lingo I think was really helpful as we were growing.

00:37:16.218 –> 00:37:27.969
And again it wasn’t even something I didn’t know, I didn’t know. And a lot of the times I feel like I would get these emails.

00:37:27.969 –> 00:37:33.767
From people who are interested in learning about swimming and I was like I don’t really know these people and I’m not sure if it’s somebody I should be talking to, but I would reach back out and talk to them and eventually would leap.

00:37:33.767 –> 00:37:43.968
This sounds like networking. Basically it’s networking during the pandemic because we launched it, we launched it when nobody was networking, right?

00:37:43.968 –> 00:38:00.969
We didn’t have opportunities to go to conferences, which is a lot of what CPG is based around a lot of conferences that happen throughout the year or trade shows and we couldn’t do that.

00:38:00.969 –> 00:38:21.717
So we had to get really creative about that. And so it’s probably a little bit different now, but even saying that, I feel like it was so important to just grab those half an hours with people to be able to get insights into really anything.

00:38:21.717 –> 00:38:31.668
And the big thing for us was trying to figure out like We had some advisors who gave us great advice, but also we’re coming from their very very specific sort of point of view and Leaning in really heavily with them early on because we didn’t know any better and I just wish we had had sort of like a wider scope to understand that everybody’s path is different.

00:38:31.668 –> 00:38:46.168
Which seems obvious now that I’m saying it but really not something you see when you’re just like trying to glean information and move forward at the start of a business.

00:38:46.168 –> 00:38:51.868
This is sort of, I know that’s not like a super, super tactical thing, but I think that is what got us to being able to understand the tactics around selling into retail and investing.

00:38:51.868 –> 00:39:11.017
Those were the 2 big things that we had like no idea about, no idea how to fundraise.

00:39:11.017 –> 00:39:20.668
And it was really like with our fundraising it was a random investment banker who reached out to us and was like hey I can put you in touch with some private equity groups with some venture groups and we were like Oh, okay, and we ended up going with a PE group that he had put us in touch with, we would have never talked to them or known about them otherwise.

00:39:20.668 –> 00:39:39.068
And they’ve been great partners and so it’s like connections like that which seem kind of random and kind of weird to just pursue.

00:39:39.068 –> 00:39:49.768
The second thing, which I think is really helpful, especially when you’re first starting, is is definitely get over things having to be perfect before you put them out there and this is coming from somebody who is a perfectionist and recovering perfectionist and trying to get over it.

00:39:49.768 –> 00:39:56.268
But for some reason with content with product, I’m not a perfectionist and we were able to get our product launched fairly quickly because I was like, we just needed to go out there.

00:39:56.268 –> 00:40:07.767
We just needed to be out on the shelf and we can tweak and we can fix and we can do all the things once it’s launched.

00:40:07.767 –> 00:40:13.668
I think a lot of businesses which again this could be different for service industry but everybody has a product whether it’s sending emails creating a podcast making sure you’re sending stuff out there.

00:40:13.668 –> 00:40:22.368
I feel like it’s so easy to get mired down and trying to get the details exactly right.

00:40:22.368 –> 00:40:36.918
And it’s really helpful on our team that we have sort of like 2 different types of people, the people that just want to keep rolling things out and the people who are really careful and thinking through things a lot.

00:40:36.918 –> 00:40:51.869
So I will say one of the biggest tactical tips that I do give people too is If you’re starting a CPG company, I think it’s very different from service base, but starting a company having a co-founder.

00:40:51.869 –> 00:40:56.568
And all of you, Ashley, I’m at all if everybody who starts their own business and runs it by themselves because I do think that decision fatigue is real, even if you’re not a multi-million dollar company, that decision fatigue, having to do that by yourself.

00:40:56.568 –> 00:41:08.919
Having a co-founder was like key for me. I don’t think, you know, and when I’m up, he’s down and vice versa.

00:41:08.919 –> 00:41:35.619
So we’re able to help each other. And then we’re very Luckily we’re still married together, but we bl the heads often time when it comes to how our sort of work styles are.

00:41:35.619 –> 00:41:41.767
I would say like coming from an ad agency background, I am all about execution and getting things done and turning things out the door, coming from a very academic, very rigorously academic background where you are coming up with your own projects but you were like deeply immersing yourself in all of the research and all of the research and always thinking what else could be dug up or what else you can explore is amazing because then our products become

00:41:41.767 –> 00:41:50.818
better and whatever we turn out becomes better. But then I can help push them out the door. So being able to have like.

00:41:50.818 –> 00:41:55.818
2 different sides of that. If we were just pushing stuff out the door, I’m sure, you know, things go out with typos or whatever because I’m pushing too fast and too hard.

00:41:55.818 –> 00:42:03.668
So luckily I’ve met to help me like balance that out and making sure we’re creating the best product.

00:42:03.668 –> 00:42:05.418
In that we can actually get it to people. That was just a bunch of rambling on things that maybe were.

00:42:05.418 –> 00:42:15.767
Not at all. You said, oh, I don’t know how tactical this is. Absolutely tactical.

00:42:15.767 –> 00:42:18.968
Yes.

00:42:18.968 –> 00:42:26.717
Networking, allocating time and attention without setting those expectations like you said that is so technical. I have relationships today actually mostly from the 2,020 era.

00:42:26.717 –> 00:42:28.968
That are still some of my closest business friends because I was doing a lot of networking, right?

00:42:28.968 –> 00:42:33.068
Right. Yep.

00:42:33.068 –> 00:42:33.517
Yep.

00:42:33.517 –> 00:42:39.417
How do you meet referral partners? From networking, right? How can people, I mean, of course, from existing clients, but like, how can.

00:42:39.417 –> 00:42:41.316
How can people know about what you’re creating if you don’t tell them about it, right?

00:42:41.316 –> 00:42:55.518
Yeah.

00:42:55.518 –> 00:42:58.267
How can you learn from other people? If you don’t open the door to that conversation. And I think that’s kind of the golden rule of networking is that no expectation of not just, okay, this person gonna be a client, is this person gonna be an investor?

00:42:58.267 –> 00:43:01.468
Yep.

00:43:01.468 –> 00:43:06.367
Is this person gonna, you know, XYZ? But also knowing that you could very well have the key to whatever their problem is.

00:43:06.367 –> 00:43:12.318
Exactly.

00:43:12.318 –> 00:43:19.068
Without you could be sitting on it and not even know it, right? And they say something and you’re like, I just met this amazing person or my, my, you know, uncle’s best friend does that or whatever.

00:43:19.068 –> 00:43:29.368
It is you could be the solution that they’ve been waiting for as well. Which is the magic of networking.

00:43:29.368 –> 00:43:35.567
And so I think that’s a wonderful. Tip and then that perfectionism. Bug is a recurring theme on the podcast.

00:43:35.567 –> 00:43:43.718
Yeah. Yep.

00:43:43.718 –> 00:43:47.117
It is, I feel like especially common amongst women, but just in general. I have only recently come to learn that one of the most generous things we can do is get it out in the world, right?

00:43:47.117 –> 00:43:48.268
Yeah, yep.

00:43:48.268 –> 00:43:55.268
We want it to be good. We want it to be, we want it to be maybe even excellent.

00:43:55.268 –> 00:44:04.568
But perfect is not even possible, right? It’s a moving target. Perfect for whom? Perfect at what point?

00:44:04.568 –> 00:44:20.617
Oh, well, something just changed. You know, now there’s new technology. Now there’s new research now you have a deeper understanding of XYZ.

00:44:20.617 –> 00:44:21.768
Yes!

00:44:21.768 –> 00:44:42.067
And so perfect just changed. So excellent is absolutely worth pursuing, but perfection is is just a lost cause, which is, you know, that cuts me to my core to say that, and yet I have to actively remind myself of that all the time.

00:44:42.067 –> 00:44:58.769
That’s such a good distinction. Yeah, excellence versus perfection. And even lowering the bar for me sounds a little bit more and it is interesting I think this is probably this probably pertains a little bit more to CPG and sort of SAS spaces where you are producing some sort of product whether whether it’s physical or software.

00:44:58.769 –> 00:45:03.968
But you create what is called an MVP or your minimum viable product, which probably a lot of people are, you know, have heard of that before, but that was really helpful for me to think about as well because not just not just thinking of it as like oh this thing that we can just push out.

00:45:03.968 –> 00:45:13.518
There it was more like we can learn so much by getting this out there and that’s how we’re going to make the product better.

00:45:13.518 –> 00:45:20.018
So knowing that like by just getting something out there and then asking the questions and or not even asking questions just waiting for the response to come in.

00:45:20.018 –> 00:45:32.969
What is the pain point that our customers are facing with the type of bottle we have? Is it hard for them to unscrew it?

00:45:32.969 –> 00:45:45.768
You know, let alone thinking about the pain point is this actually helping the pain points we’re trying to solve and all of our products that we’ve come out with have been a direct response to listening to customers or non-customers who are saying this is actually what I’m facing.

00:45:45.768 –> 00:46:04.369
That’s how we, that’s how we became the menopause lady because because we were hearing so much like, okay, my periods are under control, but I’m about to hit Perry Minopause or my mom hit Perry Minopause and Minopaus in her fortys.

00:46:04.369 –> 00:46:10.518
What am I gonna do then? And that’s honestly why we launched our Minopause product because we were like, yeah, that that’s something every person who’s had a uterus and overeat is going to go through and to be able to have something that can feel like, okay, I’m not alone in this and this could potentially solve my problems.

00:46:10.518 –> 00:46:25.317
Like that’s so important and we wouldn’t have ever touch. I didn’t know anything about menopause and Perry Menopause before that.

00:46:25.317 –> 00:46:34.118
Absolutely. So what is something you wish you had known about either some care or running a business or CPGs before you got started.

00:46:34.118 –> 00:46:42.918
You actually sort of mentioned something like this in your previous response, but anything else that you’re like, oh, wish I had known this would love to pay to pay this forward.

00:46:42.918 –> 00:46:53.968
Okay, this is a little diche especially for us, but yeah definitely retail I wish I knew a little bit more in the retail space before we jumped in.

00:46:53.968 –> 00:46:59.968
We weren’t planning to go into retail. We launched during the very end of like the sort of direct to consumer, we launched during the very end of like the sort of direct to consumer and a height.

00:46:59.968 –> 00:47:18.768
You know, if you’re familiar with like the sort of direct to consumer and height, you know, if you’re familiar with Dollar Shave Club or What’s the other big one?

00:47:18.768 –> 00:47:23.118
Even Glossier, like these big brands that were huge D to C and then, you know, we’re able to raise multi tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars and just haven’t been able to become profitable but we were launching right as all of that stuff was sort of like at its peak and about to sort of come down.

00:47:23.118 –> 00:47:34.819
And so we were thinking we would just be this D to C company. It looks like, yeah, you can just be online.

00:47:34.819 –> 00:47:40.617
You could just create ads in Meta and Google and that’s the way to go. But we ended up being approached by a big retailer fairly early on because again this was pandemics.

00:47:40.617 –> 00:47:53.068
So everything was weird and usually retail buyers would be at. Trade shows and stuff, but they couldn’t.

00:47:53.068 –> 00:48:03.218
And so we had one reach out to us. So we went into big box retail very early. And I guess I would say too early because that that didn’t go the way we wanted it to go.

00:48:03.218 –> 00:48:14.817
But we learned so so much. We learned so much. And we had good advice. We had other companies who had gone into retail, but again everybody’s trajectory is different.

00:48:14.817 –> 00:48:25.918
So much has to do to timing. But, you know, we, we just were learning as we were doing, but I wish I had had a little bit more background.

00:48:25.918 –> 00:48:31.568
In understanding that space because It was painful. Those those lessons are always super painful. So definitely retail is always one of those things that sticks in my head.

00:48:31.568 –> 00:48:47.967
And, I’m trying to think like more broadly if there is anything that I wish I had known.

00:48:47.967 –> 00:48:58.070
Okay.

00:48:58.070 –> 00:49:19.518
Maybe it is like the it took me a while to figure out that napping situation, the resting situation, and I have hit burnout and I feel like there’s levels of burnout now that I like napping situation the resting situation and I have hit I have hit burnout because and I have hit I have hit burnout because and I I feel like there’s levels of burnout now that I had never experienced before that

00:49:19.518 –> 00:49:34.968
I What surprised me is I’ve definitely worked technically longer hours. I think I mentioned this before when I was in ad agencies like you know pushed through really really long days and my days aren’t particularly long now like that yeah we work most days we don’t really I haven’t had a vacation that was more than like a week end in a Monday since 2,019.

00:49:34.968 –> 00:49:37.870
But it. Yeah, it’s just I would I would say that it’s realizing that this is very, very, very much a marathon and I would say that it’s realizing that this is very, very, very much a marathon.

00:49:37.870 –> 00:49:44.768
And I feel grateful that we’re able to do it in that way, that it hasn’t been a sprint, that we’ve been around for 4 years.

00:49:44.768 –> 00:49:52.518
I didn’t think we would last this log just because I know how hard it is to. Start a business and and keep it going.

00:49:52.518 –> 00:50:02.367
And so I am I’m grateful that we’ve been able to treat it like a marathon at this point, at least to me 4 years feels like a marathon.

00:50:02.367 –> 00:50:16.216
It doesn’t feel like a spread. And I think I wish I knew sooner sort of what kind of toll that would take and how I would have to manage that.

00:50:16.216 –> 00:50:43.768
Yes, so along those same lines, what advice do you have for women in particular to take? Confident meaningful action in their life in their business in whatever it is that they’re passionate about.

00:50:43.768 –> 00:50:53.617
So I did, I sort of mentioned this before with the talking about not looking like or emotionally or any way feeling like the sort of classic CEO type, how important that was to me to have the inspiration of somebody who didn’t fit that mold because I think I’m still a child of the eighty’s in the early odds and so coming out of the girl boss era and thinking that you had to

00:50:53.617 –> 00:51:03.718
be this sort of like the hustle culture and being like, I don’t know, there’s just a personality that didn’t really fit me very well.

00:51:03.718 –> 00:51:10.617
And being able to Run the business the way you want and based on not just your values, but also the your personality type.

00:51:10.617 –> 00:51:23.618
We started this conversation with personality type and Matt, my husband and I, my co-founder, we’ve realized that too because.

00:51:23.618 –> 00:51:29.968
One thing that was positive starting this and the pandemic was that we are introverts, so we definitely gain our energy by sort of like coming back to ourselves and having some alone time.

00:51:29.968 –> 00:51:44.268
And so being able to sort of like. Hitch not in person constantly, not have to do constant conferences.

00:51:44.268 –> 00:51:48.567
Like, we don’t do a 10 every year. You know, I think there’s some people who are amazing that doing trade shows and getting their products physically in front of people all the time is the way they need to go.

00:51:48.567 –> 00:51:53.268
Like that’s their expertise and that’s their personality. And I have fun at trade shows, but I can do like one a quarter.

00:51:53.268 –> 00:52:05.017
Yeah, I can’t do like one every other week or I know I need that sort of like.

00:52:05.017 –> 00:52:21.918
Downtime in Headspace and that where we really soar and are able to excel is by putting our head down and getting to work.

00:52:21.918 –> 00:52:42.718
And so maybe that means, yeah, I don’t do as many panels, and so maybe that means, yeah, I don’t do as many panels, I’m not on as many interviews and that’s been okay that just because I remember thinking when I first started summing, I’m just going to have to be out there all the time in front of people and it’s not I I like some aspect of

00:52:42.718 –> 00:52:59.768
that but doing that all the time I was like that’s gonna make me really tired. At that point I already knew I was an introvert so I was like that’s just gonna make me super super tired like how do I kind of balance that out and realizing you can have a very successful business and not be that type of person who’s performing or not performing or just in front of people all the time and that’s

00:52:59.768 –> 00:53:08.668
okay. And actually you were saying there’s a lot of I and Fj’s. So I feel like, and I know there’s a lot of CEOs who are introverts, so it’s like I think obviously the people you’re seeing all the time are the ones that are up in front, you know, of a camera or on a panel, but there’s so many other people who have very

00:53:08.668 –> 00:53:23.567
different personality types that excel in business and you don’t have to necessarily fit the thing that you think you’re supposed to be.

00:53:23.567 –> 00:53:39.367
Yes, and what is business if not relationships and introverts are amazing at making people feel seen and heard and listening deeply and taking feedback and I mean, what a super power to have in running a business.

00:53:39.367 –> 00:53:40.169
So yes, how can people connect with you if they want to learn more about your products if they want to hear more of your journey, if they are just resonating with the way that you approach business and being different and doing things on your own terms.

00:53:40.169 –> 00:53:47.567
How can they connect?

00:53:47.567 –> 00:53:54.918
Yes, absolutely. So we are definitely on Instagram on TikTok. So, Somain Health is the name of the brand.

00:53:54.918 –> 00:54:04.318
The name is a French word which we butcher and make it sound very American, but it’s called SEM, A, I, and E, and it means the leak.

00:54:04.318 –> 00:54:17.317
So when we first started submit we wanted people to be aware of the cyclical natures of our bodies so that’s why we use the main as a brand and sort of our local to remind us of that fact.

00:54:17.317 –> 00:54:19.667
So at some main health on Instagram, Lauren at some main health. Calm if you want to email me, but anywhere you see some main we’re on Amazon, we’re on Thrive Market, we’ll be launching into new retailers this spring.

00:54:19.667 –> 00:54:24.468
Yeah.

00:54:24.468 –> 00:54:34.717
So everybody keep an eye out on shelves. Yeah, and hopefully as we go, you’ll be able to find us more and more places.

00:54:34.717 –> 00:54:37.417
So exciting. Everything will be linked in the show notes. Lauren, thank you so much for sharing your insight, your wisdom, and I loved every second of this conversation.

00:54:37.417 –> 00:54:39.417
Thank you so much, Ashley.

In this episode, we chat through:

  • Entrepreneurship being a leap from a career as a graphic designer and art director
  • Becoming a multi-million dollar last year after bootstrapping, then working with investors
  • Keeping the goal of grow a strong brand and selling to exit
  • Entering the women’s health conversation
  • Her own story with endometriosis and founding Semaine because of it
  • Focusing on customer service, storytelling, and education as a direct reflection of her values of empathy and empowerment
  • Understanding your energy levels and natural cycles
  • Giving yourself grace and learning resilience to work with the ebbs and flows of business
  • Experiencing decision fatigue
  • Not trying to be what a CEO “should” look like
  • Taking meetings within your industry without any expectations because you don’t know what you don’t know
  • Understanding that everyone’s path is different, so taking advice with a grain of salt
  • The journey of going into retail
  • Launching and scaling quickly with an MVP while getting over perfectionism
  • Leaning on her co-founder to bring together 2 different points of view and skillset

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

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