Why did you start your start-up, which problem do you address and how do you solve it?

My co-founder Sinja and I travelled to India in 2016 and discovered a big taboo around female menstruation. When women and girls have their period, they are not allowed to visit holy places or go to school. When we came back to Germany, we noticed that even modern women in our modern society still behave strangely when they have their menstruation: For example, on the way to the toilet we hide our tampon in a fist. The first idea was to finally end the taboo surrounding this subject by launching a loud, positive and well-designed brand that would end the dubious feeling you get when you buy your tampons in the last corner of a drugstore.

How did you come up with the idea to create The Female Company?

Like I said, the idea for a "new brand" was born. But when we talked to women or "our target market", we realized that nobody really knew what was in the product. We were kind of shocked that nobody seemed to think about what tampons are made of. Providing a transparent and reliable solution was the key and we decided to work with organic cotton. There was also no great D2C service yet.

What is special about your business model, what do you do differently?

What we are currently as The Female Company is the perfect periodic service. What we want to become in the future: To be the number one online women's drugstore, offering organic and sustainable solutions to our daily challenges. We were the first tampon subscription in Germany and have built a strong brand over the last two years. And we never stop with innovation: In addition to organic sanitary pads and inserts, we recently launched the first organic tampon in paper sleeves. At the same time we are a social company: With every subscription, a woman in India also receives a washable fabric bandage.

What were the biggest challenges you had to overcome at the beginning?

Probably our supply chain. You have to imagine: It's a product that is used and needed regularly, so the manufacturers haven't really changed in the past. There was simply no reason to do so. In fact, during our first few months in business, it was difficult to find someone willing to make tampons from organic cotton. It took over a year to change the plastic cover to paper.

What was the most valuable advice someone gave you during your start-up phase?

One of our former start-up colleagues told us: "Being a co-founder is like being married. But without reconciling sex". Sounds a little weird, but it's basically true. A co-founder relationship can make or break a company.

What has been your greatest success so far

Very simple: We have fought against the unfair tampon tax with our so-called tampon book. What started as a crazy marketing idea went through the press all over the world and tripled our web traffic within days. That's great, but what makes it a real highlight: One week after we published the book, we were invited to the German Bundestag and talked to several politicians. And now: The German finance minister has decided to cut the tampon tax to 7% by January 2020. It is just great to have a real (political) influence on your company!

What is the next challenge for you?

We are currently moving to Berlin and starting in a new city with lots of new employees will be exciting. I think we are in this phase where we need to build a basic and sustainable organization that will last. Until now, many interns and young talents have been part of the company, I think 2020 is more about hiring the best team that will really drive growth in the future.

What would you recommend to other founders?

Choose the right co-founder and never stop following your vision.

Where did you two meet?

We met at the university. We became very close friends and so it happened that we not only traveled together but in the end we became business partners.


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