Why Women Feel Invisible During Menopause And How To Change It w/ Cara Kamenev

[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, are not done at 40 or 50 or 60. [SPEAKER_01]: We are just getting started. [SPEAKER_01]: It's been a long time working on historical brands. [SPEAKER_01]: But their legacy was born in an age of anti-aging. [SPEAKER_01]: It turned back the clock. [SPEAKER_01]: We are not that, and we will see it. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you spent time in that industry. [SPEAKER_00]: And now you're tearing up that playbook. [SPEAKER_01]: Big brands tend to chase the culture, whereas small brands tend to invent the culture. [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's what we're doing at Stripes, to be comfortable and talk about sexual health. [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes bring laughter into the room. [SPEAKER_00]: Stripes, I think, use as humor a

lot. [SPEAKER_00]: 100%. [SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of symptoms in menopause that's not always very pleasant. [SPEAKER_01]: But there's no way to approach this life phase without a bit of humor. [SPEAKER_01]: We're to say, [SPEAKER_01]: stripes go once it's more than a menopause we've always been about treating the totality of the experience because menopause and declining estrogen impact the totality of who you are inside and out. [SPEAKER_00]: What's one sentence for every woman to use the next time the world tells her that getting older means that she is now invisible. [SPEAKER_00]: One thing I'll say is [SPEAKER_00]: The disruptor podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. [SPEAKER_00]: Views expressed by guests

are their own. [SPEAKER_00]: Consult your healthcare provider before making any medical decisions. [SPEAKER_00]: A brand that had been left for dead, bankrupt, parent company sold at auction for the price of a use car, the kind of obituary the beauty industry writes and forgets. [SPEAKER_00]: And then someone looked at the wreckage and saw a category nobody else was brave enough to name. [SPEAKER_00]: She spent her career inside the machine that taught women to fear getting older, then she walked out and bet everything on telling them the exact opposite. [SPEAKER_00]: The woman building the company that says menopause is not the end of the story, Kara, [SPEAKER_00]: My guest today runs Stripe Spudy, the menopause and healthy

aging brand founded by Naomi Watts. [SPEAKER_00]: She came out of L'Oreal, one of the biggest names in the business, and she took a brand that had been through bankruptcy in an auction block and is building it into one of the defining names in this space. [SPEAKER_00]: We were just on the WSL stage together, and now the cameras are rolling, and it's just us. [SPEAKER_00]: What did you walk away from that conversation [SPEAKER_01]: There's nothing I wish I said I usually leave it on the table, but what I am still thinking about is that the retailers are on board. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. [SPEAKER_01]: The retailers are on board. [SPEAKER_01]: We left and I won't name them. [SPEAKER_01]:

They're kind of running after us as we walk out. [SPEAKER_01]: Like, hey, we love what you're doing. [SPEAKER_01]: It's flooring because stripes is a small brand but growing and we're working the menopause space in the mid-life space. [SPEAKER_01]: But we're very much in our bubble. [SPEAKER_01]: And we put the content out and we get the products out. [SPEAKER_01]: And we don't necessarily, we see the impact we're having on the culture. [SPEAKER_01]: And I think like yesterday at WSL, we saw it. [SPEAKER_01]: people were coming over to us every major retailer and, you know, peripheral kind of industry leaders and they're watching us, which was a really cool feeling. [SPEAKER_01]: It was a cool thing to

see. [SPEAKER_00]: It was a very warm room. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: For a topic that they're not used to, I think, normally, and they want to be, say, what? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: And the fact that they over and over again, they were watching your brand as an aspirational brand and getting ideas. [SPEAKER_00]: Um, tells me that you're really onto something and how hungry they were for this information. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And how grateful they were. [SPEAKER_01]: It was great. [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, you know, I spent 10 years in the beauty industry before, you know, leading straw. [SPEAKER_01]: I found a man brand. [SPEAKER_01]: Now, I lead stripes, but I spent a long time working on brands

that were so legacy and they were beautiful in their own ways, like gorgeous, gorgeous historical brands. [SPEAKER_01]: But their legacy was a different one. [SPEAKER_01]: It was a brand that was born in an age of like anti-aging. [SPEAKER_01]: It turned back the clock. [SPEAKER_01]: You've raised time and we are just so not that. [SPEAKER_01]: And I think people see it. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so you spent time in that industry. [SPEAKER_00]: And now you're kind of tearing up that playbook. [SPEAKER_00]: So walk me through how that happened both internally, like your decision to do it, and then on the job. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, that's like a big need to be questioned for me, really, because I started my

career in finance. [SPEAKER_01]: I was very briefly in business development at a big fashion house, and then I spent most of my career at L'Oreal. [SPEAKER_01]: I was at L'Oreal over 10 years, and I have wonderful things to say about it. [SPEAKER_01]: It was an MBA in marketing every day of my life. [SPEAKER_01]: Like, it was incredible. [SPEAKER_01]: The brands are beautiful, leadership, creativity, teams, like all super-positive. [SPEAKER_00]: I loved it. [SPEAKER_01]: But the one thing that I saw was after I had my first child and you become a mother as a working woman and like a true corporate America, like it wasn't that flexible. [SPEAKER_01]: And the intensity, like, ever in a startup is

this now. [SPEAKER_01]: I work like a dog, like Naomi literally wrote me a holiday card being like, I think she called it a beast. [SPEAKER_01]: She was like, you are a beast and that's what she calls me. [SPEAKER_01]: Because I do. [SPEAKER_01]: I work really hard, but there's something different about working on your own terms. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. [SPEAKER_01]: And you know, I have three children now. [SPEAKER_01]: And [SPEAKER_01]: It's really I don't know that corporate life is like built for women and I thought to myself like there's got to be another way. [SPEAKER_01]: So that was a really big impetus for me leaving. [SPEAKER_01]: It wasn't I loved the business and the teams and the

people but I was like there's got to be another way to slice this where you can have can of it all and like that's a whole big conversation and be like there's got to be another way to slice this where you can have a little bit more of it all [SPEAKER_01]: But aside from the days where I have to come in and do something, I also do pick up and drop off most days of the week. [SPEAKER_00]: Right, and so you have the better. [SPEAKER_01]: I have some, I wouldn't call it balance and everyone hates that word. [SPEAKER_00]: I hate that word, that word is like, I don't like balance either. [SPEAKER_00]: I have something,

and it's working. [SPEAKER_00]: right now. [SPEAKER_00]: And that's enough for right now. [SPEAKER_00]: So that was the personal reason, but professionally, and I know you loved Laurel and I loved the way they do things and they have research and they care about quality, but were you ever like, I think we're solving the wrong problem now? [SPEAKER_01]: I think it was more that big brands tend to chase the culture whereas small brands tend to invent the culture. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I love that. [SPEAKER_00]: Say that one more time. [SPEAKER_00]: I love that so much. [SPEAKER_00]: It's true though. [SPEAKER_01]: I think, you know, I was working in massive global brands, Laura Harris. [SPEAKER_01]: So I think big

brands are chasing the culture. [SPEAKER_01]: They're tapping into things that are already going on and they're using dollars and resources to [SPEAKER_01]: harvest them very quickly, which is great. [SPEAKER_01]: That's what they should do. [SPEAKER_01]: They're listening, social listening, consumer listening. [SPEAKER_01]: But with a small brand because you're so nimble, you have the chance to literally invent the culture that you want to see. [SPEAKER_01]: And I think that's what we're doing at Stripes, right? [SPEAKER_01]: It's like we're tapping into this, obviously menopause conversation midlife, this empowering feeling that women are not done at 40 or 50 or 60 or send women are not [SPEAKER_01]: we are just getting started. [SPEAKER_01]: We are more vibrant. [SPEAKER_01]:

It is all worth being celebrated. [SPEAKER_01]: By the way, your skin can we hydrate it? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, can we change your, you know, sexual intimacy like routine and your vaginal health and sexual health and hair skin? [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, we can help with all of that make it feel good. [SPEAKER_01]: But we're not going to lie to you and say that we're going to... [SPEAKER_01]: change who you are, what you look like, like it's just promises, it's just a totally different approach. [SPEAKER_00]: But I think that uniqueness, that innovation is actually what is speaking to people, because it doesn't feel mass-produced. [SPEAKER_00]: Women can see themselves in the brand, and they feel welcome, and they feel

like it's a community. [SPEAKER_01]: I hope that they can, I hope that they do, because that is really what every single one of us [SPEAKER_01]: um it really is like we innovate for her it's a very small team of women a group of women actually of all ages um Naomi is deeply intimately involved. [SPEAKER_01]: She's a celebrity but like she also really cares like there's we test everything personally we're all [SPEAKER_01]: You know, like we're coming out with a new product, I can't say what it is, but we're all literally putting it into our bodies every day. [SPEAKER_01]: We are a plus, you know, we have clinical research and we're investing in some of the

more scientific parts of it. [SPEAKER_01]: But there's, there's that mix of like, we are creating for her. [SPEAKER_01]: We are thinking about her. [SPEAKER_01]: We are her, a lot of the women on the team are who we're selling to, which is, [SPEAKER_01]: I think important, so yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: So Naomi built this brand and you came in as the operator to help scale it. [SPEAKER_00]: And you just said like you're carrying this deeply personal mission. [SPEAKER_00]: So how do you do that and build this business and scale it without losing that personality, that personal mission, the whole why you started it? [SPEAKER_01]: So I think two things. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, I was brought in by Al Tatterton

who owns the business and Naomi and she's the founder. [SPEAKER_01]: She's very much the founder and the chief creative officer and like kind of the heartbeat of the brand. [SPEAKER_01]: But I have a foundro mentality, like I'm the kind of person who, when I start something, a may as well have given birth to it. [SPEAKER_01]: And like I am so passionate about it, and I'm in it to win it every day, and I'm, you know, hungry and thirsty, literally and also professionally, and... [SPEAKER_01]: I just approach things that way and I think that's how we keep the passion and I think Naomi saw that in me and I see that in her and we're very

kind of like minded that way as as professional you know she always talks about like she became famous and got her big break later in life so you know she has like a real work ethic like she's worked her entire life and she works on this business and she has you know an incredible career that's actually something we say a lot hotter than ever [SPEAKER_01]: So she's doing it all and it's really empowering and cool to see, but yeah, I came in as an operator. [SPEAKER_01]: I have a founder of mentality about it and I'm really like at the table with her and I really feel like we're going to do it. [SPEAKER_01]: Like we're

going to scale, we're going to build, we're going to make Manipou solutions accessible and normalized and premium and aspirational. [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to bring all of that to women while building a kickass brand, having fun, [SPEAKER_00]: rock stars and and that's like that's the dream for me and when you see the two of you together so aligned with that mission and then you've built this beautiful company culture I think that's when the magic happens and you don't become an impersonal brand and because you guys are setting the tone for the emergency small to be impersonal this way [SPEAKER_01]: Give us a few years and a few more tens of millions of dollars where we're far

too small to be in person all at this point Like it is personal and we're also talking about such an intimate topic But I will say one thing that's really important about our business is tapping into real clinicians providers doctors because we want to build a trust that's real with our consumer [SPEAKER_01]: And while we can offer products at the marketing and the brand level, which we do, we do that by harnessing science. [SPEAKER_01]: And that is at the core of everything we do. [SPEAKER_01]: So our blogs, our content or education, all of that is driven by experts. [SPEAKER_01]: That's the reason that you are part of the brand and a family and others like

you who've been along the path. [SPEAKER_01]: So I think the customer trusts that not only are we authentic in our brand proposition, but that we're bringing her [SPEAKER_01]: the, you know, trusted resources and that she can trust that we've parsed through the information that we're finding the right Doctors and and thought leaders and bringing them to her and we're sharing that and social we're sharing that in our blogs We're sharing that in other platforms, you know, like the stage yesterday because they're getting so much more than just the opportunity to buy a product They're all stale so have a community they also have education they have access to experts so there is so much more

and [SPEAKER_00]: about the brand and it's what's missing and health care and wellness right now and it's a really nice easy place and approachable place. [SPEAKER_00]: And so speaking about approachability and I think this is where we bonded in Naomi and I have bonded is using her humor because it's a sexual health doctor like a lot of times to get people to be comfortable and talk about sexual health. [SPEAKER_00]: You sometimes bring [SPEAKER_00]: So Stripes, I think, uses humor a lot to where most categories kind of whisper about product names and it makes people laugh out loud. [SPEAKER_00]: Is this a marketing choice or a thesis on how your de-stigmatizing things? [SPEAKER_00]: 100%. [SPEAKER_01]: humor

and I'm so glad you like picked up on that and it's probably because you know me and you know Naomi, but humor is a really big part of our brand and it's also a part of who we are as people like Naomi's Australian and British so like she just has in a reverence about her and I think that even in her life like if everything's not just a bit you know cheeky and it's it's so her and it was important to her that we brought that into this brand because [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, there are, you know, what is it? [SPEAKER_01]: 47 different symptoms of menopause in the right way. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, you're going to have a

day. [SPEAKER_01]: That's however you want to count it. [SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of symptoms of menopause in the truth is that it's a very real lived experience. [SPEAKER_01]: That's not always very pleasant. [SPEAKER_01]: There are things that like, they just, they suck. [SPEAKER_01]: They suck. [SPEAKER_00]: They suck. [SPEAKER_00]: They suck. [SPEAKER_00]: They suck. [SPEAKER_00]: They're uncomfortable. [SPEAKER_01]: And it sucks to go through and there are parts of aging that are difficult. [SPEAKER_01]: But there are also parts of this that like we've learned by now to take things with the grain of salt to have a bit of fun and if you can't and if you haven't then you're not going to make like there's no

way to approach this life phase without a bit of humor and we see that in our consumer we see that in our community and we find that the humor cuts through and it's like it's how our customer approaches life too like she's lived enough to know that she's got to have a little fun with it and we see it in our engagement stats like [SPEAKER_01]: when we post something funny like that does better than even you know our most cutting edge researcher brand new product launches so she wants to laugh along with us. [SPEAKER_01]: That's why our vaginal moisturizer is called Vajavanna. [SPEAKER_01]: That's why our Loub is called Oh Mike Lide. [SPEAKER_01]: I remember

Naomi interviewed me we had our first zoom call and I like made some sort of joke about how like it was like yeah I'm a mom but like I you can have the kids like it's fine. [SPEAKER_01]: She's like you're hired like we just [SPEAKER_00]: No, the first time I met her, we talked back stage because we were going to go on a panel. [SPEAKER_00]: And of course it's a doctor, you always want to make sure that you're not going somewhere, where someone doesn't want to talk about their personal life or their health care. [SPEAKER_00]: And within three minutes on stage, she went where she said she wasn't going to go, we're both cracking up,

heads back, and she was like, what is it about you that makes me say those things? [SPEAKER_00]: I learned later that she loves to have fun and she loves to laugh. [SPEAKER_00]: but has the humor ever cost you as a retailer or a partner, anyone that like the driver get feedback like this is too much? [SPEAKER_01]: No, I mean, maybe me as a person, probably. [SPEAKER_01]: But as a brand no, because although humor is important to us, one of the very first things I did when I started on the business is we, we did a pretty big consumer research study. [SPEAKER_01]: Okay. [SPEAKER_01]: And one of the things we found is that, yes, she likes

to laugh and have a bit of fun on humor's important, [SPEAKER_01]: We can have fun with things without being crossed. [SPEAKER_01]: We do try to walk that line and we're pretty aware of it. [SPEAKER_01]: And if we ever missed step, we're sorry, it's probably my fault. [SPEAKER_01]: But we do keep an eye on that. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, we did, I remember one of the tests very early on. [SPEAKER_01]: Again, this was just research, but like, we tested different phrases having to do the vaginal dryness. [SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, we have to talk about it because it's one of the problems that we saw. [SPEAKER_00]: There's a brand. [SPEAKER_01]: But there was like a line that

some of the participants in the research study, like one of the lines we had proposed was a dryer than the Sahara. [SPEAKER_01]: And like that's a cheeky funny phrase, but like a good percentage of people came back saying they found it like too far, like a bit offensive. [SPEAKER_01]: So it was interesting. [SPEAKER_01]: It's like they want to talk about it and there's a tongue-in-cheek, but they also don't want to be made to feel bad. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, because the medical community I worked with peanut on this whole renaming and reframing revolution because if you think about it, there's so many, like, think about a geriatric pregnancy, there's so many, I was a geriatric pregnancy through

times. [SPEAKER_00]: But horrible, I can't, I'm looking at you, I can't even believe that, but have a terms in medicine that don't empower educator, even aren't accurate. [SPEAKER_00]: So I can see where women, where that line is. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, there's a fine line, [SPEAKER_01]: We love to have fun with our community, but most of all, we really have the utmost respect for them. [SPEAKER_01]: And we want to be their partners on the journey and never to make anyone feel bad. [SPEAKER_01]: So, we have fun, but we actually are kind of aware, we're self-aware. [SPEAKER_00]: We've evolved. [SPEAKER_00]: I love it. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's the perfect blend of humor. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: So, as Stripes,

you have become Kratos first dedicated menopause brand. [SPEAKER_00]: A Canyon Ranch Partnership, KVC. [SPEAKER_00]: Um, when you scale, how do you decide which doors move the mission versus just moving product? [SPEAKER_01]: So, I think all of our partners in one big one you missed is Ulta. [SPEAKER_01]: Um, oh yeah, I did. [SPEAKER_01]: No, that's okay, you let me drop it. [SPEAKER_01]: I like that, like, yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: You named all of the right partners, right? [SPEAKER_01]: So, Credo, I think really lines with us on our a clean beauty perspective. [SPEAKER_01]: We love how thoughtfully they assort and they're a great partner. [SPEAKER_01]: And the fact that, you know, their clean thoughtful consumer can start to approach

menopause care in the same way is great. [SPEAKER_01]: I think Olta is just a game changer for stripes and a partnership that we're incredibly excited about because you know, they're expanding stripes quite broadly within their door portfolio. [SPEAKER_01]: And they are betting so big on wellness and you know, we were just with their their head of wellness Laura the other day and I think they're really thinking about wellness and sexual health and [SPEAKER_01]: intimacy and they're thinking about all of it in the right way where they're not only are they making the products accessible indoors between no is important to democratize access to these products is a big part of our mission because we can

provide all the support community and education we want but if you can still only buy these things online how normal is the conversation correct agreed. [SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, we need someone with the scale of an altar to battle alongside with us. [SPEAKER_01]: And not only are they bringing the product indoors, but they're thoughtful about putting it alongside education, about educating their, you know, their BAs and their advisors, about, you know, they have menopause weeks and months. [SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, moments where they really spotlight [SPEAKER_01]: providers like yourself and women who are doing the work so that we can bring not just products but education so that's a partnership are incredibly excited about and

more to come. [SPEAKER_00]: When I was listening to their dedication to women's wellness, I was also very excited and I agree with you. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's going to be an incredible [SPEAKER_00]: you do frame menopause as the entry point to a much bigger longevity conversation, right? [SPEAKER_00]: It's time that we start not only living longer, but living healthier. [SPEAKER_00]: Where do stripes go once it's more than a menopause brand? [SPEAKER_01]: So I think we've always been more than men and pause burn. [SPEAKER_01]: We offer men and pause solutions from scalp to vage. [SPEAKER_01]: And that means you're hoping we say scalp to vage. [SPEAKER_01]: It's name, he's favorite phrase and ours too, because we

number one like to say vage and everything we do is we're just like, stop not saying it. [SPEAKER_01]: But we've always been about treating the totality of the experience, and Naomi's really purposeful about this, because when she started the business, you know, some people said to her, you should just do supplements, or you should just do, you know, just do skincare, just be a skincare brand. [SPEAKER_01]: And she kind of said, like, no, I want to be a multi category brand, even if it is more difficult at the start as a startup and a small business. [SPEAKER_01]: She said, I want to do skincare, hair care, body care supplements, vaginal health and wellness, because menopause

and declining estrogen don't just impact one part of your body. [SPEAKER_01]: They impact the totality of who you are inside and out, right? [SPEAKER_01]: Like your brain. [SPEAKER_01]: And so, um, [SPEAKER_01]: Right now, I think we are more than a menopause brand where we're really treating the whole woman in this phase of life, treating offerings, solutions, but also caring products, right? [SPEAKER_01]: So our skincare and our body care, our best-selling category right now is body care, because it's so hydrating, it's so sensorial, our two best-selling products are rich and tight, which is the body better and full-monty, which is the body oil. [SPEAKER_01]: And I cannot say this enough like our supplements will help your

brain fog and help you sleep through the night and, you know, our vaginal products will moisturize you down there. [SPEAKER_01]: But like, if you have not tried our body products, you are missing out because they are for any one. [SPEAKER_00]: I am using you. [SPEAKER_00]: I literally stepped out of my house the other day and my girlfriend was visiting from Nashville and she calls it Naomi's oil. [SPEAKER_00]: Because you're wearing Naomi's oil like what she goes I can smell it. [SPEAKER_00]: She goes oh my gosh I forgot to pack mine. [SPEAKER_00]: I love that. [SPEAKER_00]: I got her hooked on it. [SPEAKER_00]: I have a size for you That's what I need to do. [SPEAKER_00]:

I need to be like all right girlfriend. [SPEAKER_00]: I got you But literally I walked out we were meeting for a walk and she's like you wearing that Naomi's oil I go. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so yeah, it is this head to toe scalp to badge proposition and then you know Is it relates to longevity? [SPEAKER_01]: I think [SPEAKER_01]: I think about that a lot right now we have a lot of scale to do and just bringing what we have to more people, there's more women, but I think there are some things in our product innovation pipeline that will address a little bit more of that well-being. [SPEAKER_01]: And I think it can also come through partnership.

[SPEAKER_01]: So there are a lot of brands, products, providers out there that are addressing the longevity part of the conversation that could partner really well with us. [SPEAKER_01]: So if you're one of them call me. [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, I think that could be a good way for the brand to start there. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: And let's see what happens. [SPEAKER_00]: Because we know that so many things to promote longevity have to begin with Perry menopause treatment. [SPEAKER_00]: Right. [SPEAKER_00]: So a Perry menopause menopause brand goes hand in hand with longevity and for helping women thrive through this phase of our life. [SPEAKER_01]: I couldn't agree with you with you more. [SPEAKER_00]: So you guys do

sit where the doctor's office and beauty aisle kind of collide or meet as the person holding this this brand side. [SPEAKER_00]: What responsibility comes with that trust that you have with your consumer what I call the patient that a pure beauty company doesn't have to carry. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean look we're very much a menopause and a wellness brand [SPEAKER_01]: So at the same time, we're a hormone free brand. [SPEAKER_01]: So we sit in this, in this, I call it a sweet spot. [SPEAKER_01]: It's, you know, you have the hormonal care that the doctors can prescribe. [SPEAKER_01]: And that is a personal choice for each woman with her position based on her life. [SPEAKER_01]: And

in, in what her doctor say, all we can do is create the space. [SPEAKER_01]: And [SPEAKER_01]: the awareness for her to even have the conversation because remember just a few years ago most women weren't even having the conversation didn't over to start so the fact that we're creating a community that's educated that's empowered to have conversations about her hormonal health for us that's a win. [SPEAKER_01]: But we also know that there are a lot of things women can do in this stage of life to simply take matters into their own hands that sit alongside whatever prescriptions they may choose or not choose absolutely. [SPEAKER_01]: So, um, and that's the space we occupy and to me

it's a very empowering one because you can go out and shop the brands that are you and that see you and that are created for you and they're thoughtfully formulated for the symptoms that you're experiencing in midlife. [SPEAKER_01]: But are also available on the shelf at Ulta, or, you know, you can do a quick purchase online. [SPEAKER_01]: You don't need to go to a doctor. [SPEAKER_01]: So that's where we sit. [SPEAKER_01]: Is that space between, and then in terms of the responsibility, it's our responsibility to be honest and authentic and to test and validate and to make sure everything we do is rooted in science. [SPEAKER_01]: So this is why we have a medical advisory

board. [SPEAKER_01]: This is why we clinically test all of our products. [SPEAKER_01]: and we're quite honest about what they do and what they don't do and what they're never going to do. [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I've had three babies, three sea sections, rich and tight, does it tighten and soften my skin? [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. [SPEAKER_01]: Do I still need a tummy tuck? [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely. [SPEAKER_01]: But it's the best thing out there for like, you know, what I'm dealing with. [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's, that's the difference. [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that honesty and that expectation that you set with your consumer is so important. [SPEAKER_00]: What? [SPEAKER_00]: I love about products is that as a physician, yes,

I talked about pharmaceuticals and counseling and therapy and energy-based treatment options, and obviously surgery if it's appropriate. [SPEAKER_00]: But sometimes, and then products, and what people may not understand is that menopause is curated. [SPEAKER_00]: So just because it's not lubricant, moisturizer, or localized hormone therapy, sometimes it's all three. [SPEAKER_00]: But for a woman who has been told that hormones are gonna cause cancer, or she's scared, or maybe she's not a candidate. [SPEAKER_00]: And she's like, I just wanna start with a product. [SPEAKER_01]: It starts somewhere. [SPEAKER_00]: It's so nice to give them something. [SPEAKER_00]: I feel like it's the lowest barrier thing to get them to. [SPEAKER_00]: Yep. [SPEAKER_00]: And then the other thing is...

[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, you do feel a little bit better. [SPEAKER_00]: You feel, yes, you feel better. [SPEAKER_01]: Like, our supplements, they are our natural, and doesn't mean you shouldn't be on [SPEAKER_00]: HRT, but like you feel better when you take the inside edition you sleep through the night when you take the dream date Like those things help and they're not trolling you can still go see, you know, your doctor, so I'm sure they didn't get what you need Yeah, and the other thing that's really nice is with the lubricants, and this is something that I wanted to stay on stage is when women have a product something to hold something tangible that they can bring

to their partner [SPEAKER_00]: It makes the conversation sometimes a little bit easier because they can focus on something and say, hey, listen You can get fun. [SPEAKER_00]: You can make it fun exactly and yes Like the oil is a very nice massage oil guys for play is a what your fun and it smells nice and it feels good We just talk about lub for one second You're supposed to ask the questions on some of the answer. [SPEAKER_01]: Well, let's go for it. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, so I'm thinking about lub I hope my parents aren't listening, but like [SPEAKER_01]: I think for so long, Lube was like this dirty word. [SPEAKER_01]: It was relegated to like the,

you know, dusty drugstore aisles. [SPEAKER_01]: Like it would be an embarrassing thing to grab it off the shelf. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, the stuff that Oh, would you wear and squirts on the specula? [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, yeah, yeah, on the sonogram machine. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. [SPEAKER_01]: But it wasn't aspirational or chic or sex or sexy. [SPEAKER_01]: I was going to say more sexy. [SPEAKER_01]: sexy about Lube for sex. [SPEAKER_01]: And what I love about our lube, it striped honestly, it's called Oh, my God, it's in this gorgeous glass bottle that's like shapely and sexy and I like I'm very happy to just leave it on my bedside table like it's gorgeous and I think women deserve, you know, for

so long, the beauty industry and the personal care industry has brought that sort of Trying to take an aspiration that made it approachable and we've done that with lip gloss and things like we didn't use to use right and I think that's what stripes is doing with lube [SPEAKER_01]: you can go out there and you can choose from a million different hair products lip products but like [SPEAKER_01]: to have a lube that, you know, you feel really cool when you pull a certain lip gloss out of your purse? [SPEAKER_01]: I feel the same way about my lube. [SPEAKER_01]: And we all should. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no, it's on my nightstand, too, girl. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't have

to say it's pretty. [SPEAKER_00]: It's pretty. [SPEAKER_00]: And yes, and we deserve it. [SPEAKER_00]: We too deserve it. [SPEAKER_00]: We wouldn't do it. [SPEAKER_00]: And it needs not to be like all those memories of that. [SPEAKER_00]: Like the K-Y. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I used to put on a autograph, yes. [SPEAKER_00]: No, that doesn't belong in your bedroom. [SPEAKER_00]: That belongs in the doctor's office. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes. [SPEAKER_00]: What's one sentence for every woman to use the next time the world tells her that getting older means that she is now invisible? [SPEAKER_00]: Can we curse? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, no, you're a little bit cursed. [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not going to curse. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: I think one thing I'll

say is like, we see you. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I love that. [SPEAKER_00]: We do. [SPEAKER_01]: We see you. [SPEAKER_01]: We think about you every day. [SPEAKER_01]: Everything we're making is for you and doing is for you. [SPEAKER_01]: And some brands are bandwagoning it and that's fine. [SPEAKER_01]: Get on the bandwagon because at least Ron and some brands mean it. [SPEAKER_01]: And that's wonderful. [SPEAKER_01]: Get in the water's warm, but like we definitely see you. [SPEAKER_00]: What is the one thing about menopause you wish every boardroom understood? [SPEAKER_01]: Invest in us, invest in it. [SPEAKER_01]: Please talk about this a lot from more of a kind of business financial side. [SPEAKER_01]: We know this well, both of

us personally, but less than 2% of all VC funding goes to women founders. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. [SPEAKER_01]: And even less so to businesses that are dedicated to women's causes and women's health. [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely. [SPEAKER_01]: so much has to change in this industry across the board like menopause definitely has a moment of attention right now and we will take it. [SPEAKER_01]: It is lovely shout out from the rooftops but invest in us because it makes good business sense to invest in women. [SPEAKER_01]: It makes good business sense to invest in a life stage that women will spend between 40 and 50% of their lives in. [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely half of the U.S. female population is over the age

of 40. [SPEAKER_01]: Perry Metapaus is seven to 14 years and then after that, Metapaus is your final destination. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. [SPEAKER_01]: So like that is where you will be. [SPEAKER_00]: So invest in us. [SPEAKER_00]: I love that. [SPEAKER_00]: Simple and to the point. [SPEAKER_00]: So speaking of money, if money and time were of no object, what does the company serving in midlife look five, ten years from now? [SPEAKER_01]: I honestly think it looks like stripes but bigger. [SPEAKER_00]: I love the way you think. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think what we're doing now we're doing like a microcosm way. [SPEAKER_01]: Like it's quite small. [SPEAKER_01]: Like, please try the products if you have an amazing. [SPEAKER_01]: We

truly, truly are. [SPEAKER_01]: But I think with growth and money comes scale. [SPEAKER_01]: So we can be more places. [SPEAKER_01]: We can innovate more quickly. [SPEAKER_01]: And I think there are some really exciting partnership opportunities, and I'd love to see, you know, what those look like. [SPEAKER_01]: I think stripes could really be a platform for menopause where there are more verticals that fit beneath it. [SPEAKER_01]: but that's future thinking. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, but that's the founder mindset. [SPEAKER_00]: That's true. [SPEAKER_00]: I always dream. [SPEAKER_00]: And dreaming is just planning. [SPEAKER_00]: There's a quote, and that's what I have up on my workboard. [SPEAKER_00]: I love that quote. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes. [SPEAKER_00]: I love that quote. [SPEAKER_00]: So

you are proving, living proof and proving that menopause is a real market. [SPEAKER_00]: When the data is undeniable and the giants who used to work for, finally pile in, what do you want stripes to have done first that they can't copy? [SPEAKER_01]: And I know you're competitive and very competitive. [SPEAKER_01]: I think we've done a lot of things first. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, we were at this event yesterday and all of the big beauty brands and personal care brands and they were there and they all were saying we benchmarked to you, we're looking at your content. [SPEAKER_01]: So I think [SPEAKER_01]: I think Naomi was one of the first women to come out and shout menopause from

the rooftops. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. [SPEAKER_01]: And especially in her industry and her industry, and her, you know, so and she was advised to not to for some reasons and there are other amazing women and thought leaders and actors. [SPEAKER_01]: Hosts and you know there are other women along with her but she was really one of the first So I don't think you can replace that like that authentic guts to come out and say Screw it all we're gonna say it. [SPEAKER_01]: You know [SPEAKER_01]: we're gonna do it, I think when a brand is born that way, you cannot replicate it because you just can't. [SPEAKER_01]: And you can do out there wonderful things, like come, bring,

we're competitive, but we're also like, there's so much work here to be done. [SPEAKER_01]: There's so many women just serve, so many products and many needs, like come on in and we hope you do it thoughtfully and genuinely because women deserve that. [SPEAKER_01]: I don't think anyone could replicate something that's born from a place of real authenticity, which Stripes was. [SPEAKER_00]: I couldn't agree with you more. [SPEAKER_00]: And so where can listeners find you and Stripes in the events and everything you guys? [SPEAKER_00]: I'm hiding at home with my kids and just like working like a dog. [SPEAKER_00]: Really? [SPEAKER_01]: Are you sure? [SPEAKER_01]: Well, except for it. [SPEAKER_01]: For the one weekend that year,

I got a lot out. [SPEAKER_01]: But Stripes, you can find StripesBeauty.com at StripesBeauty on Instagram, on TikTok. [SPEAKER_01]: And then soon, Ulta everywhere, definitely Ulta.com, Credo, and more to come. [SPEAKER_01]: We really want to bring these products and this mission and this community to a lot more women worldwide. [SPEAKER_01]: But for now, definitely start on StripesBeauty.com [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, and literally and figuratively, figuratively more to come. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know. [SPEAKER_01]: I know. [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for being such a... [SPEAKER_01]: I'm having me. [SPEAKER_00]: But as a shrubbeder, and for being here with me today. [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for coming to Hot Plotty, so thank you. [SPEAKER_00]: You tried to kill me, now I'm dropping.

[SPEAKER_01]: We're going to do it again. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes. [SPEAKER_00]: Two operators, one mission, no apologies for any of it. [SPEAKER_00]: That is the whole show. [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Cara, Camina, for building the proof that this story does not end at mid-life. [SPEAKER_00]: It gets good. [SPEAKER_00]: Find me at doctorsomee.com and at doctor.com, so me to be on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for tuning in.