{"id":3000011426,"date":"2020-03-25T11:15:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T15:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?p=3000011426"},"modified":"2020-09-03T05:53:26","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T09:53:26","slug":"an-entrepreneur-working-to-break-the-period-stigma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/community-stories\/member-spotlight\/an-entrepreneur-working-to-break-the-period-stigma","title":{"rendered":"An entrepreneur working to break the period stigma"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Anyone who\u2019s had a period knows that your cycle might be reliable, but it sure isn\u2019t always convenient. A combination of persistent \u201cpink\u201d taxes, societal shaming, and barriers to adequate products can cause a real headache out of an event that a good portion of the world\u2019s population experiences every month. That\u2019s why Rachael Kim, founder of Project Untaboo<\/a>, wants to change the tide and, as the name of her company suggests, work to eliminate the taboos and hassles surrounding period care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a decade-long career as an information security and data privacy consultant, Kim started to feel the sting of burnout<\/a>. \u201cI knew I had shifted as a person, but I didn\u2019t know exactly what that meant,\u201d says the Seattle resident who’s currently a member at WeWork 1411 4th Ave<\/a>. \u201cI needed to emotionally and physically reset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her reset button took the form of a 10-month backpacking trip through Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and much of Europe. She prepared for the trip on the 10-year anniversary of the first day at her old company. During her journey, she spent her 33rd birthday with new friends at Angkor Wat in Cambodia\u2014an experience that marked the beginning of a new career path. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were cycling around the complex, and I suddenly got my period,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I wasn\u2019t prepared for it. I was in an area where at best, you may have access to a toilet, and I had to MacGyver a tampon out of toilet paper. I was like, \u2018I just want to enjoy my day and live my life. There’s gotta be a better solution for this.\u2019” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hers was not a unique problem. Eighty-six percent of women have started their period unexpectedly in public and found themselves without needed supplies, a report by Harris Interactive<\/a> found. \u201cI talked to other solo travelers who had similar issues, similar stories,\u201d Kim explains. She quickly realized that their collective frustration went beyond inconvenient travel episodes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI spent 10 years in tech, in a very male-dominated area,\u201d she says. \u201cThere were so many times I was on my period when I was presenting in C-suite meetings. And I was thinking in the back of my head, \u2018Oh no\u2014I need to go to the bathroom to change my tampon.\u2019 But these are C-suite execs. I can’t really do that, especially when I fought so hard to be seen as equal at the table.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Kim was reading Melinda Gates\u2019s gender-equity manifesto The Moment of Lift<\/em><\/a>. The documentary short Period. End of Sentence<\/em><\/a> <\/em>had just won an Academy Award. \u201cAll of those stories and experiences wrapped up into this brainstorm,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A mock-up of product packaging. Image courtesy of Project Untaboo and Unsplash.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She set out to develop a company<\/a> that would tackle not only the inconvenience of period care but also the effectiveness and sustainability of period products themselves. Project Untaboo, which started in September, is developing a line of tampons and pads with an emphasis on eco-awareness. (The company\u2019s market research found that its user base relied on menstrual cups only in limited circumstances, such as for shorter-term cycles or predictable schedules.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would be at a tourist site and see tampons on the ground, applicators floating in the ocean,\u201d says Kim of her backpacking days. \u201cIn this day and age, where we’ve applied innovation in so many different ways, it really begged the question: Why are we not applying it in this space? It\u2019s about being intentional and thoughtful, not just about the source of the product but about the processing, the manufacturing, the delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project Untaboo aims to optimize the experience of getting your period while on the go, as there\u2019s currently a market gap at the intersection between travel<\/a> and period care. Travel-sized versions of period products are lacking, Kim explains, and when you\u2019re on the road, you might find outdated dispensers\u2014often unstocked\u2014that only accept quarters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim wants to streamline access to those products, with redesigns that make sense for modern life. Some of her ideas include replacing airport dispensers with updated versions that accept credit cards, simplifying the purchase of multipacks that will last through a long day, and creating access points, such as hotels or taxis, where customers can replenish their supplies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The convenience, she explains, relieves an emotional burden, not just a logistical one. \u201cA lot of these spaces are highly confined areas where if something happens, there is an emotional and physical stress reaction,\u201d she says. \u201cHow do you provide that safety and comfort so that you feel pampered and taken care of?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Another important element of Project Untaboo\u2019s mission is advocacy. Although the to-be-launched products will serve a US and European customer base for the time being, the company is collaborating with global health organizations to fund socioeconomic initiatives that empower individuals with periods and to provide products that are culturally sensitive and appropriate in regions where, for example, tampons have a societal stigma, or pads pose a sanitation problem. \u201cIn my ideal world, everybody has access to period care,\u201d Kim says. \u201cIt doesn’t matter where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Kim, Project Untaboo has developed into not only a brand but a mindset. \u201cIt was a personal evolution,\u201d she says. \u201cI went back on all the experiences in the workplace where we were basically expected not to mention [our periods]. The stigma associated with a period is that people think \u2018emotional.\u2019 They think \u2018painful.\u2019 They think \u2018debilitating.\u2019 It automatically triggers the idea that someone\u2019s not at their best.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through Project Untaboo\u2019s products and initiatives, Kim wants to continue transforming the attitude around periods into one of strength and possibility, rather than one of weakness and limitation. \u201cI\u2019ve had multiple people say, \u2018When I have my period, I think of you,\u2019\u201d says Kim. \u201cSome people might think that’s weird! But the way I see it, if someone\u2019s thinking about me when they’re on their period, then the mission that we’re striving for is relevant to their life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n