I’ve often seen the advice that founders should build their company in public.
I’m generally social media averse and have done a poor job at this. But, I thought today would be an interesting place to take a swing at it.
Today I spent a significant portion of time doom scrolling the news instead of "building".
Reading about equity initiatives being destroyed across the federal government, and corporations like Amazon removing protective policies for Black and LGTBQ+ employees.
Periodic is a company that is inseparably tied to equity. More specifically the concept of menstrual equity.
We fundamentally believe that all women, trans men, and menstruators, should have access to period products. It’s a base health need and should be treated just like toilet paper.
I often reflect on how strange it feels to work on such an emotional and important problem that has never personally affected me. But the importance of the problem (and my co-founders introduction to it and passion for it) is what drew me to this business. To be able to work towards a mission that you unequivocally believe is right is immensely motivating.
I hope that what I’ll refer to broadly as the “period care” industry is able to stand up in the face of such injustice and hate towards their customer base.
I know that I feel ashamed and saddened about the direction of our country, but I also feel extremely motivated to fight against such injustices and to remember that Periodic is not just a profit seeking entity, but also deeply tied to a social problem that still has a long road ahead.
I don’t know if this really counts as a "build in public post" now that I’m reading it, oh well. I think that the topic is just to important and in flux I couldn't not say something about it.
Stay tuned for more info, if you're in Boston say hi at the Menstrual Equity Summit this Saturday at Suffolk University.
