VOXAPOD® | Rethink Period Care

Amanda Wilson is a humanitarian, self-proclaimed anthropologist, and mediocre ukulele player. Her passion is in creating sustainable products and eradicating the gender gap from a systemic and research-based approach. She believes in the power of diversity and bringing people and resources together to create a more effective impact. Wilson is the founder/CEO of VOXAPOD®, a period care brand fighting for gender equity, reducing waste, and building stronger communities. 

Wilson was the founding President of Woman Led and current board member of XXcelerate—non-profits providing business support, education, and funding for Oregon womxn entrepreneurs.

Wilson holds a degree in International Business and has 17 years of entrepreneurial and direct sales experience. As Sales Director for a previous startup, Wilson grew sales by 400% in 3 years, positioning the publication for Barnes & Noble, Target, and Walmart. She consults small/medium-sized startups on building sales cycles, sales teams, and strategic growth plans.

VOXAPOD is a benefit corporation and period care brand fighting the gender gap, reducing waste, and building stronger communities. We donate products and 2% of sales to keep girls in school confidently, provide menstrual health education, and ensure access to safe period care for those in need (nationally and internationally). We intentionally use our resources as opportunities and tools for ethical progress, and our platform to reduce the global stigma that surrounds menstruation and women’s health issues. Learn more on our values page: https://voxapod.com/careers-values

When we meet the menstrual needs of a girl, we not only give her the chance at education—we radically expand her ability to invest in the landscape of her community, both economically and socially.

That community is our community. Her world is our world. We're seeking support to expand our impact that elevates her and all of humanity. 

There are 1.9 billion people menstruating globally and, for the most part, we address that need with disposables—like pads and tampons. These products, however, cause dryness, irritation, and inconveniently require changing every 2-3 hours to be safe. To make them look more ‘clean’ they undergo bleaching and are known to contain chemical toxins—all connected to adverse health risks and environmental destruction. In the US alone, there are 20 billion pads and tampons thrown into our landfills and waterways every year.

While we don’t tax Viagra, Rogaine or razors, period care products are considered a ‘luxury’ item and taxed between 5-25%. Meanwhile, in the US, some women are forced to choose between food and period products, while 40-60% of girls in developing countries won't attend or stay in school, in part, because they lack access to period essentials––instead, they use mud, leaves or dirty rags, risking infection. 

When girls can’t stay in school it can have pervasive impacts from lower earnings and standards of living to lower psychological well-being. The converse is also true: when girls can stay in school with social emotional support, they’re able to build self-efficacy and drastically improve their economic opportunities and psychological well-being.

At VOXAPOD we donate period products and 2% of sales to keep girls in school with confidence and provide menstrual health education so they can make informed decisions about their body and access more equitable opportunities. We use our platform to create safe spaces/conversations to reduce the global stigma around menstruation and women’s health issues. By driving awareness to the topic, we encourage and facilitate collective change to create a world where no girl is denied opportunity because of her biology. 

VOXAPOD menstrual cup is reusable and toxic-free so it can be used for years and worn for up to 12 hours at a time, keeping girls in school confidently while eliminating the monthly cost burden of disposables, and trillions of non-biodegradable waste. We believe the single most powerful way to combat poverty in the world is through the education of girls––they’ll marry 4 years later, have 2.2 fewer children, earn higher wages, have healthier families, and reinvest 90% of their earnings back into their locality. 

When we meet the menstrual needs of a girl, we not only give her the chance at education—we radically expand her ability to invest in the landscape of her community, both economically and socially.

We use a research-based and boots-on-the-ground approach by partnering with organizations in the field that are utilizing majority local workers to inform social and cultural norms of programming and end-user needs. We collect survey feedback and data points from introduction to service to long-term impact.

Our primary target market we seek to serve is marginalized girls in developing countries who are at-risk of dropping out of secondary school after they start their period. We strategically vet and select partners who are addressing the problem systemically by using sustainable products and supply chains, implementing advocacy and programming required to keep girls in school while also bolstering their self-efficacy and long-term exposure to economic opportunities, and supporting the local economy by hiring from within the community.

In addition, we have a handful of impact partners in the US that target underrepresented, low-income, and at-risk populations. Our domestic outreach includes girls in transition homes who have been victims of sex-trafficking,  LGBTQIA+ communities that sometimes face discrimination and stigma when purchasing period care products, and Youth Conservation Crew that employs the next generation of environmental leaders in outdoor conservation work where more than 80% of their employees are low-income, and 76% are BIPOC.

Much like the Elevate Prize, the mission of our work is to elevate the voices, self-efficacy,  and opportunities for those often left behind in order to create a more equitable society and healthier planet. We heavily invest in executing a focused effort and strategic plan that factors the intersectionality of social, environmental and economic contexts. In doing so, we’re able to address the problem at the root in order to create the most effective, lasting, and exponential impact.

The idea came as I was climbing Mount Saint Helens and encountered another hiker’s disposable period waste on the conservation trail. While I was aware that girls/women around the globe lacked access to safe period care, in doing research, I learned just how profoundly disadvantaged that could position them in life. 

As an active person and conscious consumer, I personally wanted a period product that not only offered optimal comfort and function, but that was better for the environment and could be used to genuinely help others. VOXAPOD’s flagship product is a utility patent-pending menstrual cup, uniquely designed to be one of the most comfortable and easy-to-use on the market. 

In 2016, we invested 18 months collecting quantitative and qualitative feedback from a focus group of diverse menstruators to inform our branding, product development, and impact work. I hired a wind and solar-powered product designer with 30 years of experience to infuse the feedback into the product development process. In 2018, our team successfully executed a crowdfunding campaign securing 1200 preorders, market validation, and funds to take the concept to market and begin impact work. In 2019, our product hit the market and we are currently positioned for scaling.

Most of my life’s work––personally and professionally––has centered around eradicating the gender gap. Once you know the profound trajectory change a young girl’s life has if given the opportunity and support to complete secondary school, it feels urgent to do everything humanly possible to ensure that happens. A normal and healthy function of her body should never be a barrier to accessing something that she has a fundamental human right to: education.

While VOXAPOD was, in part, birthed out of my own struggles with other period products on the market, I am most passionate about VOXAPOD because of its intersectional impact reach, including gender equity, health, education, social and economic development, and the environment. 

Brands are made of people, and business is a human endeavor. If we really want to build a better world, we’re going to do it together. At VOXAPOD, we're creating a collaborative culture of diverse, exceptional people taking pride in their work, authentically caring about others and including them in our vision for the future. VOXAPOD is a place of work I want to show up for and invest myself into every day because it’s built on values I can get behind.

-We have a qualified and passionate team that fosters an environment of curiosity, agility, innovation, and collaboration.

-The values of VOXAPOD are baked into the DNA of the organization, giving us a strong foundation to draw from in course direction, decision-making, and crisis. 

-We use a holistic approach that goes beyond the numbers to identify significant gaps and opportunities––building a culture and fueling a mission that is not only rooted in research-based data but compassion and empathy. 

-We have dedicated outreach partners that are mission-aligned and share in our research-based approach to ensure most effective impact. 

-We have a business model and sufficient margins that enable us to scale the business and impact work without compromising the solvency or sustainability of the company. 

-Menstrual cups market size is projected to grow at 3.6%+ CAGR up to 2024. 

-VOXAPOD menstrual cup is utility-patent pending. Product designer with 30 years of experience in taking name brand products from concept to market.

-Founder has 17 years of entrepreneurial experience, including 10 years of direct sales experience in building sales cycles, sales teams, and strategic growth plans.

-We regularly consult with diverse advisors to analyze gaps and opportunities for scaling and expanding internationally. 

-We’re in an exciting place of expansion and positioned for accelerated growth this year. Our state-of-the-art tool is complete and ready to steamroll. With more inventory arriving in August, we plan to unleash our marketing and sales strategies, expand our outreach in the U.S., Africa and India, and create more jobs!

In launching our brand in 2018, our first crowdfunding attempt was a fail, but we quickly learned, pivoted, and rebounded with a relaunch a month later that successfully generated 1200 preorders and allowed us to take our concept to market. From there, our manufacturing went awry for the first year requiring a re-tool after our lead manufacturer fell through. We secured a grant to purchase a new tool and move manufacturing to California with a reputable medical device manufacturer. In the interim, we were forced to put a hold on marketing––which otherwise generates significant traction––yet still growing sales by 200% this year over last while rationing inventory on-hand to avoid a backorder situation. 

In the meantime, we expanded our team from 3 to 8 and worked hard to build a solid supply chain that was consciously curated to reduce our carbon footprint and ensure ethically-made products. About 85% of our supply chain––whether for packaging, promotional pieces, manufacturers, or contractors we hire––are minority- or woman-owned.

We’ve leveraged every bit of this ‘setback’ in manufacturing to build a competent and passionate team, growth-oriented operating systems, impactful outreach partnerships, and secure working capital funds for scaling.

In 2017, I was the founding president and board member of Woman Led, a nonprofit organization providing peer-to-peer mentorship support for female-founded companies. Women face unique challenges in business, and having support to share vetted resources, pool networks, combat isolation, and troubleshoot business challenges in real-time is imperative to their success. In collaboration with a diverse board of directors, Woman Led was able to duplicate our model and launch four additional peer mentorship groups (2 in the US, 2 in Iraq). To streamline programming and scale, we hired an Executive Director the following year with whom I collaborated and assisted in executing a complete Theory of Change Model, Stakeholder Analysis, and Strategic Plan. Unable to secure funds for expansion in a competitive ecosystem, I initiated and helped facilitate the merger of Woman Led with another local non-profit, XXcelerate, serving the same demographic in a complimentary manner. I continue to serve as a board member of XXcelerate, a nonprofit providing business support, education and funding for Oregon womxn entrepreneurs. We’re currently positioned to add 20 additional peer mentorship groups this year, and provide a suite of business services along with crisis management for those in need.

-Utility patent-pending menstrual cup uniquely designed to be one of the most comfortable and easy-to-use on the market. 

-Currently innovating additional sustainable products that will help girls with little to no access to water address their period and health needs. 

-We’re addressing the problem systemically and with intersectionality––not just donating product, but supporting the build out and execution of programming that addresses the learning curve of the product, provides menstrual health education and advocacy to stay in school while using environmentally-friendly methods, and keeping jobs local to support the community economically.

-We're in the process of building out a menstrual health workshop that can be used by potential partners and/or for our outreach purposes.

INPUT: 

VOXAPOD will donate menstrual cups and 2% of profits toward menstrual health education.

ASSUMPTIONS:

1. Girls have access to clean water.

2. Girls are interested in learning how to use a menstrual cup. 

3. VOXAPOD can export into necessary countries and meet regulatory requirements as a medical device. 

OUTPUT:

1. Products and funds are deployed to a value-aligned partner that distributes the product and provides menstrual health and menstrual cup education.

2. Girls are provided with safe period care that will allow them to stay in school or go to work. 

ASSUMPTIONS:

1. That partner on the ground has the resources to execute the menstrual health education and is open to distributing our product.

2. Programming has enough influence on the students to convince them to try a new period care product.

3. Cultural or social barriers do not prevent girls from wanting to use a menstrual cup. 

OUTCOME:

1. An increased number of girls stay in school after they start their period.

2. Girls experience more confidence and participation in school and in public as a result of having safe and reliable period care.

3. Girls receive menstrual health education that helps them normalize their bodies and periods while empowering them with the knowledge of reproduction as a whole.

ASSUMPTIONS:

1. An increased number of girls will complete secondary or higher education.

2. Girls will have increased career opportunities and income potential.

3. Girls experience less shame about their bodies and be better able to advocate for their health and needs throughout their lifetime.

IMPACT:

1. Girls will marry later and have fewer children.

2. Girls will have increased psychological well-being and overall health.

3. Girls will earn higher wages and have more career/work opportunities.

4. Girls will have healthier families and pass on the education to the next generation.

5. Girls will reinvest into the landscape of their community––both economically and socially.

To date, we have helped 200+ girls stay in school with confidence, eliminated the cost burden of single-use products for thousands of women, and reduced the waste of 4 million+ non-biodegradable disposables.

Our goal is to serve an additional 250 girls this year, and 2500 next year as we scale, and 15,000 by the five year mark. Reducing the waste of billions of non-biodegradable disposables over the next 2-5 years.

Goals within the next year: 

-Complete new state-of-the-art tool and secure new inventory by August, 2020.

-We have secured funds to hire a Marketing Assistant in Q3 to oversee day-to-day logistics of executing our scalable marketing strategy and campaigns, grow eCommerce market reach, analyze data for deeper customer insights and trends, automate customer-centric communications, and increase traction, conversion rates and ROI. 

-Launch full sales and marketing strategy upon arrival of inventory.  

-Donate an additional 250 units of product, build out menstrual health workshop for new partners, and secure outreach partner in India. 

-Increase website sales by 10% MoM 

-Launch Ambassador Program / Add 50 YTD to create sales funnel, brand influence, social impact 

-Launch affiliate program and expand retail market. 

-Open 60 Ecommerce / Direct Sites YTD

-Vet and enter 2 international markets.

In five years, VOXAPOD will be a leading period care brand in the global market with a foundation to execute our long-term social impact vision across every continent ensuring that thousands of girls have access to safe period care and support to stay in school.

VOXAPOD's greatest risks are our capital requirements and economies of scale compared to big brand competitors. At this time, additional capital is needed to assist VOXAPOD sales and marketing programs, as well as maintain inventory that will enable VOXAPOD to quickly fulfill orders once negotiations are finalized with top distributors.

VOXAPOD is utility patent-pending and registered as a Class II medical device with the FDA in the United States. While VOXAPOD will seek first to enter markets that have the lowest barriers to entry, being able to expand globally will require meeting the regulatory requirements of each market, protecting intellectual property and implementing efficient export logistics to ensure profitability.

We have secured significant working capital in the last two quarters, but will need additional funding to have enough hands on deck to support the accelerated growth we are anticipating once our tool is finalized and new inventory arrives. 

VOXAPOD was chosen to participate in Greater Portland's Global Export Program, resulting in ongoing wrap-around export advisors covering market research, IP, logistics, government funding, legal, and compliance regulations to execute a successful export strategy.

We plan to hire consultants and leverage the expertise of our current advisors, while adding additional advisors/mentors to fill in some gaps and avoid blind spots or spinning wheels.

The primary market we seek to serve is marginalized girls in developing countries who are at-risk of dropping out of secondary school after they start their period. We have strategically vetted and selected our partner, Femme International in Kenya and Tanzania, who is addressing the problem systemically by factoring the environmental impact of their work, implementing advocacy and programming required to keep girls in school while also bolstering their self-efficacy and long-term exposure to economic opportunities, and supporting the local economy by hiring from within the community.

In addition, we have a handful of impact partners in the US that target underrepresented, low-income, and at-risk populations. Our domestic outreach includes A Village for One serving girls in transition homes who have been victims of sex-trafficking,  Metro Trans Umbrella Group serving LGBTQIA+ communities that often face discrimination and stigma when purchasing period care products, and Youth Conservation Crew that employs the next generation of environmental leaders in outdoor conservation work where more than 80% of their employees are low-income, and 76% are BIPOC.

VOXAPOD generates revenue by manufacturing and selling its device direct to consumers via online channels and to wholesale distributors. VOXAPOD opened to domestic markets via ecommerce in 2019 and small retail in Q1 of 2020. In Q4 of 2020, we will begin testing which global markets have the lowest barrier to entry and highest adoption rate. VOXAPOD maintains healthy gross margins in retail and wholesale sector pricing. A 10% US market penetration would equate to 8,300,000 VOXAPOD units sold.

Sales Channels Include, but are not limited to:

Ecommerce via website & content marketing
Amazon Store
Online / Direct period care distributors
Boutiques selling personal care and eco-conscious products
Women’s Physicians Offices
Wholesale personal care sites
Women's Health Care and Naturopathic Product online and retail distributors
Social Impact Organizations

Our impact work is currently done in partnership with strategic and vetted nonprofits that are mission-aligned and using a research-based approach to address the problem systemically while factoring environmental impact. We currently donate product and 2% of funds to our impact partners in Kenya, Tanzania, and the United States, with plans to expand in these countries as well as in India this year. 

Most of our funds will be generated through sales and bootstrapping, while supplementing with grants, a line of credit, and low-interest loans. We currently have no debt and margins that allow for scaling the business and impact without compromising solvency or financial sustainability. We rely on an integrated business model that utilizes the business to create a funding mechanism to expand and enhance the mission of VOXAPOD.

In addition to sales revenue, VOXAPOD was able to secure funding through the following grants:

2019 Business Oregon Grant: 59k

2019 Cocokind Foundation Grant: 5k

2020 FedEx Small Business Grant: 15k

2020 VISA + IFundWomen Grant: 10k

2020 Tory Burch Foundation: 5k

At this time, we are seeking to raise grant money and debt funds in confidential amounts to leverage our next phase of growth.

While the specifics of our expenses shall remain confidential, our current and projected expenses are less than our current and projected revenue.

The support from The Elevate Prize would enable VOXAPOD to hire an Operations Assistant to oversee day-to-day logistics, grow production and market reach, improve supply chain management, and expand outreach and product donation in the US, Africa, and India. Since retooling, we will be equipped with new inventory, but to keep up with the demand we need more hands on deck. This key hire is critical for hitting next growth milestones and would allow me, as the founder, to invest more time in identifying opportunities and gaps, expanding our impact, driving sales, and building operating systems to support growth. 

As a brand, we intentionally use our resources as tools for ethical progress. With the recent outbreak of COVID-19, we are committed to using these funds to expand our marketing, operations, and outreach to provide safe period products, education, and opportunities to those most in need––both in developing countries and right here at home. 

Mentorship is needed for executing a successful scalable marketing campaign (including impact awareness), curating strategic internal systems and operations to support growth, identifying and penetrating initial global markets, and making additional hires at the right time while mindfully fostering a value-based company culture and expanding our impact. 

Thank you for considering investing in our work. Let's fight the gender gap, reduce waste, and build stronger communities together!

Efforts for sustainable global change are always more effective when we work together. The Elevate Prize represents the values we adhere to at VOXAPOD. Having access to a broader network of advisors, more resources and connections for partnerships would allow us to more easily take on challenges, accomplish our milestones, and enhance our impact.