Recently, I had yet another jarring experience in the startup world. I met with two business consultants who are associated with an investor. Relatively quickly into the meeting, one individual suggested a product idea and prefaced with, "you can throw this idea in the trash if you don't like it." They told a story about working in an environment where "men would get uncomfortable when seeing breastmilk in the fridge and wouldn't want to put their food near it." At this point in the experience, I stopped them and said that this behavior was "unacceptable" and "sexist," hoping for acknowledgement. But the individual proceeded to state, "what if you make a bag to put the breastmilk bottles in so the men are more comfortable?"
My heart raced as I struggled to respond, expressing that their suggestion missed the essence of our product and brand.
I think the hardest part of this experience was that this person was a woman. I am somewhat hardened to hearing these types of statements from men. I pitched last month to a room full of men who were giggling about breastmilk when I entered the room (I should have just walked out). To me, this experience was more disheartening and forces me to widen the scope of my vision for Pippy Sips.
From DAY ONE, Maia was about empowering the end-user and combatting the barriers in the pumping process. That will always be the goal. And "yes," I will be throwing the "bag" idea into the trash as well as the notion that breastfeeding and pumping Moms need to change their behavior to make someone else comfortable.
#femalefounder #femtech #brandvalues #startupworld
