Julie is our January 2011 featured member for the Spotlight.
Our first Soul at Work Member spotlight features Julie Sygiel. She has been a member since 2010, when we met up at Jennifer Kennedy's dancing class spring of 2010. (Julie continued with the class. I need to start again.) Turns out Julie may be dancing her way to the bank, as she is now launching her Sexy Period™ lingerie line after many months of prototyping!
This January they are releasing 500 pairs in a preview sale exclusively on their website: www.sexyperiod.com. Now we are going beyond lingerie...and having a conversation about what seemed "taboo": making a woman's "time of the month" more fashionable and providing a solution to an issue about that pesky monthly leaking! These entrepreneurs have developed a line of womens' lingerie that aims “to complement feminine products to give women the confidence and comfort that they deserve.”
Thank God!
This is a dream come true; from winning the statewide “elevator pitch” contest sponsored by the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition in 12/6/2008 to--flash forward to 2011-- being featured in Style Week Providence 1/21/2011 (see the film below) Julie Sygiel and her fellow Brown University graduate Eunice Png are in seventh heaven. But in the beginning it was a tough sell as the men who judged the contest at Brown failed to see the product’s potential.
“We realized that men didn’t know,” Png said in an interview after their successful second pitch. “They don’t see the product as needed. So we really pushed that in [the second] pitch.” And then they did. The new presentation clicked, with the panel of four judges saying Sexy Period sounded like an innovative solution to an age-old problem.
Founders Julie Sygiel and Eunice Png met in an entrepreneurship class their Junior year at Brown University. When they realized their idea of fashionable, leak resistant underwear (as a backup to prevent period spills) might not be so crazy after all, they set out to make Sexy Period™ a reality. Okay I must say, I did blush about the idea, but, heck, this makes sense and the styles are irresistible. (If investors can invest in ManPacks, a "time saver for men in buying their underwear", why not something that really helps all of woman-kind by keeps us fashionable, and saving us a HUGE embarrassment, during a perfectly natural part of our lives?)
As posted on the Sexy Period website:
"After two years of product development during which they designed the patent-pending fabric (leak resistant + breathable!), 500 pairs are being released in a Preview Sale exclusively on www.sexyperiod.com starting on 1/31/11. The Sexy Period™ team is pouring pink champagne and toasting women everywhere as these revolutionary undies are available to empower women all 28 days of the month. 'Not only can you stop worrying about leaks, but you can chuck out those unflattering panties that you only wear at that time of the month. Who said you can't be sexy all the time? '– Becca S." See more testimonials here: http://sexyperiod.com/store/love/
Our questions for Julie:
Why did you start this venture?
"We started Sexy Period because of the overwhelming positive feedback that we received from friends, boutique owners, and buyers when we did market research during our entrepreneurship class in 2008. I love that our product empowers women to stop worrying about OMG period spill moments so we can take on the world every day of the month."
What is a key lesson learned you'd like to share?
"The greatest lesson learned throughout the last two years of the start-up phase has been to always have a positive outlook. Even when things are challenging and everything seems to be going wrong, if you are persistent and exhibit continuous optimism, you can overcome obstacles that otherwise would be impossible. Don't take 'no' as an answer."
More information here:
The story: Underwear that women can wear during their period (not a substitute for tampons, but a back up) and to make it FASHIONABLE. Download the Pod Cast here: The Story, 01/20/11