Latest news with #femalefounders
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
‘Femtech' takes on the women's health-care marketplace
Could you use some discreet help with birth control from a $14.99-a-month period-tracking app? How about a hands-free, wearable breast pump, for $549; a $299 wristband to soothe hot flashes; or an extra-slim, temperature-neutral, LED-lit speculum to bring to gynecologists' appointments — part of a $125 kit including 'comfy socks'? These products and more are part of a fast-growing industry known as 'femtech' — high-tech solutions for women's health needs — whose many female founders say they're tackling age-old inequities.
Fast Company
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
How Meghan built her pioneering partnership with Netflix
Meghan carries many titles these days. Besides being the Duchess of Sussex, she's a podcaster, a philanthropist, a children's book author, the star of a Netflix show, and the founder of a direct-to-consumer startup. But when I sit down to speak with her, she says she's recently taken on a new role: that of Tooth Fairy. Archie, her 6-year-old son, recently lost his first tooth. Meghan rushed home to ensure she could be the one to leave a little money and a small dinosaur under his pillow. At 2 a.m., Archie woke Meghan up excitedly to tell her what had happened. 'I had a lot of business meetings the next morning, but I still chose to cuddle with him the rest of the night,' she says. 'Those mom moments energize me to be a better founder, a better employer, a better boss.' These are the kinds of work life details that Meghan likes to get into in her podcast series, Confessions of a Female Founder, made with the production company Lemonada Media (which is also behind podcasts by Sarah Silverman and David Duchovny, among others). It has had more than 800,000 downloads since its April launch. On the show, Meghan talks with female founders about the origins of their business, along the lines of Guy Raz's How I Built This. But the show also has another dimension: It allows Meghan to get practical advice about launching her own lifestyle brand, As Ever. 'I'm pulling back the curtain to allow people to see the candid experience of being a founder,' Meghan says. In the eight-part series, she's spoken to guests ranging from Bumble's Whitney Wolfe Herd to Kitsch's Cassandra Thurswell. The finale, released May 27, features Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx and Sneex. A Pioneering Netflix Deal In her conversation with Blakely, Meghan talks about how she partnered with Netflix to create As Ever, her new brand, which launched in February. The line included products like tea, jams, honey, cookie mixes, and her iconic 'flower sprinkles,' which are edible flower petals that spruce up dishes (priced between $9 and $28). Over the past few years, even as Netflix's subscriber numbers have continued to show impressive growth (it added 18.91 million subscribers, a year-over-year increase of 15.9%, in the fourth quarter of 2024), it has also been exploring how it can create products tied to the content of shows. The streaming service now has an online shop that sells everything from cosplay costumes for Squid Game to Stranger Things bomber jackets. With Bridgerton, one of Netflix's biggest hits, the streaming service produced its own products, like coffee mugs, but also licensed Bridgerton branding to other companies, like Hill House Home and Selkie, to produce dresses. Meghan says that she had been exploring various ways of launching a business when Bela Bajaria, Netflix's chief content officer, approached her. 'At the time, I had been working towards building out my own in-house team,' Meghan says. 'But I had a complete U-turn because I completely bought into the vision she was sharing, which is where content and commerce meet, not in a product placement way, but rather in an ideological way.' In many ways, this is a pioneering partnership for Netflix. Along with Meghan, the Netflix team decided that it made sense for As Ever to exists on its own, without any Netflix branding. This is why the line isn't called, 'With Love, Meghan,' like the show. 'The brand is in the same universe at the show, but they're not the same,' Meghan says. Meghan also points out that Netflix is not just a financial backer. The company's consumer packaged goods team works closely with Meghan's team to manufacture the products. 'We are on calls daily, working through product development, SKUs, and inventory,' she says. 'We have a field trip tomorrow to look at different manufacturers and suppliers as we expand the brand.' What Comes Next for As Ever As Ever's first collection was a runaway success. Meghan says that even though the team spent a year preparing the line and forecasting demand, all the products on the site sold out in 45 minutes. Now, they're trying to plan As Ever's next phase. The easiest thing to do would have been to simply restock the products, which would likely sell out very quickly again. But instead, Meghan wants to take a step back, gather data from the launch, and figure out exactly what As Ever could be. She says she's planning to announce new products in the first quarter of 2026. There are some clues about what new items might be in the pipeline. Meghan's trademark application for her brand includes things like cookbooks, tableware, cutlery, and serving ware. 'I want to really focus on the hospitality angle of As Ever, but as we take the learnings, we can understand what the customer's needs are seasonally,' she says. There are now many models for successful celebrity brands. As Meghan contemplates what comes next, there are many directions she could go, from focusing on a single product category, like Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Kim Kardashian's SKIMS, to a broader play, like Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop and Jessica Alba's The Honest Company. But for now, she believes it makes sense to build a brand around a single idea. 'My heart is very deeply in my home,' she says. 'Everything comes from being rooted in the love story of your home and garden, and then you can imagine different verticals coming out of that.' In the future, though, the sky's the limit. I ask whether she might explore a clothing business, since many women are drawn to her personal style. 'The category of fashion is something I will explore at a later date, because I do think that's an interesting space for me,' she says. As she continues building As Ever, there's a good chance we'll hear about her twists and turns through through a podcast. There's interest in doing a second season of Confessions of a Female Founder, and many female founders have approached her to be a guest on the series. But Meghan is now involved in such a wide range of projects, she's sure to find some way to tell her story. 'If I had to write a résumé, I don't know what I would call myself,' she says. 'I think it speaks to this chapter many of us find ourselves in, where none of us are one note. But I believe all the notes I am playing are part of the same song.'
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Meghan shares behind-the-scenes footage from her podcast as she praises her latest episode
Meghan Markle has shared behind-the-scenes footage from the photoshoot for her podcast while praising the latest episode 'as sucha good one'. The Duchess of Sussex, 43, reminded her followers to tune into Confessions of a Female Founder's latest episode the founder of an eco-friendly hair care and beauty brand for women - in a video posted on Instagram on Friday, 'So I'm not sure if you've caught up on this week's episode of Confessions of a Female Founder, but it's such a good one - and it reminds me of that quote "Wherever you go, there you are," she began, as Meghan appeared sans makeup in the short clip. 'That is what my conversation with Cassie is like because 20-plus years later, so much has changed and yet we are much the same,' she continued, referring to her interview with Cassandra. Meghan kept her face largely makeup-free, with the mother-of-two appearing to be wearing little more than a swipe of soft pink lipstick and matching blush. The video included a closer look at Meghan's wedding rings - after fans noticed the unconventional way in which she chose to wear them. However, it appeared Meghan had since reordered the rings so they were stacked in a more conventinal arrangement, starting with the wedding band, followed by her eternity ring, and finally her diamond engagement ring from Prince Harry. Meghan then shared a behind-the-scenes reel from the photoshoot for her podcast, which shows the Duchess striking a series of candid poses for the cover picture of Confessions of a Female Founder. Meghan's Instagram Story comes three days after the episode was released, as she discussed motherhood with Kitsch-founder Cassandra. At one point in the episode, Meghan revealed having children was 'not the way I envisioned it', adding that it is 'so important that my kids see me as a working mom'. She added that she had a vision that she was 'going to give a speech with a baby on my hip' before she became a mother to Prince Archie in May 2019. The reality, Meghan continued, was different as she had 'a lot of external things happening'. The Duchess – who gave birth to her second child Princess Lilibet in June 2021 - also spoke during the new episode about how she 'likes to show up for people'. She said: 'For myself, especially when they are baby babies... before I was a mom - I've always wanted to be a mom - before I was a mom I was like, 'oh gosh, I'm going to give a speech with a baby on my hip'. I had a whole vision. I was like, I'm just gonna... 'And then you fast forward, granted I had a lot of external things happening by the time I had both pregnancies and both babies, but it was not the way I envisioned it.' She later added: 'For me it's so important that my kids see me as a working mom.' It comes after Meghan and Prince Harry celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary as the Duchess shared previously-unseen photographs of their family and 'love story '. One image on the pinboard features her pregnancy bump, while another shows the couple's son, Prince Archie, kissing his sister, Princess Lilibet. Other scenes show the family on various holidays, painting in the garden of their €13million Montecito mansion – and even Archie in the womb. Meghan's post was accompanied by the Proclaimers tune I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) and the caption: 'Seven years of marriage. A lifetime of stories. 'Thanks to all of you (whether by our side, or from afar) who have loved and supported us throughout our love story – we appreciate you. Happy anniversary!' Meghan often used to make montages when she was working as an actress and running a lifestyle blog. Her latest one charts the couple's relationship from when they met on a blind date in London in 2016 – where they took a candid selfie – their second date on a trip to Botswana spotting elephants, and a trip the following year to see the Northern Lights in Norway. It then moves to the couple's engagement and wedding – including, controversially, given the couple's acrimonious departure from the royal family, a drawing of Meghan's coat of arms. Several private family images include a sonogram of Archie in the womb, and Harry gazing down at him after his birth in May 2019. Others show them on the beach at Norfolk with their dogs, smiling over a birthday cake, and on trips as working royals including in Morocco. The action then moves to their present-day life in California. Several notes are written on the board in Meghan's distinctive cursive script, including the lyrics to Ben E King's Stand By Me, which was played at their wedding. Another pinned note says 'love wins' – a phrase the pair have often used about their relationship to signify their battles against their perceived enemies.
