#WCW Crystal Etienne — A different type of deal flow
Welcome to All Raise’s Women Crush Weekly (#WCW), a series where we highlight genius women who are funding or founding tech companies. Please come back to the All Raise Medium blog every week to find a new profile of an awe-inspiring female VC or founder. In August, we’re focusing on FemTech and our crush this week is Crystal Etienne, Founder of Ruby Love.
Talking about your period is not considered appropriate. Even though approximately half the population has a period every month, the menstrual cycle is a taboo subject of conversation. Many women have spent decades struggling with uncomfortable symptoms and have to make do limited products on the market. Crystal Etienne was one of those consumers until she came up with the idea for RubyLove.
In many ways, Crystal Etienne is a classic entrepreneur. She identified an unmet need for a significant population and created a product that was the best possible solution. Despite that, she considers herself an anomaly in the Founder community. She did not make herself the face of the company, nor did she focus on branding, knowing that the product comes first. Her most significant divergence was not looking for outside funding. Knowing she could do it herself, she bootstrapped RubyLove, period underwear and swimwear retailer, to over $10M of revenue. Bootstrapping incredibly difficult, which is why most entrepreneurs do not do it, but Crystal was deeply motivated by the needs of herself and the customer who were just not being served by the products on the market. She knew that it was essential to create the best products and customer would come with it and she was right.
In 2018, RubyLove launched a swimwear line and now has 140K customers and $10M in revenue. It is only after fully proving out the business model and product that Crystal has raised outside capital including a Series A from the Craftory. Crystal and I chatted about how she decided to start RubyLove and why she decided to take a more prominent role as the Founder.
Question: Why did you decide to start Ruby Love?
Answer: One day, I was just literally like laying on the bed watching TV and my sanitary pad was sticking out of my underwear. At that moment, as I could see it between my legs, I just felt like there had to be a better way. I was frustrated with it. There are parts of wearing a sanitary pad that just make you feel gross and I wanted to change that and create a better option that did not require a foreign object. Some people physically cannot use a tampon but our product covers everyone.
Question: Why do you think there are so few products to help a woman’s period?
Answer: It is not a very fancy space. When you think about starting a business, people think about starting businesses that are fancy, that are beautiful, that everyone is going to love. I do not think periods serve that. Now the market has grown and there are more players in the space because they have traction with some products. But for me, I didn’t start Ruby Love wanting to be a glamorous founder. I could have thought of a million businesses but at that moment I came from an emotional place. When I started Ruby Love, I wanted to fix a problem.
Question: What makes Ruby Love the best product on the market?
Answer: We cover everyone. Each layer of our product is different than any other product on the market. In addition, we have a dry tech mesh with a hole that serves two purposes. The primary purpose is to collect any flow to prevent leaks. The second is so you can insert a sanitary pad or our doubled-sided insert and remove it if you have a heavy flow or prefer using sanitary pads. Our gusset is completely different and even looks different than any other product on the market. We are also the first firm to launch period swimwear.
Question: How was starting Ruby Love different from a traditional VC-backed startup?
Answer: I am the anti-Silicon Valley startup; I did everything backward. I did not go out and try to raise a million dollars or $2 million. I did not do any branding. I bootstrapped it.
When I first started, I did not care about profit- I just wanted to get it in the hands of people who needed it. It was a major problem for me. In the first year, I realized huge numbers of people had the same problem as I had and they started coming in droves. When I first came up with the idea, I handled finding my manufacturers right in the beginning. I have a business background, so I knew what was important to focus on. We were not doing huge $50,000 photoshoots; I focused on the product and the audience. I did not even make myself the face of the company. Most people do it the opposite. They set the brand up and then the product. I focused on perfecting the product because the most important thing was providing a product for the people who needed it.
Question: You just raised a Series A round from the Craftery, why did you choose to raise capital from that group?
Answer: Around October, November, I went to San Francisco to pitch investors. It was the first time I showed our numbers and what we were doing, we still didn’t have any branding. Then the Craftery called because they had been watching us for a while and researching the market and competitors. By December I had 11 investors but I chose the Craftery. They were the best partner at the time because we were compatible with how I wanted to run the business and how they wanted to run their firm. Going back to that joke, I am the anti- Silicon Valley startup and they are the anti-VC.
Question: You have now taken a more prominent role as the face of the company; why is that?
Answer: I do not think I should be the face of the brand; my product is the most important thing. I came out as the Founder for one reason: Because I am a Black woman. Friends were telling me that I had to do it because people thought a black woman cannot run a business and can’t found a million-dollar business. I was already running a multimillion-dollar business. I know plenty of black women that are running successful businesses that have a product that people actually really truly want and I just happen to be one of those women.
Question: What advice do you have for other black women who are looking to start a company?
Answer: I think they really need to think big. I think we need to focus on being great at what we do. You hear a lot about female founders and entrepreneurs and being the first of your kind. I want to take out all that fluff. I think if we take all the fluff out and focus on the core of the mission, we will be successful.
