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2 Gen Z entrepreneurs launched a sustainable-period-care startup that's booked $1 million in revenue. Here's how their strategy of posting 100 times a day on TikTok grew the business.
August
- When Nadya Okamoto was 16, she began her entrepreneurial journey in the reproductive-health space.
- Today, she's a cofounder of August, a period-care brand that makes sustainable pads and tampons.
- August has booked $1 million in revenue, and Okamoto attributes that to her social-media strategy.
When Nadya Okamoto was 16 years old, she began her entrepreneurial journey in the sexual- and reproductive-health space by confounding a nonprofit devoted to period care.
"I want periods to be a global conversation," Okamoto told Insider. "That's why I chose to be in this space — to help eliminate that stigma and help menstruators feel empowered about their bodies."
Today, as a 24-year-old, she's continuing her life's work through August, a sustainable-period-product startup. Okamoto launched the business in January 2020 with her friend Nick Jain to address a gap in the menstrual-hygiene market by creating plastic-free, biodegradable, and leak-proof period products for all menstruators, especially Gen Zers. The company has booked $1 million in revenue since its launch, according to documentation verified by Insider.
Most pads take 800 years to decompose, but August's pads take 12 months, Okamoto said. Additionally, the pads are made from 100% organic cotton and are plastic-free. For Gen Zers — a top concern for whom is the environment, a 2021 survey by Deloitte found — the emphasis on sustainability is one of the most attractive aspects of the brand.
"We both quickly came to the conclusion that there was something missing in this space," Jain told Insider. "There are certain spaces where young people are fundamentally more disenfranchised, and menstrual care is one of them."
Okamoto's passion for the industry stemmed from her upbringing — growing up in New York City, she noticed how many people who menstruate didn't have access to the period care they needed.
She cofounded the youth-focused nonprofit Period when she moved to Portland, Oregon, as a teenager. Under her leadership, the nonprofit distributed free menstrual-care products, like pads and tampons, to underserved communities in the city, such as single mothers and women from low-income backgrounds.
Today, Period has built a national presence: It has hundreds of volunteers and college-campus chapters across the country, and last year, it helped cover over 3 million menstrual cycles through the free distribution of pads and tampons.
Six years after creating Period, Okamoto hired an executive director to take the organization forward and left to create August, which is headquartered in New York City.
Okamoto and Jain broke down how they created a successful brand in the menstrual-hygiene space, an area that is continuously being redefined by younger generations.
August
A business built based on Gen Z customer feedback
When Okamoto and Jain began discussing how they could fill the gap in period care — by creating more environmentally friendly and efficient pads and tampons — they turned to the wider Gen Z community to ask how to best serve menstruators' needs.
"In today's day and age, for a founder to really build a successful brand, you have to listen to your customers," Jain said. "When it comes to period care, most brands have failed to listen."
Jain and Okamoto used the app Geneva, an organized group chat, to get direct feedback from Gen Zers about what an ideal product would look like. The duo used their community — called August Inter Cycle and made up of a few hundred members — to ask questions about the product's design, marketing tactics, and events to host. Now, there are more than 3,200 members across the 12 chat rooms whom Jain and Okamoto communicate with regularly. Some members of August's eight-person team were found and hired through the app.
"Every decision that we made was made in conjunction with that community," Jain said.
August
Showing period blood on TikTok was a win
When August launched, Okamoto posted up to 100 videos a day on her TikTok account to showcase the brand's unique approach to menstrual hygiene.
"To me, the TikTok algorithm is like a lottery," she said. "The more lottery tickets you put in, the more chances you have of winning or, in this case, going viral."
The frequency of her posting helped her quickly discover what the audience liked to see. She realized that most people enjoyed seeing her show period blood, put on pads in the bathroom, and record behind the scenes of the company. These kinds of videos went viral and helped grow August's account, along with Okamoto's personal account. Now, she has 3.2 million followers on TikTok and posts about 30 times a day.
Okamoto said that this social-media strategy was what drew more attention to August and persuaded more people to try the products. In fact, the first viral TikTok post drew 400,000 people to the company's website overnight, she said.
She said that once people were on the website, most of them purchased subscriptions or contacted the company directly to learn what's unique about their brand.
"What I love the most is how many people we are able to get excited about periods," Okamoto said. "That's the win for me."
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The term 'no look handshake' is trending on Twitter after Biden was seen shaking hands with South Korea's president without making eye contact
Screenshot from MBC YouTube
- President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk Yeol, met in Madrid on Tuesday.
- In a moment captured on video, Biden appeared to shake Yoon's hands without making eye contact.
- Now, "no look handshake" is trending on Twitter in South Korea as users scrutinize the gesture.
An awkward handshake between US President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk Yeol, at the NATO summit in Madrid lit up social media on Wednesday.
The moment between the leaders, which was captured on video, appeared to show Biden extend his hand to Yoon during a gala dinner but then quickly turn away toward Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. He then shook hands with Yoon while chatting with Radev.
Since the incident, the term "no look handshake" has been trending on Twitter in South Korea, according to TrendMemo, which tracks trending Twitter topics worldwide. For several hours, it ranked among the top 10 topics.
—Hyunsu Yim (@hyunsuinseoul) June 29, 2022
The exchange provoked some criticism by Twitter users. One tweeted in Korean that Biden's actions showed the US leader had "no intention to be polite at all."
Another user speculated that there might be more meaning behind Biden's move. Calling it "disrespectful" to do so in everyday interactions, the user wrote that "to not look into your eyes while shaking your hands on a diplomatic stage" was " sending a message."
It is not uncommon for social-media users to scrutinize the ways world leaders interact with one another at events.
Earlier this month, an awkward photo of French President Emmanuel Macron hugging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine, became an instant internet meme.
In 2017, the internet also went wild over a white-knuckled handshake that Macron shared with Biden's predecessor Donald Trump. The following year, Macron was said to have shaken hands with Trump so firmly that it left an imprint on Trump's hand.
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Crypto Becomes a Major Political Donor as Americans Head to the Polls
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Putin says Finland and Sweden can 'go ahead' and join NATO, but warned the countries against hosting the alliance's 'military contingents and infrastructure'
Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images
- Putin said this week that Finland and Sweden can "go ahead" and join NATO if they wish.
- However, he warned the countries against hosting NATO infrastructure.
- Putin said Russia would "respond in kind" if NATO military contingents were deployed in the countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on Wednesday that Sweden and Finland could join NATO if they wished, but warned that Russia would "respond in kind" if either country played host to the alliance's military forces or infrastructure.
According to Reuters, Putin made these comments to Russian state media while commenting on NATO's formal invitation to the two countries to join the alliance.
"With Sweden and Finland, we don't have the problems that we have with Ukraine. They want to join NATO, go ahead," Putin told Russia's state media, per Reuters.
"But they must understand there was no threat before, while now if military contingents and infrastructure are deployed there, we will have to respond in kind and create the same threats for the territories from which threats towards us are created," he added.
Reuters reported that Putin then went on to say that Russia's relationship with both countries would be subject to some new "tensions" if they joined the alliance.
"Everything was fine between us, but now there might be some tensions, there certainly will," Putin said. "It's inevitable if there is a threat to us."
Putin's latest comments come after repeated warnings from the Russians to Finland and Sweden on joining NATO. In April, Russia threatened that such a move would force it to "restore military balance" in the Baltic regions.
The two Scandinavian countries are now slated to make bids to join the alliance after Turkey dropped its objections to the countries joining the alliance. Turkey, Finland, and Sweden have since signed an agreement to let the membership process proceed, signaling an imminent end to the two countries' neutrality in Europe.
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Wednesday, 29 June 2022
The $300 million, 290 foot-long superyacht of Russia's wealthiest oligarch has been spotted docked in Dubai
NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
- A superyacht linked to Russia's wealthiest oligarch was spotted in Dubai, AP News reported.
- Nirvana, owned by nickel tycoon Vladimir Potanin, is said to be worth $300 million.
- Potanin has not been sanctioned by the West, but has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A Russian oligarch thought to be the country's wealthiest man is the latest rich citizen to move a superyacht to the billionaire haven of Dubai amid scrutiny on those tied to Putin.
Associated Press journalists spotted the yacht Nirvana, which belongs to nickel tycoon Vladimir Potanin and is said to be worth $300 million, at Dubai's Port Rashid on Tuesday.
Potanin, who is the CEO and majority shareholder of the world's largest producer of refined nickel, Nornickel, has been known to take vacations and play ice hockey with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Despite his close ties to Putin, Potanin has not been listed on US, EU, or UK sanctions lists.
Still, the oligarch is now one of several wealthy Russian individuals who have transferred major assets to Dubai.
Levent Kisi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.
The UAE has taken a neutral stance on the conflict in Ukraine and has not imposed sanctions on elite individuals with ties to Putin. By moving their yachts to Dubai, individuals are putting them beyond reach of sanctions from the west.
Government officials in Dubai have told Western allies that sanctioned individuals are not allowed to do business in the country, The Financial Times previously reported.
Potanin's luxury vessel, Nirvana, now sits close to a $156 million superyacht belonging to billionaire Andrey Skoch, which was spotted in Dubai last Thursday, per AP.
A $300 million superyacht belonging to Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko was also spotted in the UAE earlier in June.
The 290-foot Nirvana yacht has a six-person lift, a terrarium for exotic reptiles, and a 7.5 meter swimming pool, according to its manufacturer, Oceanco.
Potanin is the 33rd richest person in the world, with a net worth of $37.1 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Insider contacted Vladimir Potanin for comment but did not immediately hear back.
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