Breaking news: You can now get the Hotflash inc podcast right here on Substack! It’s true! Henceforth, will be published here and sent out on Fridays (or so). And the archives are here too, so you can check out the past episodes. Thank you for bearing with me while I figure all this stuff out.
I have two power players in this perimenopause space: half of the four-person team that founded Wile, “a plant-powered hormonal and emotional wellness brand for women 40+ that reframes midlife as a time of peak power”. (You will hear the word “tincture” a lot)
I spoke to Wile back in the summer – got a little ahead of myself there – but our conversation about the current reality of this space, what’s happening with women, how the options facing us are complementary, what we face on the job and in our home lives and what it means to square up with the heroine’s journey of menopause all still stand. You will hear the word tinctures a lot too.
Introductions: Gwendolyn Floyd is a venture-backed serial social entrepreneur – five companies and counting – and Wile’s co-founder and CEO. The title of this podcast is “4 women go through perimenopause” because not only is Gwen a perimenopausal woman, but she watched her mother be buffeted by this transition too. Julie Kucinski is Wile’s co-founder and chief marketing officer, coming from the worlds of beauty and wellness and some of the biggest brands of our time. American actress Judy Greer and former journalist-turned-entrepreneur Corey Schlibo round out the foursome, and they’ve also got some pretty influential investors along for the ride, including US tennis star Serena Williams.
There are many highlights in this frank discussion of the business of perimenopause, as well as the realities of what it is to go through perimenopause. They include:
Why DON’T companies pay attention to women over 40?
There is no ‘natural vs HrT’, only natural and HrT
Calling in versus calling out and getting defensive on social media
How they came to build their formulation (under the guidance of XXX)
The one thing you want to know about most of the products you use
Yeah, we get angry. Okay?
How pretending that we are perfect emotionally – and in every other way – hurts and harms us.
Acknowledging we have a lot going – and a tincture or two – and resilience.
Why menopause needs the straw in the turtle’s nose moment to blow the consciousness up
Why the workplace isn’t even close to accepting perimenopause (and why it’s, for us, just the latest hurtle)
Where to connect with Wile:
Web: Wilewomen.com/
IG: @WileWomen
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