How Lauren Wong built Flex by disrupting century-old menstrual care

Executive overview

Menstrual products had seen virtually no meaningful innovation in nearly 100 years. Lauren Wong, a chronic sufferer of tampon-related infections, identified the gap and invented the menstrual disc — a product that sits differently in the body, holds more fluid, and self-empties during bathroom use.

She founded FlexCo in 2015 with no CEO experience, bootstrapped through a cashed-out 401k, smuggled samples through Iceland to generate traction for Y Combinator Demo Day, and navigated brutal retail cash-flow timing to land shelf space at Target, CVS, and Walmart.

The insight: building in a stigmatised category means you have to speak plainly about the problem — the discomfort of honest marketing is a moat.

From personal problem to product obsession

• Suffered tampon-related infections every month for 15 years before a nurse practitioner flagged the link
• Discovered menstrual cups at a dinner in 2013; curiosity became a weekend obsession
• Research confirmed near-zero innovation in the category since the 1930s — the menstrual cup had been patented then but took 80 years to reach mainstream awareness
• Stigma around periods suppressed both consumer awareness and research funding
• Used an Evernote notebook to map every gap in her knowledge (manufacturing, FDA, supply chain, finance) then systematically sought specific, time-bounded help from her professional network

Overcoming self-doubt and finding conviction

• Two trusted C-suite mentors advised against attempting the CEO role — reinforcing her own self-doubt
• The turning point came from a friend's offhand remark: if he'd hire her, she could hire herself
• Moral imperative — a desire to serve others rooted in an evangelical upbringing — outweighed the risk of failure
• Cashed out her 401k after Airbnb income from her apartment fell through; the Vanguard rep begged her not to do it

Doing things that don't scale: the Iceland run

• FDA clearance blocked US shipment; product was cleared in Europe
• Flew three team members to Iceland on $200 budget flights with suitcase-loads of menstrual discs
• Hand-packed samples in Airbnbs across seven cities in eight days; mailed them from local post offices
• Told customs the packages contained "friendship bracelets"
• Generated enough traction data for Y Combinator Demo Day, where the pitch caused audible gasps — investors mobbed the table; one VC offered $200k in passing

Breaking into retail and managing cash flow

• Launched direct-to-consumer in 2016; early Facebook/Instagram ads produced strong but unscalable returns
• Retail entry was blocked by Procter & Gamble and Unilever controlling shelf space; no precedent for a startup in the category
• A major retailer's initial order came in three times larger than expected — production equipment was failing at the same time
• Banks demanded personal guarantees; with no assets left (no 401k, just a Subaru lease), traditional lending was a non-starter
• Found a non-traditional lender after proving retail success; the delay was nearly fatal to cash flow

Brand voice and marketing strategy

• Deliberately avoided fear-mongering or bashing competitors — chose to lead with product benefits, not tampon risks
• Refused to tell customers their personal health choices were wrong; positioned Flex as an additional option, not a replacement
• Investors doubted mainstream adoption until Walmart 2022 proved them wrong
• A 2024 Berkeley study found toxic metalloids (lead, mercury, arsenic) in 14 major tampon brands, driving a surge in demand
• Founder-led ads — blunt, personal, story-driven — consistently outperform polished brand creative
• Only 3% US consumer awareness remains; top-of-funnel investment and international expansion are the next priorities