Let’s just get this out of the way from the start: We are talking about the menstrual cycle this week, but this conversation goes so much deeper than the monthly cycle. I had the opportunity to sit down with Amanda Calabrese in Paris, founder of Sequel — a spiral tampon that creates a longer flow path for better absorption and no leak protection. We talk about her journey in developing Sequel, which started as a class project at Stanford and the hurdles involved with creating a D2C product. Amanda opens up about her experience with burnout and how she leans on her years as an athlete to inform her daily decisions as an entrepreneur. 

IN THIS EPISODE

Amanda’s background and how Sequel came to be (3:28)

A lesson on the sport of life saving and how her athletic career introduced her to the first Sequel investor (7:20) 

The first steps to put Sequel in motion and how Amanda used her skills as an athlete to develop a company (16:15) 

Amanda’s go-to when overcoming burnout (24:45)

Biggest hurdles in early stages of product development (27:42)

A crash course on raising money and angel investors (31:15)

The defining moment of the first Sequel tampon and where you can purchase Sequel (38:24)

The branding behind Sequel and Amanda’s biggest lessons in creating a brand (41:15)

A piece of advice for every female founder (45:12)

Sequel’s partnership with Athleta and what it’s looked like in Paris and beyond (46:50) 

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