INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Sex, despite being one of the most fundamental human experiences, is still one of those businesses that some advertisers reject, banks are
hesitant to financially support and some investors don’t want to fund.Given how sex is such a huge part of our lives, it’s no surprise
founders are looking to capitalize on the space
But the idea of pleasure versus function, plus the stigma still associated with all-things sex, is at the root of the barriers some startup
founders face.Just last month, Samsung was forced to apologize to sextech startup Lioness after it wrongfully asked the company to take down
its booth at an event it was co-hosting
Lioness is a smart vibrator that aims to improve orgasms through biofeedback data.Sextech companies that relate to the ability to reproduce
or, the ability to not reproduce, don’t always face the same problems when it comes to everything from social acceptance to advertising to
It seems to come down to the distinction between pleasure and function, stigma and the patriarchy. This is where the trajectories for
sextech startups can diverge
Some startups have raised hundreds of millions from traditional investors in Silicon Valley while others have struggled to raise any funding
As one startup founder tells me, “Sand Hill Road was a big no.”
