Dr. Soum Rakshit is the cofounder and CEO of MV.Health (previously known as Mystery Vibe). After his previous startup — in eye recognition tech — was acquired by a US defence company, he spent some time in consulting before turning his attention to the world of vibrators. A decade later, his company creates clinically proven and FDA registered medical devices to address major sexual health issues like penetration pain, arousal disorder, erectile dysfunction and period pain.
With more than 150k customers, Soum knows a thing or two about sextech, which is why he’s going to be joining us on stage at Sifted Summit to discuss how technology is impacting our most intimate lives — for better and for worse — and the challenges the industry faces.
Here he shares his top tips on how to operate in a taboo market.
Prioritise customer education. Selling in a taboo market is all about building trust. Everything needs to be rigorously checked before going out — your reputation will be at risk otherwise. Focus on creating evidence-based content to educate customers. In the early days, collaborating with known experts and partners will help the trust building process.
We collaborate with leading gynaecologists and sexual health experts, for example, to create content on our key themes to share across socials or with the press. Our goal is to reframe sexual health as a part of your overall wellness, not a separate, less important aspect of you —you need to figure out how to normalise conversations about your market or the challenge you're trying to solve and remove any shame.
Take regulation seriously. Regulation varies significantly by region — different countries have different regulatory bodies — and can be more stringent because of the sensitive nature of the products or services involved. Sexual health products may face more rigorous scrutiny compared to other health sectors when it comes to product approvals. Ensure that you’re familiar with the standards and requirements set by these bodies, such as ISO standards for quality management. Stay informed about evolving guidelines by participating in relevant industry committees and working groups.
Don’t benchmark your runway against other tech companies. Prepare for lengthy regulatory processes and budget adequately for the time it’s going to take. The process of creating a new product, iterating, running trials (clinical or otherwise), publishing results, getting regulatory approval and getting it into the hands of users can take on average five years and a budget of $2m, from our experience. You’ll save time by engaging with authorities early.
Hit them with the stats. When pitching to VCs, emphasise the large, underserved market you’re serving. Bring as much data as you can: including problems or conditions that you’re addressing, studies, endorsements. Know your financial numbers inside out — probably more than other verticals! Show them your growth, plan for sustainability and the sector’s potential (and how much of that you intend to corner).
Be transparent with your investors… about the timelines of product development, the costs and regulatory approval. Often, you’ll be educating your investors on new markets and new technology, so they might need you to give them the context. Manage expectations early — you want VCs to have a good experience for the sake of future funding rounds and the success of the wider ecosystem.
On the subject of… taboo markets
- Is sextech still too taboo for VCs? Society is changing its attitude towards sex, but investors haven't got the memo yet.
- Brunch with Sifted: Cindy Gallop on building the next sextech unicorn.
- How do you make markets legal? An interesting podcast episode, with an academic angle, on taboo business verticals that were once (or still are) illegal.
- How do you market taboo products?
