Flex Founder Lauren Wang on Overcoming Self Doubt

Lauren Wang tried period products from all over the globe. What she found was the same product in different packaging.

On this episode of Behind Her Empire, the founder and CEO of the sustainable period care brand The Flex Co. discusses how she came to view herself as an entrepreneur and take on the menstrual industry.

Now offering both reusable and disposable products, Flex grew from friends complaining about their periods in Wang’s tiny apartment to become a leading brand in sustainable period care. Chronic yeast infections initially led Wang to abandon tampons, but she said she found menstrual cups to be uncomfortable.

“I felt very cheated and lied to by this massive multibillion dollar industry that kind of makes us go and buy these products every single month that nobody seems to love and nobody really seems to hate either people,” Wang said. “Instead, we just kind of blame ourselves and blame our own bodies for having terrible periods.”

In 2016, she launched The Flex Co., offering menstrual discs as an alternative.

The path to launching her startup was tumultuous; Wang said she found herself nearly bankrupt after she miscalculated the initial design and manufacturing expenses.

She initially intended to take a behind-the-scenes marketing role, asking others to lead her company. When no one took her up on the offer, she reluctantly stepped into the leadership role.

Her passion for filling the gap in the menstrual industry encouraged her to pursue Flex without any experience overseeing a company, she said. Wang primarily viewed herself as someone who could listen to customers—a mindset she said informs how she approaches expanding Flex’s reach.

“I think I built that empathy because I felt my own period issues weren't being listened to and were being caused by traditional period products, tampons, pads and organic tampons,” Wang said.

Hear more of the Behind Her Empire podcast. Subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.

dot.LA editorial intern Kristin Snyder contributed to this post.