Devin: As you think about your accomplishments, what do you see as your superpower?
Rachael: My superpower–I truly believe–is being an advocate and driving equity in all forms.
Thinking of women and nonbinary founders, Rachael Kim, founder and CEO of Femtech Salon powered by My Comma, asks rhetorically, “Why is it so hard to fund and support these startup founders?”
She answers, “We're working off of old systems that didn't include them, consider them, nor were made for them.”
The convenings that she organizes are activating a movement. “The Femtech Salon really started through the events series to catalyze everybody from funders, government, media, universities, consumers—especially in a post-COVID world—because everybody needs to understand what's happening regionally now.”
In her work, Rachael uses her advocacy superpower.
AI Podcast Summary
Rachael Kim is the CEO and founder of Femtech Salon, a pre-accelerator and events community that supports women and non-binary entrepreneurs in the femtech industry.
Femtech Salon aims to amplify femtech founders and create an ecosystem for their success in a male-dominated industry.
Rachael believes that the difficulty in funding and supporting femtech startups is due to outdated systems that were not designed with them in mind.
The Femtech Salon started as a subscription platform called My Comma, which was focused on amplifying femtech founders and has now been folded into the pre-accelerator.
The My Comma subscription box includes three months of period care products and self-care items for a more accessible and convenient experience.
The femtech marketplace is a $1 trillion industry with great potential for unicorns and success.
The pre-accelerator program provided by Femtech Salon helps entrepreneurs at different stages, from ideation to scaling up.
Rachael's superpower is being an advocate for equity in all forms, driven by her own experiences of discrimination and underestimation.
She has used her advocacy skills to help her team members secure tech jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rachael's advice for becoming a better advocate is to first know yourself, find your voice, and then test it out.
How to Develop Advocacy As a Superpower
Femtech Salon is all about leveraging Rachael’s advocacy for her community. That said, she is proud of another time earlier in her career when she used that skill to support her employees.
At an earlier company, Untaboo, that she shuttered during the pandemic, she had 16 employees looking for work at a time with unemployment was higher than it had been in nearly a century.
She advocated for them, helping them get their resumes polished, prepping them for interviews and then even negotiating on their behalf for new employment contracts.
“They all settled in big tech jobs,” Rachael says.
Of this experience, she says:
Covid proved to me the fact that I wasn't out for the money. I started this with a mission, and I stayed true to myself as the leader that I had always wanted to be—and actually am. The advocacy work taking care of my people, I would say, is one of the things that has always carried me through Covid and, if anything, is one of the proudest things I've ever done in my life.
Rachel highlights three keys for effective advocacy.
Know yourself first.
Find what is natural to your voice.
Test your message.
By following Rachael’s advice and example, you can make advocacy a skill that enhances your career. With time, you could develop a superpower that enables you to do more good in the world.
Guest-Provided Profile
Rachael Kim (she/her):
CEO Founder, Femtech Salon powered by My Comma
About Femtech Salon powered by My Comma: A pre-accelerator and event community amplifying diverse femtech founders by creating a more connected and intentional ecosystem to thrive.
Instagram: @mycommalife
Website: www.femtechsalon.com
Other URL: hypepotamus.com/startup-news/first-femtech-atlanta-salon
Biographical Information: Rachael Kim, CEO of My Comma—an organic period care subscription platform amplifying women/BIPOC-led brands to menstruators, powering new routines. My Comma represents the pause to take care of oneself, acknowledge the different facets of you and the fact that it takes more than yourself to change the social conversation around menstrual health. This work gave rise to the Femtech Salon event series taking place in LA, ATL, MIA AUS with other high-growth cities—support and amplify diverse femtech founders by creating more connected ecosystems in their respective local cities, which has led to partners like Techstars, It All Media, Wefunder, LA Times, Crunchbase, BioscienceLA, Atlanta Tech Village to get involved. The Femtech Salon is launching its first pre-accelerator cohort at the end of this year!
A Forbes Trailblazer, she is a Northwestern and London School of Economics alum who spent ten years working for Strategy, Risk, and Analytics in Accenture. As an ex-corporate intrapreneur turned social impact entrepreneur after experiencing health issues, she uses her superpowers for gender equity, particularly period equity, while supporting overlooked businesses. My Comma (previously known as Lady Box) was recently named best personalization period box by Women’s Health Magazine 2022.
Instagram: @the_alpha_xx
Twitter Handle: @rmh_kim
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/rachael-m-kim
On July 19, 2023, we’ll hold the first-ever SuperCrowdHour with an extraordinary panel I’ll moderate, discussing “The Power of the Purpose Round.” The panel will include Parker Clay CEO Ian Bentley, DealMaker CEO Rebecca Kacaba and Renew VC founder Mark Hubbard. You’re entitled to a 50 percent discount as a Superpowers for Good reader! Join us for just $5 when you use the discount code SUPERCROWD. Register here.
Femtech Salon Founder Leads a Movement to Empower a Community of Entrepreneurs