Entrepreneurship with Purpose: The Story of Eleria’s Founders

When I switched to a menstrual cup it dramatically changed my life when on my period, my cramps were reduced, I was saving so much money, and I was doing my bit for the planet. To understand why more people weren’t making the switch, I used my social media audience to

gather thousands of insights through surveys, and the overwhelming response was that cleaning cups in public bathrooms and sterilising

them at home were two of the biggest barriers to uptake.

It started off as a University Final Year Project when we were studying Innovation, and at first, I wanted to explore areas around sustainability, and I really wanted to make a physical product, where I heard Kira’s pitch about the menstrual cup, I thought it was a perfect fit for what I wanted to do and the topic was something I could relate to and

empathise with the users too, so it worked out well!

There have been multiple highlights but the moment I felt that all the

underlying stress and worry was replaced with pure elation was when

we made the first sale on our launch day. Honestly speaking, I was

scared that we would be waiting a long time for our first sale, but it

happened rather quickly as Kira and I were discussing something else,

so I was pleasantly surprised, and it filled me with a huge sense of

accomplishment and relief!

One of the biggest highlights has to be the day we went to our

manufacturer to assemble and pack our cleaning cases. It felt like such a huge milestone seeing all of our hard work come together into a

finished product we could actually hold in our hands. Knowing it was

finally ready to share with our audience made it even more exciting. I

really love getting stuck into the hands-on side of running the business, so even though it was a long day, being so involved in that moment

made it really special.

For me, the most rewarding moments come when we talk to people in person at events like Freshers’ Fairs or Trade Expos. We get to explain the purpose of our product, the problems it solves, and then see their first-hand reactions, often along the lines of, “Oh my God, that’s genius! Why hasn’t this existed before?” Moments like these make me feel truly validated and proud to share a solution with people who didn’t even realise they needed it.

For me, it was during our first product photoshoot and then getting those shots back. The images turned out exactly how we imagined, and it was such a surreal moment to see them all in their colourful glory. It was the point where everything suddenly felt very real we weren’t just developing an idea anymore, we were building a brand. Pulling those photos together for our website and seeing it all come to life visually made me think, “Okay, this is actually happening, Eleria is out in the world now."

In my experience, one of the biggest challenges of being a female entrepreneur is access to funding. It can be harder to secure investment when investors may not directly relate to or empathise with the problem you’re solving, especially given the underrepresentation of women in the investor space. 

That said, the support I have received has been fantastic. Many people are genuinely willing to share their expertise, offer guidance, and help along the way, which makes the journey feel even more rewarding.

I’d echo what Monica said, funding has definitely been a challenge, especially when investors don’t personally relate to the problem. On top of that, being a young female founder can sometimes mean not being taken as seriously at first.

That said, the support and encouragement we’ve had along the way has been invaluable.

One lesson I wish I’d known from the start is that everything takes

longer than you expect. In the beginning I found it frustrating when

things didn’t move as quickly as we’d expected, but I’ve realised that’s

just part of building a business from scratch. Now I try to I give myself a bit more patience with the process and build in buffers for my buffers

on the timeline!

For me, I think the lesson would be to ‘Trust in yourself and your

instincts a bit more.’ Because we’re new to entrepreneurship, often I

doubt myself when it comes to certain decisions or conclusions that

we’ve made. But actually, sometimes the situation is a lot simpler than we think it is, and we’ve actually overcomplicated it in our heads!

I hope Eleria helps change the way people think about menstrual care

by making sustainable options feel normal, accessible, and convenient. Too often, period products, especially sustainable ones, are either

treated as nothing but a tool to absorb/collect blood or framed only

around their eco benefits, but we want to show that they can also be

affordable, practical, and considerate of menstruators health and

wellbeing needs.

If we can break down some of the barriers that stop people from trying products like the menstrual cup, and make periods a little less stressful in the process, then I think we’ll have made a real difference.

I hope we can make talking about periods feel less ‘taboo’ so that it is

more normalised and we can have frank and open discussions about it. Hopefully we can create space for better education and awareness to

encourage healthier attitudes, especially amongst non-menstruators,

so that there is ample support for innovation and accessibility in future menstrual health products.

“Empowering, Exhausting, Purposeful” 

“A roller-coaster ride”