Crystal Etienne | Source | Founder and President at Ruby Love

I’m Crystal Etienne, a black female businesswoman and founder of Ruby Love: a femtech company that supports women living their best lives, even while on their period. Women have been having periods since the beginning of time. When it was time to help my daughter navigate her first period, I was really disappointed with the options to provide her: uncomfortable, bulky pads that can leak, or tampons that can be intimidating for a young girl to use. Neither choice was a good one, which was why I decided to take action and develop period-proof apparel that every woman can feel comfortable and confident using. I spent years testing prototypes to get the right design, materials, and technology while using myself, my friends and my family as product testers. I was relentless in pursuit of creating period-proof underwear and apparel that should never stop women from doing, being and going. I bootstrapped Ruby Love (formerly known as PantyProp) with an initial investment of $25,000 and launched on December 5, 2015.