August is on its way to re-invent period care

August was founded by Nadya Okamoto and Nick Jain, who wanted to answer all the frustrating problems of period care and create sustainable and change-forward beauty products. What was once a non-profit project has turned into a spark of change within the feminine hygiene industry. August challenges its consumers to re-imagine period care and promotes a healthier view that eradicates the negative stigma associated with menstruation.

Nadya Okamoto first co-founded a nonprofit called Period, Inc. in 2014, which distributes menstrual supplies to those who are in need and strives to break down period stigma through education and advocacy. After seeing little to no change in the industry, Okamoto was frustrated with positive change being wasted and untouched. Instead of further waiting for change, she decided to take charge and decide to be the change herself. Thus, in 2018, she and Nick Jain connected and joined forces to combine their passions and have been working together to form August since August 2020.

“Period care has always been the opposite of empowering, and products have not been pushed to be sustainable and comfortable as they should be…” Okamoto states. She believes that because these standards have never been challenged, the bar has always remained lower than it should. Through August, Okamoto hopes to open up conversations and raise the sustainability standard in all period products to a long-term and positive change.

August’s aim to press reset in the period care industry raises a powerful standard in PRV’s eyes. Not only are they sustainable and ethical with their product development, but they also raise a beautiful #InnerCircle community by inviting its consumers into conversations “actualizing” the diversity and reality of menstruation, rather than glamorizing it. Most of the community’s growth happened through word of mouth, and intimacy was always Okamoto also makes it a priority to give back to those who are in need so that no one gets left behind.

But of course, such an extravagant business had to grow from scratch. Finding the right investors was very important, and Okamoto wanted to make sure that each investor was able to relate to August and allow it to be as transparent as possible. “We took over a year to raise our money and turned millions down from our funding because there were businesses that wanted to censor our true selves,” she explains. She wanted “fellow menstruators” to grow alongside August and contribute to its movement. Although this caused a delayed progression of the business, August was able to patiently grow into the positive perspective it has become while partnering with investors who promote invested impacts.

Similarly to PRV, August wants its community to be the change by initiating that spark with its products. Okamoto hopes to imagine business to be better by thinking of its consumers first, not the numbers. She aspires to be a funnel for August as she pursues her passions and continues to be the new standard for the industry.