Unbound recently raised $2.7 million from Founders Fund, Slow Ventures, Arena Ventures, SoGal Ventures and others.
Unbound is a subscription sex toy box service that also offers pre-set themed curations that can be purchased one-off – the Booty Box, the Kink Box, the Menopause Box and more. There’s also a bunch of other kitsch for sale on their site that’s quite cute.
“Raising money is always hard but it took an exceptional amount of resilience,” said Unbound’s founder Polly Rodriguez, as reported by TechCrunch.
Unbound started as a third-party seller for sex toys and lubricant. In recent months, the company has been developing and selling its own in-house products. Their eventual goal is to completely shift away from the third-party reselling business, focusing exclusively on their own lines.
“The transition from selling third-party to predominantly your own products isn’t always the smoothest,” Rodriguez told TechCrunch. “In the next year, ideally, most things will be made in house.”
The company places emphases on women’s health and wellness, as well as pleasure. This is due in part to Rodriguez’s own history.
Rodriguez started Unbound after radiation-induced menopause. She told TechCrunch that, during that time, she wanted to make sure she was taking ownership over her body and sexuality – but seemed to have a horrible time doing so. According to Rodriquez, a shopping experience for lubricant (conducted presumably during the time of her illness and recovery) “mortified” her.
“People often assume that anything adult is all the same thing,” TechCrunch reported Rodriguez saying. “Anything from hardcore pornography to very simple lubricants.”
This insight offers a very interesting note. Though the dedifferentiation between and amongst sex-related products, markets, lines, needs and tenors is quite developed, Rodriguez’s inability to identify a retailer or experience that did not mortify her is significant.
Need is often the harbinger of innovation. Regardless of how mortifying or not shopping for lube may be, Rodriguez perceived a need. Unbound is the result. This, in turn, speaks to the need for products and services to well marketed and accessible to their target markets.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcOLZurFHq_/?taken-by=unboundbabes
Image via Unbound’s website.
