Every great success story started somewhere. Nadia Ladak’s story started with her university days at Western University as a music student. From there, she transitioned into management consulting, and  ended up becoming an ‘accidental entrepreneur.’ 

This is Nadia Ladak – founder of Marlow, a menstrual wellness startup that created the first-ever lubricated tampon. Marlow is a sustainably minded brand with its roots set in people and the planet. 

The Origin Story
Banded together at Western University’s Ivey Business School, team Marlow is on a mission to solve one of the world’s oldest pain points – comfortable menstruation.

Marlow was founded by four women – Simone Godbout, Kiara Botha, Nadia Ladak and Harit Sohal – at the Ivey Business School in their entrepreneurship course during their fourth year of university. As I spoke with Nadia about Marlow’s origin story, she recalls their professor telling them to find a problem they were passionate about solving. As she takes the trip down memory lane, Nadia speaks about one of her co-founders opening up about the discomfort of using tampons while swimming, leading her to put a “pause” on life whenever she was on her period. 

As their research deepened, they did a study within their community, which revealed that 98 percent of the respondents noted that the sex education they received did not prepare them for real-life scenarios. Nadia highlights Puma’s global study which highlights that 1 in 2 girls have skipped playing sports if they were on their period because of embarrassment, pain, or fear of leaks. Though tampons are barely noticeable, the pain associated with the insertion is unanimously uncomfortable. 

Between the environmental sustainability impacts, the stigma, and the lack of education, Nadia found herself motivated to disrupt this market and create a business rooted in the values of inclusivity, sustainability, and community. A fully woman-founded team, 50 percent of Marlow is owned by women of colour. What brought them all together? All four women behind Marlow deeply care about creating products that are good for the planet and bringing innovation to a space that has been overlooked for decades.

Ever since, Marlow has been relentlessly breaking down taboo topics, promoting sexual wellness, and addressing reproductive justice issues across Canada and the US in an easily digestible manner through their weekly blogs, daily social media content, and educational workshops hosted at university campuses.

Marlow’s tampons take the world by storm
Marlow is making the smoothest tampons in the world. What’s more! Marlow tampons are organic and sustainable.

The flagship product, the lubricant and the tampons are designed to be used together. It’s a quintessential kit for whether you have a light flow, vaginal dryness, anxiety, or vaginismus (a medical condition). The lubricated tampon empowers menstruators to live life on their own terms and not be held back while on their period. 

Actively tackling the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, ‘good health and wellbeing’, ‘gender equality’, and ‘responsible consumption and production’. All of Marlow’s products are also environmentally sustainable. The tampons are made from 100% organic cotton and come with a plant-based applicator and compostable wrapper. 

Marlow is evolving with every change in sustainability standards and upgrading their products to minimize their environmental impact. The applicator is bio-based, and the tampons are made from 100 percent GLOBAL ORGANIC TEXTILE STANDARD (GOTS) organic cotton grown with rain water, contrary to retail tampons that are made of rayon, viscose, or other synthetic materials. The entire kit is manufactured with mindful partners in Europe and packaged in compostable wrappers. 

In conversation with Nadia Ladak
If you follow Nadia on social media, you can’t help but sense her passion and devotion to Marlow’s cause. I admire her knack for translating challenges through her entrepreneurial journey into opportunities. Speaking to Nadia about one such challenge, she opened up about the lack of funding for women’s health and consumer products. 

Entrepreneurship is a long and tedious journey. Nadia talks about her biggest mountain – ambiguity. “There is no playbook that tells you what to do. You are completely accountable for every decision you make. You will fail and face rejection, but this provides a quick feedback loop to learn and pivot accordingly continuously. It is also one of the exciting parts of being an entrepreneur. You are constantly putting yourself out there and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. You get to wear many hats and learn about all of the aspects of business, such as operations, fundraising, marketing, and team building,” Nadia added. 

Now, being an active member in the startup community and ecosystem, Nadia is making strides and is on a path to increasing access to funding, especially for early stage entrepreneurs. “My first tip would be to start with finding a problem, not a solution. Many people think the greatest entrepreneurial inventions stemmed from creating a groundbreaking product. However, most successful businesses actually stem from the founder identifying a personal problem that they were passionate enough to solve. In your day-to-day life, take note of any challenges that you face. Think about how you can make an existing product even better. Then, the solution will follow,” Nadia advises any new entrepreneurs reading.

Nadia and team Marlow are ardent about reproductive justice. Addressing the recent announcement of free contraceptives being offered in British Columbia starting April 1, 2023, Nadia highlights, “This supports the idea that we should have the right to affordable reproductive health products and services, as well as quality education to understand our bodies and health. B.C. offering these products for free supports this notion and helps more people have autonomy over their bodies. It promotes gender equity and inclusion, and it encourages people to understand their bodies, to have healthy relationships.”

Marlow is breaking barriers and ensuring that menstruation is celebrated and supported. In conversation with Nadia, she repeatedly brings up imaging the “new normal” for menstruators worldwide: “we want to continue to push the standards for products and create comfortable solutions. In the next year, we have plans to launch with retailers, expand to new international markets, release new products, and continue to grow our online community. We have our sights set to have Marlow be synonymous with the new normal of lubricated tampons.”

Footnote:
Nadia Ladak is based in Toronto and passionate about all things startups and entrepreneurship. She is constantly sharing amazing content about her entrepreneurial journey, sharing the ups, downs, and everything in between. The wins, the mistakes, and the lessons learned along the way. Follow her for advice on early stage startups and tips on growing a DTC brand.

Nadia is a member of the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance and Startup Canada‘s 2022 Startup Women Advocacy Network, where she advocates for policies that support women and youth entrepreneurs. She also likes to volunteer her time as a part of the Girl Guides of Canada National Strategic Planning Committee and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital‘s Catalyst Council.

Marlow found its first advisors and partners at Ivey Business School. The team has completed a number of incubator and accelerator programs, including Propel Western University Accelerator, NEXT36, League of Innovators, and the DMZ. Marlow is supported by ecosystem partners, including TechAlliance, Startup Canada, TiE, SheBoot, Invest Ottawa, The Forum, Young President’s Organization, Canie, the 51 Her Story, eCommerce North, Entrepreneurship World Cup, and so many more. Marlow is also grateful for its wide network of supporters. 
Marlow has raised $500,000 from angel investors and won over $400,000 in non-dilutive grants.

All team Marlow photos showcased in this article are by Lizzie O’Donnell.