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Let’s celebrate Janvi Tiwari and her journey; On the 2nd anniversary of SOQO.
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She is 23, but she inspires many of us at this young age with her confidence, grit, and problem-solving brand SOQO for women.
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Janvi represents an Indian startup on the world stage.
There is no age to start a business; you can be 18 or 58 and stand testimony to many young budding entrepreneurs and students thinking of business at a very early age. Covid time, when most of us were home, Janvi was working on her start-up idea SOQO.
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Her introduction as the Chief Menstruating Officer at SOQO stands out in Linked In and shows her deep connection to her brand. Janvi aims to resolve the most common girl-women problems through sustainable, practical, comfortable, and environment-friendly period underwear. SOQO soaks it all. It is leakproof. SOQO is So Comfortable also So-kho in Hindi.
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THIS IS FIRST TIME WE HAVE WITH US
YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR ON INSPIRING WOMEN.
DREAMWEB INDIA
Let’s Get Inspired
In Conversation with Janvi Tiwari
– Preeti Juneja
The experience of a menstruator is beyond gender. Three years of non-profit work with Manasa gave me an insight into different ways we experience periods and related hygiene issues. It was also then I first learned about gender dysphoria.
Imagine being born a female, but you talk like a man, dress like a man, and believe yourself to be one. But every time your periods show up, it feels like nature defeating your purpose in life at the core. It’s heartbreaking.
At SOQO, we knew we couldn’t eliminate the feeling but surely could help in minimizing it. Hence, we came up with our high absorbency leakproof boyshorts. They don’t look feminine and hence are widely accepted by many in the queer community as a less dysphoric way to periods.
While speaking to women, my only pitch is that SOQO will help you increase your confidence by eliminating anxiety about untimely leaks, be it pee, periods, or discharge.
My second point is, do you anyway wash off that gunk from your regular underwear? And anyways, didn’t our naani-s / dadi-s and moms use fabric? As a new-age woman, I’ve just made it smarter by introducing a leakproof layer between them.
By then, women mostly are convinced as they know they’re dealing with a problem no one ever addressed, and SOQO, at the very moment, comes forward as a knight in shining armor.
Q. When you were hiring people on the job, was it difficult? Did age, gender, city, or biases play any detrimental role?
Yes, very! Being a Startup working in feminine hygiene, I had to be very careful with people as it’s a very sensitive topic and requires people with good communication skills so we can put forward views that, though taboo come off as important medical topics of discussion.
It needs to be less gothic and more representational. I initially struggled with people who, even though they were interested, did not take working at a Startup seriously in their professional journey. It is a risky bet, and working from a home office makes it even tougher to make-believe.
But “duniya bahut badi hai mere dost” + “kisi bhi cheez ko shiddat se chaho toh puri kayanat tumhe usse milane ki saazish mein lag jaati hai”
Be it tier 1 or tier 2, we have all kinds of people everywhere; it is just about time when you meet them! It took me 1 year to have a team I have run, and I was blessed with the best!
Q. Do you have time to unwind, research, read, and do things you enjoy? Is it life revolving around work, mostly?
Actually, no? Very similar to a new mom, SOQO is my baby, and my work, life, and leisure revolve around it. The advantage of being young is I have no other responsibility than SOQO.
I love the change I’m making in women’s lives with SOQO. And guilt-free, I give all my time to it. That being said, lows are a part of life, and I deal with them as they come, learning as I go through them.
GO FOR IT. IF YOU CAN DREAM ABOUT IT, YOU HAVE IT IN YOU TO ACHIEVE IT TOO. JUST BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. JUST SHOW UP, ONE DAY AT A TIME.Â
Rapid-Fire:
- Starting young is a boon or bane? Not old yet, so don’t know, still young, wild, and free.
- I see potential in? Women leading work-life via intuition
- Staying committed to it? Getting financially free
- What do I dream of? Getting rich and promoting women to achieve financial freedom, too, having my own VC someday
- Money well saved or money well invested? Both, you need fluid cash for emergencies, but money, if invested, works for you, and you don’t always end up working for money.
One-Liners:
- Janvi is Real
- Women should do whatever they want
- I want to help do women whatever they want
- Overcoming fear by forgiving yourself for things you didn’t know
- Building trust through transparency and simple language
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About Author
Janvi Tiwari
30th August 2023
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Inspiring Women
Do you have a question for Janvi Tiwari ? Write to us at preeti.juneja@dreamwebindia.com
