MAUREEN POLLACK

What does it mean to be a Nasty Woman? 

When you asked me to be a Shop Ryan Porter Nasty Woman I was like, hell yeah! I was honored to be asked and to be placed in a category amongst other self-empowered women. A Nasty Woman is an identifying woman who breaks down barriers for herself and other women by using her intelligence - and she won’t take shit from anyone. 

Tell us about Lovability.  why you decided to purchase the company.

Lovability was originally founded to destigmatize the purchase and carrying of condoms by women. From the start, it's been committed to 100% body-safe ingredients and, today, it offers a range of purse-ready sexual wellness products, including the brand's popular ultra-thin, easy-open and vegan latex condoms and sleek damage-protecting carrying tins; the plant-based Hallelubeyah personal lubricant; a selection of fun, self-love body sprays (including the brand's Instagram famous F*ckboy Repellent); natural, plant-fiber Quickies wipes; sex-positive gift sets featuring curated bundles of Lovability's most crowd-pleasing products; and more. Each is designed with women-identifying individuals in mind - for use at home, or, especially - for easily carrying on-the-go. We also donate a percentage of profits from every order to Planned Parenthood.

 Why did you decide to purchase Lovability?

From the moment I created The WaterSlyde Aquatic Stimulator, I had a huge brand crush on Lovability. Lovability creates body safe sexual health products for women, by women, in a fun, beautiful, and engaging way.   With similar missions the founder and I quickly became supportive comrades. After collaborating for a few years it became apparent that our brands and businesses were a natural fit for each other. I brought in my two amazing partners who were originally my advisors for The WaterSlyde, and together we made the purchase in 2019. I haven’t looked back since - best decision ever. I merged The WaterSlyde into the Lovability umbrella this year, and I’m proud to see both of these beautiful creations thrive together. The purchase of Lovability was especially meaningful  to me as it represents one of the few acquisitions in the sexual wellness space between two female founders. It is being called a groundbreaking acquisition in the sexual health and wellness space, in the press, partly for that reason. #proud

Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?  

If you have an idea that you are passionate about - and it doesn’t cost you too much to invest in - DO IT!  Don’t let others (especially yourself) tell you that you can’t.

Before I started my venture, my biggest hurdle was fear and self-doubt - but I knew I wouldn’t be able to live the rest of my life without at least trying to create The WaterSlyde, a product that I knew could help so many women. And let me tell you, now that it’s in bathtubs around the world, the feedback I get from women everywhere is that this product helped them orgasm for the first time, or that it has helped women who have experienced sexual trauma, to people who have disabilities thanking me for bringing a product to market that they can actually use thanks to its hands-free design— there’s nothing more fulfilling or validating.

Though I had thought of a million potential reasons not to do it, creating a product that would help women won out in the end; and not one of the potential scary things that I was afraid of in the early days came to fruition. If my past self could see where I’m at today, she would jump up and give me a high-five. 

I would also advise to collaborate and not compete. Create a support group around yourself. Surround yourself with fellow entrepreneurs in your space who you can go to and bounce ideas off of, and vice versa - you’ll learn a ton just by helping others troubleshoot snafus within their own businesses. A rising tide lifts all boats. My network has been invaluable to me both in times of celebrating the wins, and also times when things get tough and self doubt creeps in - because as any entrepreneur can tell you, there will always be ups and downs.

So if you’re reading this and thinking about starting your own business— you got this, babe! 

Fave Lovability product?

I’m gonna be biased here and say it’s The WaterSlyde! I mean, it can give you mind-blowing orgasms from the comfort of your own tub. What more could you ask for, am I right?

What message/word would you wear on your RP custom jewelry? Why?  

I would have to go with, “You Got This Babe”. A self-supportive mantra, and my message to others, that I would love to carry around with me. BRB, going to make an order now!

How do you feel about Valentine’s day? What are your VDay plans?

Valentine’s day is a holiday that celebrates love, right? I am all for any moment that celebrates love in all of its forms, whether it’s love between partners or one's self. I personally don’t celebrate love on February 14th any differently than I would on any other day. In fact, I think I would be even more excited if my partner spoiled me with love on a random day. 

Who is a woman you look up to and why?

There are so many women I look up to for so many different reasons, and who inspire me in a multitude of ways. They range from inspirational women through history, to my daughter, to my OBGYN and beyond. Really, strong women who break social norms inspire me in so many ways, and I’m surrounded by powerful women that I look up to. 

Why is self love important? What do you think self love is?  

I believe strongly in the concept of making sure you’re taking care and loving yourself in order to be able to take care and love others. And the concept of self love for pleasure is also important, because if we are intimately connected with our own pleasure, we’ll be able to receive it from others; and pleasure will naturally flow from us.   

How do you incorporate women’s rights into your job? How do they influence your work? 

We work with as many women as possible, because like I said earlier, rising tides lift all boats. I’m invested in other women’s success and empowerment in all aspects of life. Our business model also is structured to allow for fully remote working, which we believe is inherently feminist. In our blog Babe with the Power, we discuss a lot of what women’s empowerment means to us and we give women a platform to voice their views.

In addition, because of the lingering (but fast-fading) stigma of conversations about women’s sexual health and self-pleasure in our society, women's actual desires had for a long time been put on the backburner — or clumsily catered to with unnecessary shrink-it-and-pink-it “for her” products. Lovability itself was created to fulfill the demand for sexual health and wellness products that better addressed the actual needs and desires of identifying women. 

How do you balance running a business with your personal life?

Being an entrepreneur gives me the flexibility to be present in my family’s lives when they need me - and let’s face it, family comes first. But one of my favorite terms that I love is ‘mompreneur’.  I enjoy and feel very blessed to have each of those parts in my life. When it’s the “time” to do one segment, that is what I am 100% focused on. I love the term Mom-preneur. I’m a stay-at-home mom who is really involved with my kids’ lives and I get to be an entrepreneur as well. I feel empowered by the ability to choose how I live my life. When I’m deciding how I want to work, the feminists that came before me paved the way - and I tip my hat to them. Thanks babes.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I want to express my gratitude to you guys for your support and collaboration. For people who are interested in being a part of Lovability’s journey, you can follow us social. Links below. 

www.instagram.com/lovabilityinc/

www.facebook.com/LovabilityInc

www.twitter.com/LovabilityInc