TOP: 100% Organic Plant-Based Period Product

Denielle and Thyme

TOP the organic project’s mission is to educate, enlighten and be our authentic selves so that every girl and woman on the planet has access to healthy, 100% organic, plant-based, and eco-loving tampons and pads.

Our primary purpose is to give every woman a choice to be proud of in the feminine care space, through innovation and a long-overdue makeover. There has never been a time when we need to be more collectively conscious of the products we consume and acknowledge their impacts on our long-term health.

As moms and as women, we are raising our voices for the next generation and building a brand that drives positive social change. This is more than just a product, this is a movement.

What was the inspiration to start this business?

The inspiration for TOP the organic project came when we went looking for organic period products for our daughters, and we realized that there were few options that were healthy for our girls and the environment.

We saw a category that had no transparency, little innovation, and had been largely ignored. At that time, we were both at a crossroads with our jobs. We were both seasoned executives at large corporations who were missing out on being parents, not fulfilled in our jobs, and looking for more meaning in the next stage of our careers.

We were the moms that cared about everything organic, what we fed our kids, changing our beauty products, but we NEVER had changed our tampons. We decided to take the risk together and go out on our own to create TOP for our daughters.

When you started your business, did you ever envision that you would be where you are now?

Not at all. It has been an incredible 2 years, filled with many ups and downs, laughter and tears, surprises and disappointments but most importantly, we have grown so much together during this time both personally and professionally. When we started TOP, we thought we could apply so much of our corporate experience to starting a business. Boy, were we wrong! Deep in each of us, we had the entrepreneurial spirit, but we had to untrain ourselves from some of our corporate-world knowledge and rewrite the playbook.

We found early on that there was no “book” on how to start a business, so we listened, learned, read, and connected with as many people as we could to create our path. We are able to push each other along and recognize when we need to pivot (like we did in March as COVID hit the U.S.), pause, or accelerate. The business has taken many different turns along the way, each one of them being a lesson to apply to the future of the business. Being able to build a brand from concept to execution with tangible traction has been so rewarding.

The unexpected and truly the best part of it all has been the opportunity to show our children the risks taken to build TOP, and how we are building this for them. Our lives have more meaning now, and we can see how we are impacting theirs.

Was there ever a time that things didn't fall into place, struggles, or challenges? What were they and how did you get passed it and grow from the experience?

With every challenge, there is an opportunity. We had been self-funded to start the company and knew from the groundswell of support we received from the women around us that we were doing something important with TOP and we had to find a way to get it done. In order to keep the business going, we needed to raise funds. We thought investors would love us because we were seasoned executives with years of experience leading organizations, and teams and a deep understanding of CPG. We met with, spoke to, and reached out to over 100 VCs and investors.

Everything they say about women securing VC funding is true, women raise less than 3% of all venture capital. We were mature entrepreneurs, we were pitching to men, we were not tech-based and we were talking about periods. Investors were not interested in us and it almost broke us both financially and in spirit. We made a commitment to each other that we were going to push forward because we knew there was still so much opportunity in what we were building. We would find a way to raise money.

We used the advice of Cindy Eckert, from the Pink Ceiling, to look for angel investors. As soon as we began talking to friends and family about the need to raise money, we had 5 angel investors lined up. This gave us the runway to take the business to the next level. It took focus, determination, and an even stronger belief in what we were building.

What was the biggest lesson you learned while starting and growing this business?

The biggest lesson we learned was how important it was to be authentic and relatable. In our first 6 months, we were too serious, didn’t share enough about our story, and didn’t have the emotional connection with our customers that we envisioned. We learned quickly that we had to throw out the traditional playbook and get uncomfortable.

This was our opportunity to do it our way. The real change happened when Thyme, our co-founder and CEO, bought a tampon costume. She thought it was super funny (which it is) and this gave us the opportunity to really change the narrative and remove the stigma of a taboo topic. What used to be a hushed conversation with other women was now a topic openly discussed with everyone because of the levity we brought to the conversation. Putting ourselves out there authentically as real moms, the founders (in our tampon costumes), and the face of the TOP Brand made us resonate with our customers and ultimately, became noticed by retailers.

What would you tell a FEM that is struggling in her business and feel like it's too difficult?

Belief. Believe in yourself. Believe in your brand. Believe in your future. Surround yourself with the people who believe in what you are building. There are so many ups and downs and emotions that go into being an entrepreneur.

Find people in your network who can give you honest advice - you want the good, the bad and the ugly. And don’t be afraid to ask for help. Having these resources to lean into during tough times will help pull you through. There are so many entrepreneurs looking to connect and support one another.

Thyme and I feel so lucky every day to have each other as co-founders. We lean on each other all the time, push each other along our path, recognize when we need to shift, celebrate together and in the low moments, have some tears but quickly dust each other off and move on. We lean into our network all the time with questions, advice and as a sounding board.

What continues to inspire you to keep on growing your business?

Every day, Thyme and I are inspired by what we are building at TOP. We are positively impacting women’s health, reducing our environmental footprint, and donating to women and girls who don’t have access to safe period products. We love that we can show our daughters and the next generation that you can build a purpose-driven company and still have fun along the way.

At the root of this business, we did this for our children. We wanted them to have better products and remain confident in themselves through this milestone, as well as for us as moms to be able to talk openly to them about their periods. We love it when we hear stories now from our friends and family about the comfort level that their kids have to talk about periods. In the future, when TOP becomes successful, our purpose will be to invest in other female entrepreneurs so they don’t have to experience some of our early struggles and we can empower this next set of entrepreneurs to create change…

Final advice for those thinking of starting a business or looking to grow their current business?

Being an entrepreneur is one of the most rewarding and challenging endeavors you may ever take on. For anybody looking to get started on this journey, we would tell you to follow your dream.

The path is there for all of us. You need to be patient, resilient, passionate, learn from your mistakes quickly, and most importantly, find an incredible support system.

To connect: www.toporganicproject.com, Instagram @toporganicproject,

Facebook @TOPorganicproject Twitter @TOP_Organic