We were lucky to catch up with Maureen Pollack recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Maureen , thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
It was a beautiful accident. When I was 15, while in the bathtub I reached for the faucet to help sit up and it popped off. Behind the faucet was a pipe shooting the water straight out. The water began spraying me in the face, so I quickly jumped back, and it hit me well… somewhere else . Let’s just say I took about 4 baths a day until my father fixed it. Looking for a similar experience, I began scooting under the faucet AKA doing the “bathtub technique” but it was uncomfortable, my tush covered the drain which meant that I had a few moments where I had to decide, do I want to breath or “finish”. Over the next 15 years I became an intimacy coach and I tried almost every product on the market, you know, for research. but nothing was like the intense build up with explosive “O’s” that water stimulation gave me. I also noticed that many of the pleasure products on the market contained toxic materials with almost no regulations as they where able to be sold as novelty items. There was also, not one product that utilized water as the stimulation device even though many women have enjoyed water during their pleasure journey. I thought about how amazing would it be if I could create innovative sexual wellness products that were also body-safe and eco-friendly. On July 3, 2013 I decided I was going to invent that WaterSlyde Aquatic Stimulator! Over the last decade my company Lovability has blossomed into a trusting community with a whole line products that have been welcomed into the mainstream market.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
HIGHLIGHTS
Founder of MoJo Enterprise, LLC
Inventor of the WaterSlyde
Co-Owner of Lovability + Writer for Maureen’s Tub Talk
Nominated for 4 XBIZ Awards including… Business Women of the Year, Best New Product of the Year, Most Innovative Product of the Year
Writer and Co-Producer of The Mompreneur Movie
Member of Women in Sex Tech
Regularly speaks on panels, PodCast and radio stations
Studied and practices the Jewish Marital Laws of Nida
Wife and mother of 2 children and 1 fur baby.
I am Co-Founder and President at Lovability, a women-owned wellness company that empowers identifying women to take charge of their sexual health by creating body-safe, eco-friendly and revolutionary products. Our company prides itself on being a safe platform for the sexually curious and dives into topics around vulva care, pleasure as well as inclusivity and equality.
In my career, I have forged a powerful and unorthodox path as the co-owner of Lovability and the inventor of The WaterSlyde, a patented, aquatic pleasure product designed for the bathtub. Through my work as an intimacy coach over the past 17 years, I have humbly helped empower women in all stages of life to enhance intimacy and pleasure. As President of Lovability, I am responsible for product development and sales and, act as the spokesperson for the company. I could’t do this all without my amazing team and partner John Paul who is the COO an Co-founder. Shout out to the men who believe in female empowerment!
Currently, I am also an elected democrat on the Stamford Board of Representatives, District 11 in Connecticut. In addition, I also have a movie in pre-production about her entrepreneurial journey. ‘MomPreneur” is a unique and inspirational dramedy that illustrates her journey overcoming a tumultuous childhood and becoming the unlikely inventor of a widely successful pleasure product. Wow, writing all of this I just realized that I have utilized my ADD to it’s fullest.
With all of this, the moments that make me the most proud are when I hear from my customers and clients who share gratitude for helping them live a happier and more fulling life. I genuinely feel a profound sense of purpose in contributing to the betterment of women’s lives, by challenging social constructs and crafting products that prioritize both safety and eco-friendliness. My aim is to fill the gap in the market for non-toxic sexual health products, ensuring the well-being of our bodies and the planet.
Can you talk to us about your experience with buying businesses?
I’ve always been one to trust my intuition and stay open to what the universe has to offer. A magical example of that is how John Paul Basile, and I came to be partners in purchasing Lovability.
It all began when the Founder of Lovability and I began supporting each other on Instagram. After a few years we discovered she lived in my parents’ old building in San Diego and we knew the universe had bigger plans for us. I flew home to visit my family and of course meet up with Tiffany in person. I meet with her in hopes of us partnering. When I shared with her my idea, she laughed and said she was going to ask me if I would buy Lovability from her as she was looking to move on to other passions. She said she had multiple offers but wanted to pass the baton to me because we had mirroring visions and I would take care of her valued customers. I spent weeks crunching numbers and I was crushed to come to the realization that I couldn’t afford it. I shared with her that she should sell it to another buyer and get what she deserves for the amazing company she built. I was shocked because something inside told me I was going to work with Lovability somehow and how could this be the end?
I continued on with my journey of growing WaterSlyde. Then some crazy turn of events happened that I still can’t believe are part of my life. I was nominated for 3 XBIZ awards and on my trip home from LA my Lyft driver Hakim Wray turned out to be a screenwriter who declared he wanted to write my story into a screenplay to be made into a movie. Within a few months The Mompreneur Movie was written. Hakim sent the screenplay to John Paul. He read the script and and said wanted to be a part of the WaterSlyde as this was one of the most innovative products that will change the world.
John Paul and I meet in New York to discuss him advising me to help the WaterSlyde grow.
After about 2 months of working with John Paul, the discussion of The WaterSlyde needing more products to go with it came up. I shared with them that there was this amazing company that already had wonderful products and it’s branding was more than perfect that I was in discussion of purchasing about 8 months back. They said call them right now and see where they’re at maybe we can all buy it together!
I texted Tiffany and she said she was 3 days away from sadly shutting down Lovability and passing her customer base to another company. She said we could make it happen in 3 days she would much rather see her company live on. Just like that I flew to San Diego. John Paul and I purchased Lovability. Somehow I knew Lovability and WaterSlyde would be one, I just didn’t know how.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I vividly recall the moment when I made the decision to bring my vision to life. While lying in bed, crunching numbers with my husband, it became clear that I needed $15,000 to patent the WaterSlyde, create a mold for the first order of 1000 units, cover attorney fees, and establish my website and company. Though daunting, the thought of living with the regret of never trying outweighed the financial risk. I made a vow to myself and my husband that I wouldn’t invest another dime beyond this initial amount. I have unfortunately seen people come in go with millions of dolors in investments. I sometimes looking back at my mistakes I have made and I am grateful that they were at a small scale. Bootstrapping my way to where I am now, I’ve learned invaluable lessons and grown significantly. It’s akin to approaching a poker table, only bringing what you can afford to lose. Breaking even is a victory in itself, knowing you’ve pursued your dreams and evolved along the way. Sometimes slow and steady does win the race.
Contact Info:
- Website: Lovabilityinc.com
- Instagram: @LovabilityInc
- Facebook: @LovabilityInc
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maureen-pollack-162a3a89?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: @LovabilityInc
- Youtube: @LovabiiltyInc
- Other: TikTok – one of the best! @TheWaterSlyde