Written by Joseph Viney for BaDoink.iO. Originally published on August 5th, 2015.
“The business and personality side of SexTech has seen great developments in 2015. We’re not going to sit here and crow like some celebrity shitshow, but a sector that is already on the back foot from lazy stereotyping and poor public perception needs strong faces and voices in order to make any progress at all.
One of the biggest names – and loudest voices – is Cindy Gallop. The founder of MakeLoveNotPorn is one of the most vocal proponents of SexTech and one of the biggest scourges of the stuffed shirts that reside in Silicon Valley and elsewhere.
“I am impressed by anyone founding and battling to grow a SexTech venture in 2015,” said Cindy when speaking with BaDoink again recently. “Every obstacle every entrepreneur faces starting a business – have a sextech startup, triple them. The three most important qualities for any startup founder are persistence, resilience and the ability to manage your own mind. Working in sextech, you need huge amounts of all three. These are the founders to bet on.”
The problems faced by SexTech start ups was a common – and unfortunate – thread throughout the course of our features, interviews and spotlights. Jennifer McEwen – co-founder of MiKandi – put it plainly when she spoke to us in January: “We made a mistake. We made a product for adults.”
But even with mainstream and Silicon Valley playing games – or not playing, as the case may be – there are still enough murmurs and ripples to cause a wave. Multimedia site The Drum made a huge dive into the pool with The Big Turn On. The SexTech documentary rooted out some of the biggest names in the sector – including our great pals at Kiiroo – as a certifiable show of strength for a burgeoning industry.
The Drum by all accounts has done SexTech justice, and it has left the door open for others to join them by walking right through.
Even before that – back in February – LELO’s assault upon the mainstream cinema market showed that there is no lack of ambition in SexTech either. Beyond The Wave looked to concentrate on the emotional and physical balance of love in a distorted world, all while the rest of the world was gearing up for the rough bullshit of 50 Shades Of Grey.”
Head over to BaDoink to read the full article here!
