Eva Goicochea, Maude: Setting the New Standard for Sex – Well Made E68

Maude is a sex essentials company founded by brand strategist, Eva Goicochea. The brand is muted and the products are pared-down. Maude is a far departure from the loud, hypermasculine messaging you see in drugstore aisles, and that's the point. From the beginning, Eva focused on creating inclusive sex products that are simply designed and intuitive to use. For Maude, a human-centered design approach guides everything from their packaging to brand voice. 

When we last spoke to Eva, Maude was still pre-launch. Together, with industrial designer Dina Epstein as her co-founder, they launched the company in April 2018. By simplifying sex essentials, Maude is disrupting an age-old industry in an approachable and authentic way.

On this episode, Eva unpacks the two-year long process it took to launch Maude (5:45). After 18 months fundraising over two million dollars, Eva shares her dos and don’ts for finding the right investor and cold emailing (12:19). In the last year, Maude was featured in several publications — from Vogue to Fast Company. Eva spills their strategic press strategy (21:40). She shares how running their own survey helped them narrow in on their customers’ pain points (24:49). Stephan and Eva talk about finding your first 1,000 true fans through consistency (27:50) and empathy (36:45). Eva talks about opening their Winter Studio retail space (40:16), their future physical and digital advertising plans (42:40), and how they’re standing out on social media with educational content (43:39). Finally, Eva shares how Maude revised their packaging to fit new products variations (48:55).

Follow Eva’s personal musings and get cozy with Maude on Instagram.

Also mentioned on the show:

• Luke Ragno
• The Long Now Foundation
• Well Made Episode 6 with Kevin Kelly: Embracing the Inevitable
• The Hero’s Journey: A Voyage of Self-discovery by Stephen Gilligan and Robert Dilts
• Peer Exchange Health
• The Maudern

Images via Maude.