Think about walking into a professional event, feeling the sudden, unmistakable onset of your period, and realizing you’re unprepared. You rush to the restroom, solely to discover a rusted, coin-operated steel field demanding 1 / 4. In 2026, who even carries 1 / 4?
For Claire Coder, this wasn’t only a second of private frustration—it was an epiphany that led to an enormous business opportunity. “Rest room paper is obtainable at no cost,” Coder says. “Why aren’t interval merchandise?”
That query led Coder to drop out of school at 18 to launch Aunt Flow. Right this moment, the corporate has equipped greater than 34 million merchandise to 1000’s of establishments, from Google’s headquarters to the house of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, and is a portfolio firm of my enterprise capital agency, Chloe Capital. However this isn’t nearly pads and tampons; it’s a grasp class in flip a uncared for ache level right into a dominant B2B infrastructure play.
The pivot from solopreneur startup to B2B powerhouse
Within the early days, Coder was the final word solopreneur, hand-delivering merchandise and packing orders herself. On the similar time, she stored her eye on the larger image.
“I’ve by no means seen this as a small mission,” she explains. “Eighty-six p.c of ladies have began their interval unexpectedly in public with out provides. We weren’t simply filling a spot; we have been serving to outline a brand new commonplace for loos in all places.”
The inflection level got here when Coder realized that to win, she didn’t simply want a greater tampon—she wanted to personal the supply system.
The aggressive moat: {hardware} as a service
Whereas opponents targeted on direct-to-consumer subscriptions, Coder turned Aunt Move right into a {hardware} firm. They designed proprietary, ADA-compliant, “free-vend” dispensers. By putting in these into the bodily infrastructure of a constructing, Aunt Move created a formidable aggressive moat.
“As soon as a company installs Aunt Move dispensers, we turn into embedded of their bodily infrastructure,” Coder says. “It naturally helps ongoing replenishment and compliance. We offer the {hardware}, the product provide, and the implementation help.”
This sticky enterprise mannequin permits Aunt Move to transition from a one-time vendor to a long-term services associate. When an organization, college, or stadium installs a custom-built Aunt Move unit, they aren’t simply shopping for a product—they’re investing in a everlasting amenity that helps productivity, attendance, and comfort.
Navigating the enterprise gross sales cycle: from Google to the NFL
Promoting to enterprise purchasers and big stadiums isn’t for the faint of coronary heart. The gross sales cycles are lengthy and bureaucratic, and require navigating a number of layers of services administration. Coder’s technique? Persistence, presence, and proof.
- Persistence: Coder describes exhibiting up at stadium conferences the place they initially had no footprint. Right this moment, they’re in over 30 stadiums throughout the MLB, NFL, NBA, and extra. That didn’t occur from one dialog. It got here from exhibiting up repeatedly and staying high of thoughts because the class developed.
- Presence: Lots of an entrepreneur’s work is about exhibiting up constantly over time. Aunt Move invests closely in relationships and trade touchpoints, whether or not that’s following up for months (or years), or ensuring to be bodily current at commerce reveals and services conferences the place decision-makers are truly evaluating options.
- Actual-world proof: Certainly one of Aunt Move’s secret weapons is the “within the wild” impact. When followers or staff see the modern dispensers, they share them on social media. That ground-up demand typically filters again to the executives, shortening the space to securing a contract.
Using the legislative wave
The market has shifted drastically since 2016. Right this moment, 27 states and Washington, D.C., require colleges to offer free interval merchandise. As an alternative of simply reacting to those legal guidelines, Coder has been proactive, advocating for the Menstrual Fairness for All Act on Capitol Hill.
“We’re not simply responding to momentum; we’re serving to drive it,” she says. By performing as an adviser on ADA compliance and legislative necessities, Aunt Move has positioned itself because the best choice for organizations seeking to keep forward of evolving rules.
Scaling tradition and mission
As startups mature, social missions typically get relegated to a slide deck. Coder prevents this by means of a sturdy Influence Program, which has donated over seven million merchandise thus far.
The corporate additionally hosts “Interval Events”—team-based volunteer experiences the place staff assemble kits for native nonprofits. This retains the workforce linked to the “why” even because the “how” turns into more and more complicated.
Regardless of the fast progress, Coder is candid in regards to the toll of being the general public face of a motion. Her secret for sustainable success is in regards to the capacity to delegate and step away when there’s a must recharge.
“Entrepreneurs perceive that taking seven days off is rather a lot,” she admits. “I’m grateful to have the ability to stroll away for per week figuring out the enterprise will maintain flowing. I don’t have to hold the whole lot alone.”
What’s subsequent: the ten million-restroom alternative
Coder’s North Star is easy: ubiquity. With an estimated 10 million ladies’s restrooms within the U.S. and Aunt Move at the moment in 70,000, the runway for progress is very large.
“Our objective is to make pads and tampons as ubiquitous as rest room paper and paper towels,” Coder concludes. “When that turns into the norm, it’s a win for productivity, dignity, and the underside line.”
Aunt Move represents the brand new frontier of interval care in public locations: an important amenity that’s accessible to all of their second of want.
—Elisa Miller-Out
This text originally appeared on Quick Firm’s sister web site, Inc.com.
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