London and LUWI: A Love Letter

Ready for a #throwback?! The first version of LUWI launched in London. Sounds glamorous, right? Truthfully, it was!

But it far from perfect. Traveling back and forth between London and Chicago was taxing. I was a single mom taking London meetings at 4AM Chicago time. I spent my days juggling my kiddos and building a business. After an 18 hour work day, I'd crash and get some rest before it all started up again at sunrise.

This untraditional, international startup ping-pong game also came with big wins:

✅ We had sales!

✅ We got press!

✅ People loved us!

✅ The NHS requested samples!

✅ Stores in London, the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany placed orders!

It felt like a validation parade — and I was the grand marshal!

At yet, it wasn’t sustainable. I knew running a startup would be hard. I learned quickly was that running a business with stakes on both sides of the pond would be next to impossible. The bright side? We learned A LOT:

✅ Who our customers were

✅ What they loved (and what they didn’t)

✅ How to manufacture efficiently

✅ What scaling would look like

It was a masterclass in trial by fire powered by tea cups of caffeine, an idea with traction, and many, many transatlantic flights. When it became obvious that I needed to be in Chicago 100% of my time, I made the tough call to put LUWI on hold.

Fast forward 5 years. Roe v. Wade was overturned, and I knew it was time to try again in my own backyard. I went full-time on LUWI in January 2023 and the progress we’ve made since then is remarkable.

We’ve applied everything we learned, and the new LUWI is even better than the original. As we get closer to our goal, the demand for LUWI continues to rise.

Funding in #womenshealth remains a challenge... we'll get there, I know it. The interest and excitement for LUWI meets us at every turn. The world agrees: people deserve more and better options.

We’re building LUWI for the women who are DONE compromising; for those ready for something that finally puts their needs first.

We're building LUWI so women can walk through care aisles and know that the world prioritizes their health, safety, and body autonomy as much as they do.

Cheers to that! 🥂 Let's go LUWI,

Lisa Kinsella | Founder & CEO

Photo taken just after my Huffington Post interview with Amy Packham: Meet The Woman Hoping To Empower Women's Sex Lives By Launching Female Contraceptive LUWI