The Journey to Marlow

Author: Nadia Ladak

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My name is Nadia, I’m the co-founder and CEO of Marlow.

My journey with mental health definitely centers around anxiety. It is something I've always experienced growing up in school, in extracurricular activities, throughout university, and entrepreneurship definitely amplified it. It's something where you always experience so much uncertainty, and for someone who has anxiety, you really like being in control. You don't like uncertain situations, but there is no playbook in entrepreneurship. There's no one telling you what to do. You don't know what the next day will look like because you're building a whole new product and a whole new industry. Anxiety manifests itself in spirals and negative thoughts and your stomach feeling anxious among different physical symptoms. That has been my journey I've been navigating throughout my whole life but especially as being a founder.

Navigating the Mental Health Landscape as an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship is really uncertain and for someone who struggles with anxiety like me, it becomes really difficult to navigate through this uncertainty. I remember there was a period of time last year where everything seemed like it was going super well on the surface. We had just filmed our episode of "Dragon's Den." We had just won Forbes 30 under 30. Everything was going super well. But underneath, I was so anxious. I was so overwhelmed. I remember waking up in the middle of the night and crying before bed because I was so overwhelmed. It really was a struggle to navigate through all that uncertainty all the stress that comes with entrepreneurship and those challenges you'll often hear that people say it's the highest highs and the lowest lows and you have to be able to navigate through all of those moments in time as a founder.

Growing up, I’ve always been interested in health and wellness. I like to stay active to take care of my body. I was interested in skincare, haircare, and habits to promote positive mental health. With all of this focus on holistic wellness, I asked myself, why do I treat menstrual health any differently? This is something we experience for one week, every month, for 39 years of our life and we deserve to know the ingredients we’re putting into our bodies and to have comfortable products we use every month. As women, we’re often taught to just “put up with the pain”. We’re taught that periods and using a tampon should just feel uncomfortable. Many of us remember our first time we tried to use a tampon, we were likely getting coached by our mom, sister, or friend from outside the bathroom stall, as we struggled to get it in. At Marlow, we’re trying to challenge this narrative and encourage everyone to have a positive experience with comfortable products and access to “big sister” education to learn more about these typically “taboo” topics.

Forging Through Uncertainty: Entrepreneurship and Anxiety

When starting a business, you face a lot of uncertainty. There’s no play book and no one telling you what to do. You’re often building a new product in an industry that may have not even existed before. As someone who struggles with anxiety, navigating through this uncertainty can be very challenging. I often face feelings of self doubt and not knowing if I’m doing enough to grow my business. I compare myself to other successful entrepreneurs and get down on myself. But we have to remember that success doesn’t happen overnight. All of the successful entrepreneurs and stories we see online are not overnight successes, but rather years of hard work in the making. You don’t fail until you give up. Despite all of the challenges, remember to be resilient, to challenge those feelings of uncertainty, and keep pushing forward.

Along your entrepreneurship journey, you face the “highest highs” and the “lowest lows”, sometimes all within the same day. One day, you could be winning an award, receiving a grant, getting press, and later that day, you’re struggling to manage your cash flow and you’re running out of inventory. As a business owner, you have to learn to separate yourself from your business. You are not your business and the successes, failures, and learnings you experience along the way do not define you as a person. Learn to enjoy the process, be proud of how far you’ve come, and celebrate the small wins.

As an entrepreneur, there are always a million things on your to do list. There’s no one managing you so it’s up to you to set healthy boundaries and to prioritize your tasks accordingly. One thing that I do to take care of myself is to journal every single night before bed. I find I always have so many thoughts racing through my head of tasks that still need to get done, but journaling at the end of the day helps me clear my mind and decompress so that I can get a good night’s sleep. Another thing that I do is ensure to exercise regularly. I like going biking, walking, running, lifting weights, and yoga. I try to find time every single day to move my body and I schedule it as an appointment or a meeting with myself. If you block that time off in your calendar, you’ll ensure that it actually gets done.

Embracing Support

I remember a point of time last year where I was feeling so overwhelmed, so anxious, burnt out. Every little decision felt like the end of the world, just getting up and deciding what to eat for breakfast or what to wear. Every single decision felt like so much decision fatigue and it was at that point that I realized I wasn't feeling like myself. I was having my stomach churning all the time. I was feeling like I was breaking out, so anxious and I decided to reach out for help. Luckily my family was really supportive of that as well and they encouraged me to go to therapy and to navigate through some of the anxiety and the feelings I was experiencing. And that truly helped so much. And after months of hard work, it wasn't just overnight, I was able to navigate through that burnout and develop some sustainable habits and strategies that have helped me as I've navigated the rest of my founding journey as well.

I would highly recommend getting a therapist, business coach, or mentor. All of these individuals help to provide a neutral third party perspective to help you navigate through challenges you’re facing with your business. It’s also super helpful to build a community and network of founders to surround you. These individuals are often going through the same things that you are and can be a sounding board to provide you a listening ear, advice, and support.

Trusting Your Gut & Opening Up

I'm not going to lie, I was super nervous to open up about my mental health and share what it means to go through anxiety and have this stress and this overwhelm. I thought people would look down on me and think, "Can she even handle being a founder or being an entrepreneur?" I think it's actually the opposite. People see it as being courageous, as being brave. When you open up these floodgates and you talk about these situations that you're experiencing, you'll be surprised that so many people around you are going through the same thing and I think it really helps you build authentic relationships with people, your team, your customers, other founders around you. And so don't be afraid to open up about what you're experiencing.

It will not make you look any more weak or that you're not capable. It will actually make you look stronger because you are being authentic of who you are and the challenges and struggles you're facing. I feel like in terms of warning signs of when you need to seek help, trust your gut. You will know if something doesn't feel right, if your stomach for me, it always felt like it was churning, that there was these anxious thoughts.

If you notice any other signs like your skin or your hair, your body will tell you that something is going wrong and if it feels hard to make decisions or you always just feel overwhelmed, I think that's a sign that you need to get help. I also think you don't need to have a warning sign. There's a lot of people that just go to therapy for... preventative measures and being able to have someone to talk through different challenges.

You don't have to be at the edge of the cliff for having a warning sign to go seek help. It's okay to just go in and use it as a preventative measure to have someone to talk through when you're experiencing the level of stress and challenges that you do as a founder and entrepreneur.

I know a lot of times, as a founder, you think that you have to be able to do everything. You don't want to turn to someone else to support you, but it is not a shame to turn to a therapist, to have mentors, and to really prioritize yourself. Book those meetings with yourself to get a workout in or to have that therapy appointment. You really need to prioritize yourself because at the end of the day, that will make you a stronger leader and your team will look up to you because you're behind you. authentic and you're willing to prioritize yourself despite all the hard things and challenges you're going through as a founder as well.

What to expect from Nadia and Marlow in 2024

When we started the business, we primarily focused on selling our business online through a direct-to- consumer subscription. Now, we’ve launched on Amazon, well.ca, and 80 independent retailers across Canada and the US including Healthy Planet, The Well, Nature’s Emporium, and more. In 2024, we’re excited to launch into larger retailers and chains, expand our product offering (stay tuned!), and bring our TMI Club community together in-person for a series of events with experts in the reproductive health space.

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About Nadia: Nadia Ladak is the co-founder and CEO of Marlow, an environmentally sustainable and gender inclusive menstrual care brand offering the first lubricated tampon for smoother and more comfortable insertion. Nadia has raised $1 million in funding to fuel the brand’s growth, earning $400,000 in non-dilutive grants, including from the Entrepreneurship World Cup, the Canada Post Tales of Triumph contest and the Visa She’s Next Grant Program.

Nadia is a member of the G20 Young Entrepreneur Alliance where she works with government leaders to advocate for policy related to youth entrepreneurship. She is also the program marketing officer at Startup Canada, Canada’s national non-profit organization supporting early stage entrepreneurs. As a public speaker with the Canadian Youth Speakers Bureau, she has delivered over 100 keynote presentations globally across different
universities, high schools, and business conferences.

In 2023, Nadia appeared on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, season 18 of CBC’s Dragon’s Den, and was awarded the YWCA Young Woman of Distinction.

Outside of her work at Marlow, Nadia is the co-chair of the Catalyst Council, the junior board at Holland Bloorview Children’s Hospital and a learning experience facilitator for high school students to learn about entrepreneurship at Junior Achievement.

About Marlow: Marlow is leading the next wave of menstrual wellness through innovative, sustainable, and comfortable period care. The team of female founders have created the first lubricated tampon for smoother and more comfortable insertion. Beyond the product, the team has built an incredible community called "The TMI Club" where they break down topics that are typically considered "TMI" around periods and sexual health.

You can check out our website or find Marlow on Amazon.

You can also join our community on TikTok, Instagram, or The TMI Club.