WoW Woman in SexTech | Patricia López Trabajo, founder and CEO of MYHIXEL
Interview by MarijaButkovic
Patricia López Trabajo is CEO & Founder of MYHIXEL - a pioneering brand in developing a revolutionary scientifically proven method, that helps men and their partners to reach a new sexual level. With MYHIXEL, Patricia is breaking both boundaries and taboos.
Patricia is a 37-year-old female sex tech entrepreneur who was born in Seville and has extensive experience in several very diverse sectors, among them tourism and the eroticism industry. After working for several years with leading brands in this field, she became aware of the lack of products available for improving male sexual well-being. Patricia discovered a study* revealing that 31% of men between 18 and 56 years of age suffer from premature ejaculation, and 85% of these men prefer to keep quiet about the problem. This is one of the main reasons why she embarked on the adventure of founding MYHIXEL.
In 2017 the company was born and in 2018, MYHIXEL managed to secure 100% of the funding it targeted in a Kickstarter campaign in less than 33 hours. Patricia calculated that one device was sold every 4 minutes, showing just how eager men actually are to get their hands on an alternative therapy. MYHIXEL was officially launched in the summer of the following year. MYHIXEL now has a strong committed client base, the brand is focused on improving men’s sexual well-being in a natural and enjoyable way without uncomfortable side effects, numbing creams, or expensive therapies.
Patricia, what is the idea behind MYHIXEL and how did you come up with it?
After almost four years of working in the industry, I noticed a curious trend. It was becoming more mainstream to address women’s sexual health and wellness issues from a more holistic perspective, while men’s sexual health still remained a stigma.
I realized how much the future was linked to health, tech & education. So, I thought that it was time to create a new brand that could bring together health, tech & education by offering innovative products/solutions for men.
The first step was to invest in our own scientific research and medical certifications to position ourselves as a medical backed sexual health brand.
When did all start and do you have other members in your team?
MYHIXEL was founded in Seville, Spain in December 2017.
We have 10 people in our team in-house (most of them are women) with different profiles such as marketing, sales, comms, big data analysis, etc.
From October 1st, Igor Lacambra joined us as Sales Director, bringing his expertise after years working in companies like Elvie and Intimina. Marta Cruz, our new CMO also joined the same day, and she has extensive experience with startups, e-commerce, and affiliate agencies. We also work with a group of international and reputable advisors, such as Dominnique Karetsos, industry expert and CEO Co-founder of Healthy Pleasure Group. Our medical advisor Eduard García Cruz, reputed urologist in the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona. Jesús E. Rodriguez, Chief of Research and Director of the Sexological Institute in Spain, the institution which developed and proved the method of climax control on which MYHIXEL solutions are based. And Andrés del Toro, our Comms Manager and an alumna of leading communication agencies such as Ogilvy and Weber Shandwick.
How long did it take you to be where you are now?
It took a year and a half to design and develop MYHIXEL’s products. The idea of combining medical therapy to control ejaculation plus a device was a pioneer, so we had to create something new with a therapeutic purpose, merging two different worlds and industries, so it wasn’t easy. After this phase, we were able to launch to the market in summer 2019, and since then, we have been expanding our business internationally, selling through our website to more than 42 countries and being present with distributors in the US, Europe, and LATAM so far.
What was the biggest obstacle?
The process of translating our therapy into an online solution, such as a mobile app, using gamification techniques, and keeping the data 100% anonymized was a total challenge! But I can say that we also enjoyed the process. A lot of brainstorming, benchmarking, months of work, but it was worth the trouble.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
From the start, we have invested resources in medical research to get the recognition of the medical community- to see how reputable urologists, psychologists, sex therapists, etc. support us and recommend our solutions is a great success for us. Getting MYHIXEL products registered with the FDA and CE cleared as a medical device is a very important achievement too.
What are the challenges of being an entrepreneur in the niche you are in?
It is a very specific niche where we all suffer from the advertising ban from social media and other mainstream channels which affects our marketing strategy, although this is not new for those like us in the industry.
Also raising funds for a sexual health brand is challenging. We have received feedback from VC’s saying that “they can’t invest in sex”.
How about being a female founder/entrepreneur?
It seems that the female entrepreneur is on the rise. There are certain challenges that must be overcome in order to succeed. Besides struggling with raising funds, women who start businesses also experience other challenges, which include defying social expectations, balancing work and family life, and finding a support network that shares our understandings and goals.
However, as some studies show, it has become clear that women offer a different perspective and a way of working WITH and managing people that can produce the same successful outcomes or better.
What are the projects you are currently working on?
MYHXEL wants to become a referent brand for male sexual wellness, that’s why after the success of our two solutions for climax control, MYHIXEL MED & MYHIXEL TR, we have started launching new products to our portfolio, such as MYHIXEL MAX, our first natural supplement for reaching longer encounters that launched in October. This is the perfect companion for MED & TR solutions.
Along with MYHIXEL MAX, we are working on new supplements for better sex life, and we have also started a new pioneer scientific research on Delayed Ejaculation. This is an increasingly predominant sexual condition these days, and MYHIXEL is planning to launch a new method for this in 2021.
We are also working on our “complementary product line” such as new accessories, and intimate products for men which will accompany our main core products, such as condoms, intimate wipes, etc.
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
Every move related to reinforcing the position of women in tech industries is important for me and I am thrilled to participate in it. For example, MYHIXEL was the official sponsor of the Forum Girls in Tech in Andalucía, Spain in November 2019 where I participated in a round table.
What is the most important piece of advice you can give to all female founders and female entrepreneurs out there?
I just know how hard a startup is and what it takes and that most people aren’t cut out for it / will fail. Those that launch startups work deserve respect.
Some advice would be:
1/ Have more confidence and ask/take what you want
2/ Sell yourself
3/ Learn every aspect of your business, not just the things you're good at.
4/ Hire people smarter than you and ask a lot of questions
5/ Invest in your network and get involved in your community.
6/ Find one or multiple mentor(s).
7/ Delegate.
8/ Take Risks
9) What will be the key trends in the health tech and fem tech industry in the next 5 years and where do you see it heading?
Digital health attracting consumers who want a better experience, inclusive erotica and porn which meets sexual wellness, companies innovating in the working mother space are just a few examples of what I think that would become trending in the coming years.
Of course, we can’t forget about artificial intelligence and machine learning, wearable technologies, virtual and augmented reality, electronic health records (EHR), etc. And after COVID-19, it is a fact that telemedicine takes the front seat.
At MYHIXEL we are investing in applying the latest technology in our products and we also invest in Medical Research every year.
Who are your 3 inspirational women in health tech and fem tech?
Dominnique Karetsos, one of our advisors, CEO & Co-founder of Healthy Pleasure Group. After working at LELO, Intimina among others, she specialises in growth for sexual health technology start-ups.
Lora Haddock di Carlo, CEO of Lora di Carlo, won a Robotics Innovation Award from Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in October 2018. Then a month later they took it back because of the nature of the product. They fought it back and got not only the reinstatement of the award but the change of policy for the next editions of CES show.
Alexandra Fine, CEO of Dame Products. Their two products both broke crowdfunding records, with the hands-free 'Eva' becoming the most successful sex toy crowdfunding campaign in history. It has since grossed some $5 million.
Find out more about MYHIXEL on their website,
This interview was conducted by Marija Butkovic, Digital Marketing and PR strategist, founder, and CEO of Women of Wearables. She regularly writes and speaks on topics of wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT, entrepreneurship, and diversity. Follow Marija on Twitter @MarijaButkovic.