Stephanie Alys
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Stephanie Alys
Award-winning entrepreneur. Consultant. Board Advisor. Keynote speaker.
Stephanie is a Co-founder and Chief Pleasure Officer (CPO) of MysteryVibe , an award-winning British pleasure brand. As CPO, Stephanie is focused on changing perceptions around pleasure in a positive and empowering way. She is a strong advocate that pleasure is a beautiful part of the human experience, and fundamental to our happiness.
Stephanie is MysteryVibe's spokesperson on the role of technology within sex and relationships. She has been featured in major publications such as the BBC, The Times, Guardian, Economist, CNBC, TechCrunch, and WIRED and regularly appears as a keynote speaker on international stages.
Stephanie's work has won her numerous nominations and awards including the Europas, Young Guns, and PathFounders Top 100 European Founders. She was selected as one of the Top 5 women under 35 in Business by Management Today, and Top 50 Women under 30 by The Drum in 2017.
You can also connect with her on her social media handles.
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Interview by Marija Butkovic ( @MarijaButkovic )
Stephanie Alys is a co-founder and Chief Pleasure Officer (CPO) of MysteryVibe, an award-winning British pleasure brand. As CPO, Stephanie is focused on changing perceptions around pleasure in a positive and empowering way.
A strong advocate that pleasure is a beautiful part of the human experience, and fundamental to our happiness, Stephanie is MysteryVibe's spokesperson on the role of technology within sex and relationships. She has been featured in major publications such as the Times, Guardian, Economist, CNBC, TechCrunch and WIRED and regularly appears as a keynote speaker on international stages.
Stephanie's work has won her numerous nominations and awards including the Europas, Young Guns and PathFounders Top 100 European Founders. She was selected as one of the Top 50 Women under 30 by The Drum in 2017.
What is the idea behind MysteryVibe and how did you come up with it?
MysteryVibe was an idea that surfaced way before we officially launched. It came from a belief that pleasure is so intimately personal, human and fundamental to our happiness, yet when it comes to technological innovation and advancement, it often gets overlooked.
We understood that everyone is different. Everyone has different desires and tastes, and we all experience pleasure (specifically orgasm) in different ways.
In 2014, we got together a group of friends, and decided we wanted to create something that adapted to the person, their moods, desires and sensations. We approached our industrial designer, SeymourPowell, with the idea, and they loved it. Working together, we created MysteryVibe and designed our first product, Crescendo.
One of the hurdles we had to overcome when starting up was attracting people who wanted to work with a sextech brand. Sex, pleasure and intimacy are still taboo topics so people can be quite reluctant to associate themselves with a brand advocating these things.
We wanted to collaborate with the best people so we approached agencies who could work with us on a project basis. This way we built a product alongside the best designers, developers and manufacturers in the market. Collectively, we worked together until we made something we were all proud of.
How long did it take you to be where you are now?
We’ve been going for 3 years now! We had a slower start than your average hardware startup, because we spent a lot of time ensuring the product we were building had a real market fit.
To do this we launched our Pilot 1000, where we asked 1000 real users to test our product and supply constructive feedback, which we then implemented in production. Obviously this was an expensive idea (because it meant doing everything twice) and a first for a pleasure product like Crescendo, but it meant we had developed a truly user-driven product we were really happy to launch into retail.
Do you have any other women in your team? If so, how many women are in your team and what are their roles?
In our opinion, it’s essential for every company to have a diverse team. We spend a lot time thinking about user personas and habits, so having a mixed team is really helpful.
Crescendo is a gender neutral product, so we always seek a wide range of reviews from people of all genders and orientations.
It’s really important that everyone we work with shares our vision understands the importance of elevating conversations around pleasure - specifically for female empowerment.
That’s exactly why our CFO, CPO and Head of Communications are all women!
Getting access to finance that would support our growth was difficult for us. Startups in other industries can approach venture capital firms, something we just could not do.
That’s not to say we didn’t try - we spent a lot of time speaking to VC firms who were intrigued by our product, but ultimately turned us down for being too risque.
So our options were limited to self-fund, crowdfund or find angel investment. Luckily we found a group of amazing angel investors who helped us raise funds to continue on our mission.
What are the challenges of being an entrepreneur in the niche you are in? How about being a female founder?
As I mentioned, accessing finance and getting the right people involved was really challenging for us. It was always our mission to encourage conversations about intimacy and sex, so getting our brand out there and our content noticed is also a challenge.
Getting your message out in a clear authoritative way can be difficult when you work in an industry that has deeply rooted taboos attached to it. That’s why we always ensure our content is informative, fun and thought provoking across all channels.
As for female founders, there is a lack of diversity in the tech scene, which is something women in the space are very much aware of. I love being a founder, and I think we have a responsibility to support each other and encourage other women to follow their passion.
I’m incredibly proud that we have an amazing tight-knit group of badass female founders in the sextech scene who are inspiring change across dating, intimacy, love and sex.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
In 2016, we became the first pleasure brand to win the Startup Sesame Event Accelerator award, the Young Guns Award and to be showcased at the Virgin Voom Awards. We were also nominated for the Best Hardware Start-up award at Europas, another world first for a pleasure product.
It’s been an incredible journey going from an industry outsider to thought-leader in the space of 3 years - especially when it means I get to talk about topics I’m so passionate about and change people’s lives for the better.
But our biggest win is hearing positive feedback from customers who now couldn’t live without their Crescendo!
What are your projects you are currently working on within your company?
We’re always working towards making MysteryVibe the first brand people think of when they want to enhance their pleasure experience.
It’s our belief that everyone deserves the best, most personalised orgasm they can achieve, and we’re happy to help them get there.
The taboo surrounding pleasure products is still very powerful, so one of our main objectives is breaking down misconceptions that surround pleasure and masturbation whilst using tech to create the most advanced products in the market.
Speaking of which, we’ve just launched the second version of our app which now allows users to create their very own vibration, as well as live-control each of the six motors. We’re very excited about this new level of personalisation!
I’m also working hard on our next product - keep your eyes peeled at the end of summer!
What will be the key trends in the wearable tech and IoT industry in the next 5 years and where do you see it heading?
We’ve seen an increase in wearables designed to help women understand their bodies better. I’m keen to see this trend develop, and uncover the physical and mental health benefits it offers.
I’m also really interested in the intersection of fashion and wearables - from sensual jewellery from Wisp to clothes that have embedded feedback. That would literally give me goosebumps!
Why is #WomenInTech movement important to you?
As a society, it’s proven that we innovate and perform better when we work in diverse teams. Women have an incredible potential and drive to build products that will move society forwards. If I can help support them in any way - I will.
What is the most important piece of advice you can give to all female founders and female entrepreneurs out there?
Everyone will have an opinion on what you're doing. Listen to and consider their advice, but in the end you need to make your own mind up what's best for your vision and company.
Who are your 3 inspirational women in wearable tech?
And of course the Women of Wearables team ;)
Read our blog on the FemTech event here !
This interview was conducted by Marija Butkovic, Digital Marketing and PR strategist, co-founder of Women of Wearables and Kisha Smart Umbrella. She regularly writes and speaks on topics of wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT, entrepreneurship and diversity. Visit marijabutkovic.co.uk or follow Marija on Twitter @MarijaButkovic @Women_Wearables @GetKisha .
Women of Wearables™ (WoW) is the global organisation and community that supports and connects women in wearable tech, fashion tech, health tech, IoT and VR/AR.
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Published: 08:40 BST, 11 May 2018 | Updated: 15:47 BST, 11 May 2018
A young entrepreneur who built a multi-million pound business selling luxury vibrators has revealed she plans to send one to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as a wedding present.
Stephanie Alys, 28, from Brighton, launched Mystery Vibe in 2014 after speaking to a number of long-term couples who were struggling to keep the spark alive in their relationship.
Now, less than four years later, Miss Alys sells her sex toys to shoppers in 57 countries and expects turnover to hit a staggering £4million this year.
Ms Alys, one of the youngest female CEOs in the FTSE 100, was recognised with the prestigious Veuve Clicquot Business Award at an event in London this week.
Stephanie Alys, 28, from Brighton, built a multi-million pound business selling luxury vibrators has revealed she plans to send one to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as a wedding present
Ms Alys is planning on sending Harry, 33, and Meghan, 36, the brand's £139 Crescendo vibrator , which is billed as the world's first 'body-adapting sex toy' and boasts a rubber skin that moulds to a user's shape.
Speaking to FEMAIL, she revealed: 'We are sending a Crescendo in the post to the royal couple next week as a wedding gift.
She added: 'We love how affectionate they are, but we want to make sure that spark stays alive.'
Speaking about the inspiration behind her business, Ms Alys said: 'I've always been fascinated by society’s attitudes to sexuality and pleasure.
Ms Alys, the youngest female CEO in the FTSE 100, had her success recognised when she scooped the prestigious Veuve Clicquot Business Award at an event in London this week
'I had spoken with many couples in long term relationships around how difficult it can be to keep the mystery alive in long term relationships, and how sometimes we can fall into routines instead of continually exploring each others bodies and desires.'
Ms Alys designed the Crescendo after being inspired to create a sex toy that would 'empower' women and bring couples closer together.
She teamed up with engineers and designers who previously worked at multi-national corporations like Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Sharp and Canon.
'We came up with the idea of creating a personalised pleasure product that would adapt to any body shape and vibrate to any pattern,' she said.
The brand's £139 Crescendo vibrator , pictured, which is billed as the world's first 'body-adapting sex toy' and boasts a rubber skin that moulds to a user's shape
The product also features six motors so you can adapt the toy to give a more intense and powerful orgasm.
The company was started with four founding members and now have a total of nine employees, of whom six are female.
'The team is two thirds women,' she explained. 'I firmly believe that it’s essential for every company to have a diverse team, in order to build products that are inclusive.'
And while starting a business in such a taboo industry may put some people off, Stephanie believes it has worked in her favour because it's also a talking point.
'Sex is still a very taboo subject, and has a history of shame and embarrassment attached to it. So, it makes sense that starting a business in the sector inevitably turns a few heads,' she explained.
Ms Alys is planning on sending a Crescendo to Harry and Meghan, pictured, next week
Ultimately she hopes her products will bring couples closer together and enhance their relationship.
She said: 'There’s lots of research showing that relationships where the couples experience regular sex and pleasure are happier, closer ones.
'We think that by encouraging these discussions, and providing the tech to make them happen, we can have a positive impact beyond just sex itself.'
She added: 'Thankfully, we’ve come a long way from dodgy back-street stores and black carrier bags, and with e-commerce you can order something incredibly discreetly to your home.'
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