Alysha Malik came up with the idea of a sexual wellness company for women from her own life experience. But starting out by wanting to help women find safe intimacy products was not enough. She had to listen to what the market told her was needed, then make adjustments along the way. Here is her advice to anyone who wants to start a company and see their passion project become a big, sustainable success.
“We place limits on ourselves. Start building your trust muscle by gaining small wins.” This sage advice comes to us from Alysha Malik, Founder & CEO of Rythm, a doctor-approved marketplace for safer intimacy essentials focused on women’s sexual wellness. The mission of Rythm: “We are on a mission to help humans connect better with their parts and partners.”
What led you to start your company?
I want to start by saying that I had to attend a lot of family therapy sessions before stepping into the world of sexual wellness, as the category is extremely vilified in my hometown in Lahore, Pakistan as well as the whole concept of “what will people say” in our Muslim community. But, I did it anyway since I felt like the world needed a more approachable brand for intimacy and human connection.
I previously worked in the sexual wellness industry, leading market research and product innovation at Dame Products. As a result, I was the guinea pig when testing out industry benchmark products. Sounds fun right? Unfortunately, not so much, as I found myself becoming a regular in the OBGYN’s office due to the toxic ingredients found in products in the pleasure aisle.
Safer Products, Especially Women of Color
These ingredients are known to offset the vaginal microbiome and if you are a woman of color, like me, you are more prone to irritations and infections due to having higher endocrine disruptors in your system. It’s funny, because most sex companies sell you pleasure, yet the ingredients in their products can make our sex lives feel unpleasurable.
When I dove deeper into why this was happening, I also discovered that the average OBGYN has less than 10 hours of sexual health education. That is wild! And yet, these “experts” are used as the authoritative and trustworthy stamp for many products. Being OBGYN-approved means nothing. Instead, what you want to look for is the approval of a Sexual Medicine Nurse Practitioner.
Thus, the seeds for Rythm were planted as a better-for-her CPG curated marketplace of intimacy essentials that help humans connect better with their parts & partners. We tackle all of the symptoms that get in the way of female pleasure such as stress, anxiety, low libido, PMS, bad communication, as well as male erectile dysfunction (all natural).
We partner with a clinic board of experts that includes a Sexual Medicine Nurse Practitioner, a Naturopathic Doctor, and a Sex Therapist to make sure all of our products are vaginal safe, nontoxic and efficacious.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Three things actually: First. speak to as many people as you can who embody a life that you are considering adopting. Ask them about their daily routine, their stressors, and successes. This is the best way to decide if the chosen path is right for you. When I was starting out my career, I had a blog, Radiche in which I interviewed over 150+ NYC early-stage founders. This blog later landed me a job in Venture Capital. Looking back, I would have never seen it coming, but Radiche landed me my dream job out of pure passion and consistency.
Second, pay attention to when you feel jealous of someone or something, because jealously is actually your desires in disguise. Think about what it is that is triggering a strong emotion in you and how you can attract or welcome more of that into your life. Comparison is the death of joy and instead focus on highlighting your strengths, skills, and what makes you uniquely you.
“If you are on the right path, doors will open and you will live a life of least resistance. If the doors all seem closed, it is probably a sign to go another direction.”
Third, but not by any means last: I am a big believer in timing and luck. Everyone has their own journey, and everyone has their own timing. Trust your intuition, and always be flexible with what the universe shows you. If you are on the right path, doors will open and you will live a life of least resistance. If the doors all seem closed, it is probably a sign to go another direction. Have a vision, but don’t hold it too tightly as the market will tell you where to go. Keep building what you are passionate about, and in the future, you will be able to connect the dots.
What advice do you give to Help Others Get Started on their Journey, or who says, “I could never do that”?
When we are born, we have an infinite amount of possibilities. We set our limiting beliefs on ourselves of “I can’t do this”, “I am not lucky”, “I am not worthy”, etc. But you are and you are your own biggest obstacle. So, start building your trust muscle by gaining small wins or working with a coach, such as myself to help overcome these limiting beliefs and start exploring the endless opportunities that reside within you.
Do you have a mantra or words you live by that have helped you through tough times and kept you going?
I always remind myself that the beginning is always the hardest and the old saying is true: Rome wasn’t built in one day.
Check out Rythm’s website here and follow Alysha on her social channels:
https://www.instagram.com/alysha_lovesyou/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/rythmwellness/
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