{"id":39507,"date":"2023-10-20T15:02:56","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:02:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/we-all-know-that-sex-sells-sydney-startup-tackles-taboo-with-ethical-sex-toys-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:02:56","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:02:56","slug":"we-all-know-that-sex-sells-sydney-startup-tackles-taboo-with-ethical-sex-toys-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/we-all-know-that-sex-sells-sydney-startup-tackles-taboo-with-ethical-sex-toys-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe all know that sex sells\u201d: Sydney startup tackles taboo with ethical sex toys – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Vannen<\/div>\n

Sydney-based entrepreneur Jacqueline Haines has encountered her fair share of challenges in her quest to turn the whole notion of “sex sells” on its head.<\/p>\n

The former engineer is the founder of\u00a0V\u00e4vven\u2014an impact-driven startup aiming to combine the world of sex and pleasure with education and change for sexual and reproductive health rights.<\/p>\n

This social challenge is a global one that affects communities in different ways, from \u201cslut shaming\u201d and \u201crape culture\u201d in Australian schools<\/a> to diseases such as\u00a0HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a curated online lifestyle space,\u201d Haines explains to\u00a0StartupSmart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re pushing the awkward boundaries of talking about sex with pleasure. In society, we talk about sex for reproduction but when you talk about sex with pleasure, it becomes a different ballgame.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to publishing content, the V\u00e4vven site sells ethically manufactured sex toys and other products like beard tonic.<\/p>\n

A third of all profits is\u00a0donated to non-government organisations that champion sexual and reproductive health rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis could turn into a movement,\u201d says Haines.<\/p>\n

While many non-profit groups may already be tackling these problems, Haines says a lack of funding has been a significant barrier.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn nearly ever facet you would look at in this umbrella [of sexual and reproductive health], solutions already exist,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s how do you get funds into aid organisations to affect the change. These are issues that should be solved within my lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about sex<\/h3>\n

\u201cSociety is liberating, we are becoming more open about these types of conversations but we still have a long way to go,\u201d says Haines.<\/p>\n

This covertness around sex and mainstream notions of \u201cmorality\u201d have given Haines and her startup many unexpected challenges\u2014from advertising, to securing funding and sourcing products.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t engage in objectification whatsoever but we\u2019re considered as not being able to advertise on social media,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBanks for instance are very reluctant to touch you.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the biggest challenges was\u00a0the search for sex toys and products that are ethically manufactured.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt one point, we only had three products that passed our ethics test,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

In an effort to lift the standard of the industry, Haines has spent the past two years building\u00a0up an inventory of these goods and V\u00e4vven is finally\u00a0open for business.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a very long haul,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

From engineering to social change<\/h3>\n

During her extensive career in\u00a0heavy industry engineering, Haines says she felt a deep desire to use her experience and business acumen for good.<\/p>\n

Watch more: What keeps Jacqueline Haines and other Australian entrepreneurs up at night<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWith age you start to become a little bit conscious about society and things not going so well [so] I made the choice to move into social enterprise,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I don\u2019t like about charities is they\u2019re not necessarily standing on their own feet and [rely on] pulling on heart strings a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Realising this approach to solving social problems is \u201cripe for disruption\u201d, Haines started building V\u00e4vven.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who studies engineering could eventually do anything. It\u2019s an amazing skill set you learn and I\u2019m not quite sure people realise how valuable that skill set is,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a problem solving mentality \u2026 In engineering we\u2019re taught very logical methods of thinking critically [and] analysing.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom heavy industry, it\u2019s highly regulated\u2014the sex industry is not. Bringing that framework across has definitely impacted on [the] type of products we\u2019re putting out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haines believes engineers are among many other professionals who can solve some of the world\u2019s greatest problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe [should] have more entrepreneurs move into this space with this understanding of: yes you can do good and earn well,” she says.<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0and iTunes<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sydney-based entrepreneur Jacqueline Haines has encountered her fair share of challenges in her quest to turn the whole notion of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39507"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}