An entrepreneur with a strong Guelph connection has inked a deal with Dragons' Den venture capitalist Arlene Dickinson.
Lux Perry, founder and CEO of Somedays, a period pain relief company, appeared on the popular CBC show earlier this month accompanied by Domunique Lashay, the company's chief marketing officer.
Wearing black t-shirts emblazoned with the words "Period pain is not normal," the pair pitched the dragons on their line of products designed to relieve painful period cramps including topical creams and ointments, heating pads, teas and bath soaks.
Both Perry and Lashay live with endometriosis and "know all too well what it's like to have period pain impact every aspect of your life," Perry told the dragons.
Somedays tackles the problem by employing the same principles as those used in sports muscle recovery, a field Perry previously worked in.
"Period cramps are actually muscle cramps," explained Perry.
"When you get your period your body releases prostaglandins that causes your uterus to contract," they continued. "So what's causing that pain — your uterus is a muscle — is literally muscle cramps. So we're treating it the exact same way and then adding additional ingredients that people have been using for centuries to treat period pain."
Perry and Lashay's pitch was well received by the panel of potential investors, with the pair ultimately accepting an offer from Arlene Dickenson for 20 per cent of their company for $50,000.
"It meant a lot to us," Perry said of the dragons' support. "Very few people are working in the period pain space, there's like a couple new options in the last five to 10 years. Because it's so new we didn't know if anybody would resonate with the message or the products."
Perry was born in Guelph and despite moving away at age eight, returned to the city after graduating high school and spent the next nine years here. Perry actually started their first business, Era 66 Furniture, in Guelph, which they sold before moving to Vancouver in 2018.
As for what's next for Somedays, Perry said the company plans to release "a bunch" of new products this year and actually found another investor after the Dragons Den appearance.
While scaling their business, Somedays' ultimate mission is to "shift the culture around period pain," Perry said.
"So (in the future) we hope that all kids in school, when they get their periods know that pain is not normal," they said. "And to decrease the time to chronic condition diagnosis."
