Episode 50 - Women Deserve Better, with CEO & Co-Founder Victoria Thain Gioia, Perelel Health

EPISODE DETAILS

Victoria Thain Gioia, affectionately known as Tori, is the Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Perelel, the first OB/GYN-founded wellness company that offers women dynamic prenatal vitamins, supplements, resources, and community tailored to the varying stages of motherhood. As you’ll discover in today's episode, Tori was inspired to launch Perelel with her co-founders, Alex Taylor and Dr. Banafsheh Bayati, in 2019 when she learned that her second daughter, who she was pregnant with at the time, would be born with a cleft lip. Left with a deep desire to know exactly what might have caused this birth defect that affects roughly one in every 2,800 babies born in the US, Tori embarked on a journey to understand nutrition and health in all stages of a woman’s life and developed an offering that extends far beyond just a pill subscription in the form of an intimately supportive community and personalized resources at every step of the pre- and post-natal journey. Tuning in, you’ll gain insight into Tori’s background, the Perelel founder story, and what Tori has come to realize about the emotional aspects of owning her own business. She also shares her advice for founders, which includes setting clear work-life boundaries and creating a network of trusted advisors as you build your business and beyond. Make sure not to miss today’s episode for a practical, candid, and intimate conversation with Tori Thain Gioia!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Learn more about Tori Thain Gioia, her company, Perelel, and her co-founders.
• The journey that Tori is on to repair her daughter’s cleft lip
• How Perelel is empowering women with knowledge, resources, and community
• Details on Tori’s education, entrepreneurial journey, and how she and Alex Taylor work together
• The Perelel founder story: Find out what it was like launching a business during a global pandemic as a mother of three!
• Insight into Perelel’s organic launch strategy, from press to gifting and word of mouth 
• The scrappiness that was required of Tori when fundraising during COVID
• Why it’s easier to raise capital today than it was with a “Powerpoint and an idea” in 2020
• What Tori has realized about the emotional aspects of being a business owner
• Understanding the importance of setting boundaries when it comes to work-life balance
• Looking into the future, Tori shares how she sees Perelel evolving and what to watch out for.
• How Perelel is building out its board and where Tori and Alex find the support they need

Tweetables:

“We wanted to empower every woman to say, ‘Here are these vetted products with everything you need, and here’s this support, these resources, this information,’ so you can feel like you’re doing everything you can.” — Victoria “Tori” Thain Gioia [0:11:35]

“There’s the positives and negatives of having your own business where you just have to keep going, but then there’s times where you can say, ‘I need a minute,’ and you can control that a little bit too.” — Victoria “Tori” Thain Gioia [0:20:30]

“I need to carve out time or I’ll just miss it. I’ll constantly be waiting for, ‘When we get here, I’ll be able to take a break.’ I’m never going to take a break, and I’m never going to want to, but I want to at least make sure I don’t miss all the moments [of] today either.” — Victoria “Tori” Thain Gioia [0:37:23]

“That’s the biggest thing for us; supporting women is our broadest vision. With that comes the products, but [also] expanding our community, expanding our resources, and being there for her throughout her entire life.” — Victoria “Tori” Thain Gioia [0:40:20]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Victoria Thain Gioia on LinkedIn

Victoria Thain Gioia on Instagram

Perelel

Potential to Powerhouse

Tracy Holland on Instagram