Nadya Okamoto is not just a founder. She’s also an activist, an influencer, and a published author. But to the entrepreneur, those other titles go hand in hand with her role at August, a menstrual care brand and community focused on Gen Z.
Okamoto has been outspoken about unpacking what makes this particular generation tick compared with others, and why they can be harder to win over.
“You have eight seconds to convince me that what you’re offering or what you’re trying to do is worth my time,” she recently told an audience at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen event. “I think that’s just a product of growing up around many social channels that are so oversaturated. We have the privilege and the option to spend our time on different things.”
What was your “aha moment” for founding August?
I started off in the nonprofit space when I was 16. I founded Period [an organization that aims to destigmatize menstrual cycles], and from my work in the organization, I quickly realized that you can only do so much in the nonprofit sector. We spent hours and hours collaborating with period companies, encouraging them to make their products more inclusive or climate-conscious, but it was difficult to create tangible change.
Knowing about the needs of menstruators, I decided to create August to fill a gap in the period industry by creating effective products that are aligned with the values of consumers.
What is your biggest, thorniest challenge?
Considering the state of U.S. politics, we’ve been working diligently and quickly on mobilizing our team to do what we can to help menstruators across the nation—like those in Florida who are impacted by the “Don’t Say Period” bill. Of course, we are so happy to do this very necessary work, but it definitely can be disheartening to think of how many action-oriented campaigns we’ve had to launch in such a short period of time.
What is one fun fact about you that people may not know?
My all-time favorite food is Annie’s boxed mac and cheese.
The Fortune Founders Forum is a community of entrepreneurs chosen by Fortune’s editorial team to participate at the annual Brainstorm Tech conference, which took place in Deer Valley, Utah, in July. Our inaugural cohort was selected based on a variety of factors, including the potential impact of their companies, and reflected a diversity of geographies, sectors, and demographics.
