Empowering Women with Holistic Care Startup

Riel's founder, Young Heek, transitioned from Disney to start Riel, empowering women with holistic care, leveraging Korean technology for feminine wellness.

### Rael: Revolutionizing Feminine Care with a Holistic Approach
* 🌿 Yi transitioned from a successful career at Disney to co-founding Rael, a groundbreaking consumer goods startup revolutionizing the American feminine care product market with **clean, high-performing holistic products**.
* 🚀 After realizing she needed to be more on the creative side to make a huge impact on the entertainment industry, Yi met her co-founders who inspired her to **start Rael**.
* 💪 Despite facing rejections and challenges as a startup, Yi persevered due to her **strong belief in the novel Korean technology** and the brand's mission to **provide more choices for women in the feminine care industry**.
* 🎯 Rael differentiated itself from big competitors by focusing on natural solutions and adopting a unique e-commerce-first strategy, which led to becoming the **number one organic pad on Amazon in just six months**.
* 🎨 With a brand color representing natural aspects and an aesthetic packaging challenging the traditional "corny" feminine care products, Rael created a **strong brand identity**.
* 🌙 Expanding beyond pads, Rael introduced a holistic cycle care approach with intimate care products and skincare tailored to hormonal changes, aiming to **educate women on listening to their bodies and making informed choices**.
* 🎯 Leveraging TikTok as the primary marketing platform, Rael's social media team creates a mix of **educational and humorous content**, as well as **behind-the-scenes stories**, to engage with the community and influencers.
* 🇰🇷 Recently, Rael took eight TikTok influencers to Korea to experience K-Beauty and learn about the founders' Korean heritage, **integrating the Korean angle into the brand's story**.

### Rael CEO Discusses Her Journey in Building a Global Feminine Care Brand
* 🇰🇷 CEO shares her pride in Rael becoming a tourism destination in Korea, where people love the **K-Beauty experience**.
* 🏢 After starting the business in the US, Rael expanded to Korea due to **high demand for organic feminine care products**.
* 🌍 CEO aims to make Rael a **globally recognized holistic cycle care brand** in the **next 5 years**.
* She advises aspiring entrepreneurs to follow their dreams, but emphasizes the **importance of resilience**.
* 💪 CEO attributes her **mental strength and belief in hard work** to overcoming challenges and staying motivated.
* 📈 One of the most satisfying days was launching Rael products at Target, while one of the most challenging days was **managing cash flow during fundraising**.
* 🚺 Rael's mission to provide **better products for women's health** has been key in **attracting talent**.
* 💸 When pitching to VCs, educating them about the **feminine care market size** and leveraging **early traction on Amazon** were crucial strategies.

Empowering Women with Holistic Care: A Conversation with Rael's Co-Founder and CEO, Yanghee Paik

The Korea Society is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization with individual and corporate members that is dedicated solely to the promotion of greater awareness, understanding and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea. In pursuit of its mission, the Society arranges programs that facilitate discussion, exchanges and research on topics of vital interest to both countries in the areas of public policy, business, education, intercultural relations and the arts. Funding for these programs is derived from contributions, endowments, grants, membership dues and program fees. From its base in New York City, the Society serves audiences across the country through its own outreach efforts and by forging strategic alliances with counterpart organizations in other cities throughout the United States as well as in Korea.

The Korea Society

Revolutionizing Feminine Care: The Journey of Young Heek

Young Heek transitioned from a Disney executive to founding Riel yangi, a startup revolutionizing the American feminine care product market.

Her early career dream of working in the entertainment industry led her to Disney, where she gained valuable experience in movie distribution and sales.

After realizing that she wanted to make a different kind of impact, Young Heek left Disney to pursue her passion for creating meaningful products, leading to the founding of Riel yangi and a new entrepreneurial journey.

From Entertainment Executive to Feminine Care Entrepreneur

A chance encounter with a co-founder led to a shift from a successful career at Disney to launching a feminine care startup, Rael.

The entrepreneurial journey was challenging, with initial rejections and the need to adapt to a new role as CEO.

Faith in their novel Korean technology and the mission to make an impact on women's lives kept the founder motivated despite the obstacles.

Disrupting the Feminine Care Industry: A Success Story

A small feminine care brand challenged the dominance of big companies by offering organic and cleaner solutions, meeting the demand for more choices in the market.

The brand's unique strategy of focusing on digital e-commerce, using Amazon for honest customer reviews, and continuously perfecting their product, gave them a first-mover advantage and led to rapid success.

Transitioning from e-commerce to brick and mortar, they adapted their branding and packaging to meet the requirements of major retailers, experiencing a significant learning curve in the process.

The brand name "Riel" was derived from "real," symbolizing authenticity and health, while the unique spelling added a sense of curiosity and intrigue to the brand.

The Brand's Holistic Approach to Feminine Care and Wellness

The brand's green color palette represents its organic and natural product, aiming for a sophisticated and aesthetic look.

Starting with organic cotton cover pads, the brand expanded into skincare, offering natural solutions for hormonal skin changes.

The brand's focus is on holistic cycle care, providing tailored products for different phases of the menstrual cycle and educating consumers about cycle syncing.

With a huge following on TikTok, the brand has shifted its marketing focus to effectively tell its story and reach a wider audience.

Leveraging TikTok for Women's Wellness Education

Educational and humorous content on hormonal cycles and cycle thinking is shared on the brand's TikTok account, resonating with women and gaining a strong following.

The content strategy involves a balanced approach of serious, humorous, and behind-the-scenes material, created by a team of young women and influencers, to show the brand's authentic and raw side.

The brand also took TikTok influencers to Korea to showcase its Korean heritage and technology, providing them with a unique K-Beauty experience, which not only educated the influencers about the brand but also contributed to Korea's growing popularity as a tourism destination.

Building a Skincare Brand as a Korean Immigrant Female Founder

The founder's Korean background facilitated working with Korean factories and understanding K Beauty trends, benefiting the US-based company.

The decision to expand to Korea was driven by a demand for organic feminine care products after a scandal, with the brand quickly becoming a best seller on Amazon.

The founder's vision for the future includes global expansion and becoming a household brand, with advice for aspiring entrepreneurs to follow their dreams and listen to their hearts.

Resilience is crucial for success as an entrepreneur, as the journey is filled with challenges and rejections.

Believing in hard work and being prepared for a bumpy road is key to overcoming unexpected obstacles.

It's important to be open-minded and flexible in your career path, as sometimes the most pivotal opportunities are unplanned.

The Entrepreneur's Journey: Taking Risks and Finding Success

The entrepreneur's decision to leave Disney and start a pad company surprised and initially worried her family, but they have become her biggest supporters.

She encourages taking risks and embracing the unknown for a more interesting and dynamic life.

The entrepreneur's most challenging day involved financial stress and pitching to investors, while one of her happiest moments was launching her products at Target.

She also engages in nonprofit work to support organizations providing feminine products to those in need.

Supporting Women and Fighting Period Poverty

The company is actively involved in nonprofit partnerships, organizing packing events to donate hygiene kits and advocating for the removal of taxes on period care products.

They aim to raise awareness and put pressure on lawmakers to make period care more accessible.

The company's co-founders have diverse backgrounds, bringing unique insights and ideas to the table, challenging the notion that a traditional business background is necessary for entrepreneurship.

The company has faced challenges in attracting talent as a startup but has been proactive in recruiting through personal outreach and networking.

Attracting Talent and Securing Funding for a Feminine Care Startup

The company focused on attracting talent who believed in their mission of providing better products for women's health, leading to a female-dominated team.

They secured VC funding by educating investors about the potential of the feminine care industry, demonstrating the market size and the unique opportunity for a small brand to make an impact.

The founders' story, product performance, and early traction on Amazon also contributed to their success in gaining the investors' trust.