Female Founder Friday: In Conversation with Rosie Kopman, Founder of My Pearl Co.

In a world where conversations around pleasure are still often cloaked in stigma and shame, Rosie Kopman is rewriting the script—beautifully, boldly, and with purpose. In 2024, she launched My Pearl Co., a personal lubricant brand designed to be as elegant as it is empowering. Portable, biodegradable, and packaged like a beauty product, Pearl is on a mission to reposition lube as a daily essential and close the pleasure gap for good.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Rosie to talk about her journey—from academic beginnings and talent agencies, to a lightbulb moment and a fundraising campaign fuelled by guts, design, and data.

FC: Could you summarise your professional background for us?

RK: We can try! I actually started on a totally different path—I was meant to do a PhD. I left my master’s program early because it just didn’t feel right. Then I came to London to visit a friend and ended up staying—thankfully, I was born here and had a passport. I did a low-residency master’s in shoe design, which was a creative outlet, but I needed something more hands-on.

I knew I wanted to work in fashion or entertainment, and I very accidentally fell into being a talent agent. I was handling commercial and brand partnerships for a roster of about 50% musicians, along with designers and creators. After that, I moved in-house at a brand to run community and social media, which expanded into building out their influencer partnerships.

It was in that job where Pearl was born—almost by accident.

FC: How did the idea for My Pearl Co. come about?

RK: It started in the most random way. I was in a friend’s bed—she was getting ready for a date, and we were chatting about lube, its benefits, and how ugly it all was! She decided she wanted to bring hers with her, a decision a lot of people now might think of as bold. When she reached for the bottle, it didn’t fit in her bag.

That was the moment. I just thought, “Why is it so ugly? Why is it so inconvenient? Why is it still coming in big, ugly tubes?”

That kicked off a wave of research. I learned more about the pleasure gap, about how lube can support orgasm in women, and realised this wasn’t just a convenience issue—it was a much bigger story about shame and access. So I sent out a consumer survey and reached around 500 people across all genders, ages, and sexualities. The results confirmed my instincts: people didn’t like how lube looked, didn’t like where they had to buy it, and hated that they couldn’t carry it with them. That was the start of Pearl.

FC: Once you had that idea, how did you approach fundraising?

RK: I spent about four to five months just deep in research. I didn’t know anything about investing, but I made sure I knew everything about my product and the market. Because we’re not just selling a lubricant—we’re shifting the category entirely. We’re repositioning it from sexual wellness into beauty and skincare. I had to understand the ins and outs of both markets, and I made sure I could back that up with data.

In January, I quit my job to focus fully on fundraising. And honestly? I just asked a lot of questions. I walked into rooms where I didn’t know anyone and just said, “Can you explain this to me?” I wasn’t pitching right away—I was learning.

I made about 350 cold reachouts via LinkedIn and tested different intro messages. The rejection rate was high, but I kept bouncing back. I eventually pitched into a syndicate and got my first cheque in April.

FC: Did being a female founder building a product around pleasure bring any additional challenges?

RK: Absolutely. I’m a woman, I’m raising in CPG, and I’m building a product that supports underserved communities—women and the LGBTQI+ community. The comments I’ve had have been… something else.

One guy literally said, “Well, you must have some very satisfied customers,” with a wink. I was like, “I’m going to go now…”

I’ve also had one investor look me in the eye and say, “Do people even need lube? I’m not sure.” It’s wild. A lot of investor capital is flowing toward tech, healthtech, AI. Necessary categories, but we’re not that. We’re not even tech-enabled. Fundraising in taboo categories is harder because there’s a massive customer education piece, and people don’t always want to sit through that.

FC: Storytelling seems like a huge part of how you present My Pearl Co.—why is that?

RK: Because the story is the product. The product is beautiful and functional, yes, but the story is what creates emotional resonance. Lube has always been sold like it’s a problem to solve—something you hide away. Pearl flips that. It’s beautiful, biodegradable, and designed for anyone to carry proudly.

Consumers want connection. Investors do too. And when you’re still in development—like we are—it’s not about what the product is now, it’s about what it stands for. That’s what builds belief.

FC: What made you want to work for yourself?

RK: Honestly, it runs in the family. My dad started a brewery when I was a kid, my mum’s a writer, my brother co-founded a business. I think entrepreneurship is a bit of a family sickness!

I grew up around risk. I saw the pressure that comes with working for yourself, but I also saw the joy and freedom.

Every job I’ve had has been in a startup environment, working for founders. I’ve never worked in a huge corporation. I love learning, and I love building. For me, being a founder is about always staying curious and surrounding yourself with people smarter than you. That’s how you grow.

FC: What advice would you give to other women at the very start of their founder journey?

RK: Start by asking questions. Ask them constantly. Don’t be afraid to look like you don’t know something—because nobody does at the beginning.

Get in rooms where you don’t understand what’s going on. That’s where the learning happens.

And talk about your product. Every single person you meet should know what you’re building. You never know who can help—or who knows someone who can. If you’re building in a space with stigma, storytelling is everything. Lead with the why, your mission. Be brave. And always, always follow your gut. That’s been the biggest lesson in all of this.

Rosie Kopman is building far more than a product—she’s building a movement. My Pearl Co. invites us to reimagine pleasure not as something secret or shameful, but as something beautiful, empowering, and proudly owned. With elegance, resilience, and relentless curiosity, Rosie is leading the way.

Website: https://mypearlco.com/
Personal Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosie-mary-jane-kopman/
Company Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-pearl-co/about/

Author: Gideon Stott, Digital Marketing Executive at FounderCatalyst