Today we’d like to introduce you to Savannah D’Orazio.
Hi Savannah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was 15 and my background is in biology, education/politics, and law. My roots in entrepreneurship actually started in Miami.! Growing up, my family moved often so I actually switched schools and cities each year of high school between Miami and NYC. The first year I came to FL, I wanted to make money and began an after school side hustle offering swim lessons to adults and children at my local pool. My love of business and well as my bi-city life is still a part of me today.! Currently, my boyfriend Chris Works and I live between NYC and Miami; we spend ~4-6 months out of the year in South Florida. At the moment, my main role is founder of Casa de la Luna, which is essentially a “Sephora for vaginas” offering care down there for women. Our focus is on products and services for health below the waist in the feminine hygiene, intimacy, and vaginal/vulvar care space. As an early-stage startup, we are currently raising capital to finance our business growth. You can find out more about the business, our team and even get involved by visiting our website or reaching out to me on social media.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Absolutely not! As a quick anecdote: for our very first TikTok introducing the business, we used the hashtag #guccicoochi (among others of course), thinking it would be an amicable and tasteful way to make people laugh and bring attention to our concept. In 30min, a notification came in that our video was removed and that we were blocked from TikTok for 48hrs. Though we took it well, it was a glaring example of the challenges we have encountered and will continue to encounter as we work towards promoting women’s health care below the waist, absent the shame and taboo that exists around the world! Additionally, we face challenges fundraising for our venture. Women receive less than 2% of all venture capital, and Latina women even less! Plus, imagine how we have to position our pitch when the room is mostly filled with men whose understanding of the problems/needs can be limited. Regardless, we are shooting for the moon and involving everyone who cares enough to participate.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Casa de la Luna Inc.?
–> What sets us apart is our originality and innovation stack: this has never been done before and we think it’s long overdue! Retail is not dead– and we will show you how it can be done to serve people, solve problems, and use integrative technology.
–> I am most proud of our team’s steadfast commitment to the venture. In order to launch a business at this scale you have to be prepared to lose money at the outset or at least wait to be profitable for a few years. It’s a mental game early on and possibility has to be at the forefront; early stage teams are uniquely resilient and I can say that about mine.
–> I want readers to know that we need help!! There’s a role for everyone– the bigger the goal, the bigger the team. We would love for you to reach out to us if what they’ve read about is something they’d like to be a part of.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
YES! Networking was the area I had to grow the most in as an entrepreneur. The pandemic obviously slowed in-person networking so I started to build community online and eventually transitioned to a combined approach. I attend two networking events a week and my boyfriend and I host two a month (meeting of the minds: multi-city free to the public event for individuals interested in personal growth and private investment dinners for specific topics like real estate, crypto, etc.) Check out the one we did in Miami last month on our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/
As for mentors, I have an amazing accountability coach and several mentors. I have one for pretty much every topic I need support in. I’ve been able to build this community because I overwhelmingly help others for free and the support has really come full circle to help me later. I liken this to one of my favorite expressions in Spanish — una mano lava la otra (one hand washes the other! The name of the game is to help and ask for help!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.savannahdorazio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sav.works/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savannah.dorazio.3/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sav_works
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCAag3t19Xr7pN-fEJKWU7g
Image Credits
Chris Lora.; ApexVizuals (Miami event where I’m wearing pink); Victoria Nunez (NYC) graphic design of Casa de la Luna bag on ladder.
