| Looking for some advice! I'm building Blindfold Club http://blindfold.club/ - We deliver monthly audio foreplay scenarios that give couples new ideas to try in the bedroom. Betalist recently refused to feature the startup because, quoting Marc, "I'm not comfortable featuring a product that's as explicit as yours." I've copied in the emails I received from Marc for reference. I hope it possibly helps future Sex Tech companies understand some of the challenges they might face launching their products. But what do you think? I guess I'm going to be hitting hurdles like this constantly as I push the business forward. Do you think the name conjures up explicit thoughts that are inappropriate to most people? I don't blame Marc from Betalist for not featuring us. Ultimately it's his decision and his company! But it's a shame that he decided not to share it because he was worried about his audience retweeting it + viewing it in the office VS the value of sharing a legit startup try to make peoples lives just a little better. Unfortunately, that's the state of the world right now. Even though sex is universal, our society is atrociously bad at having open and honest discussions about it. It scares and offends. It's an emotional topic! What do you think? I'd love feedback on the name..? I'm also using 'Pillow Talk' for another project - maybe this is a softer and more approachable name than Blindfold Club? Any insights / thoughts / ideas greatly appreciated! |
Unfortunately I won't be able to feature Blindfold Club on the site. Although we're relatively flexible in what we allow on the site, I'm not comfortable featuring a product that's as explicit as yours.
This is not a value judgement, but rather a practical consideration. Many people in our audience read the website at their office, and some people even automatically share the startups we feature. I feel like many wouldn't feel comfortable doing that with Blindfold Club hence us choosing not to feature it.
I hope you understand. I've issued a full refund which should appear on your bank statement within 5-10 business days depending on your bank.
Marc
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Hi Darren,
The primary reason for me not feeling comfortable featuring it, is because we have a large group of people automatically retweeting our posts. This means we don’t just have to consider what WE find appropriate, but also what we believe our audience would feel appropriate sharing with their followers.
I realise how frustrating it must be to have totally legit product many people could benefit from and then not getting the visibility you deserve due to an (outdated) taboo, but I hope you also understand where I’m coming from.
I’m sure you’ll find plenty of other publications that are happy to feature you though (have you considered podcasts sponsorships including an audio fragment?). Wish you the best of luck and if there’s anything else I can help you with don’t hesitate to let me know.
Marc