How Our Co-Founder Farah Is Busting Women's Health Barriers

When our Co-Founder Farah Kabir tells people she quit my corporate finance career to found a condom company, their reactions range from confusion to outright disbelief. Yes, it isn't your average journey, especially for a woman of colour, but as Farah will take any opportunity to tell you, becoming the Co-Founder of HANX has been the most rewarding ride. This South Asian Heritage Month, join Farah to find out how she's challenging expectations, why we need to tackle inequalities in healthcare for women of ethnic minorities and the ins and outs of building a business that puts all women's health first.

Family Expectations to Finance Dreams

"Like most South Asian daughters, I grew up with my family desperately wanting me to become a doctor. At 17, while still figuring out my future (like most teenagers!), I excelled in economics and business studies. In the end, I chose finance over medicine because I wanted wider career options and knew I was a people person who thrived on analytical challenges and relationship-building. Looking back though, I've always had an entrepreneurial streak – I even used to sell on misshapen sweets for £1 in the school playground. The margins were fantastic!

If you told me then that I'd be swapping cranking out spreadsheets for building a sexual wellness business, I'd never have believed you. My upbringing was the typical Bangladeshi Muslim British experience: we didn't discuss sex, and if a kissing scene appeared on TV, we'd awkwardly leave the room. Despite this cultural conservatism, my mother has always been incredibly supportive and remains my greatest inspiration.

Working in Male-Dominated Spaces

My years in corporate banking were spent in what's stereotypically seen as a male-dominated environment, though I'm glad to see this changing. I was fortunate to work in gender-balanced teams with male managers who were fantastic allies, actively empowering younger female colleagues. Having two older brothers definitely prepared me for navigating these dynamics!

Key Lessons From My Finance Career

Working in investment banking taught me several crucial lessons that shaped my entrepreneurial journey:

Be agile and think creatively. In finance, you must constantly anticipate unexpected client requests and think beyond conventional solutions. This mindset has been essential in building HANX.

Take time to recharge. I'm still guilty of not taking enough annual leave, but I've learned the importance of rest and encourage my team to prioritize it too.

You don't need to know everything before starting. I wish I'd understood earlier that confidence matters more than having all the answers. You'll learn as you go – believe in your ability to figure things out.

The Idea Behind HANX

My co-founder Sarah Welsh met over a Bunsen burner in chemistry class back in secondary school! Even after we graduated from uni and headed to our respective careers in finance and women's health, we always got together to discuss things we wanted to change in the world. During one particularly long lunch on a shared day off, we found ourselves complaining about our experiences with condoms and the horror stories Sarah encountered working in NHS gyneacology.

We realised that mainstream condoms were leaving women sore, irritated and completely excluded from conversations about pleasure. We popped to the nearest pharmacy to have a peek at the standard johnnies on shelf and we weren't impressed. They all featured harsh unnecessary chemicals that were a yeast infection waiting to happen (as Dr Sarah can attest!) and were wrapped up in garish, stereotypically "masculine" packets that made us feel like our pleasure was an afterthought – and frankly embarrassed to buy them. 

That afternoon, we decided enough was enough. We knew there was a genuine need for natural sexual wellness products designed with women's needs at the centre...

Starting Our Business 

Sometimes, timing really is perfect. I'd been watching the emerging female-focused sexual wellness market in the US and felt really excited about the opportunities over here in the UK, too. Even casual conversations with friends confirmed that the majority of women felt ostracised by mainstream products - and ashamed to even discuss their sexual health and pleasure.

I'll be honest, building our business hasn't been easy. The early days were filled with obstacles. Finding a condom manufacturer willing to work with two women who'd never owned a business, let alone a condom company, was incredibly difficult. I'm proud of my younger self standing in a borrowed lab coat, facing down disbelief from older men in manufacturing. Sarah and I felt like we were taking on the world, and "no" simply wasn't an acceptable answer.

I could fill pages with examples of stigma we've encountered as a women's health business, especially when seeking investment. On the very day we launched HANX, our payment provider banned us as an 'adult service'. Earlier this year, we had billboards pulled at the very last hour because the property landlord didn't want lubricant advertised on their building (yes, really!). 

As a woman from a Bangladeshi Muslim background especially, I challenge preconceptions daily. I've encountered assumptions that I don't understand valuations despite my investment banking background and faced disbelief that I run my own business that ships condoms, lube and toys all across the UK and USA, is stocked in thousands of stores all around the UK and has been featured in Vogue, Stylist, The Guardian and all the best news titles. It sounds strange but these experiences don't discourage me. If anything, they make me more determined to find people who understand our mission.

Luckily, my finance background at Goldman Sachs perfectly prepared me for entrepreneurship. The ability to handle high-pressure situations and react quickly became invaluable. Whether pitching for millions from globally-known celebrities or spending all night in shipping containers packing orders for massive retail deals, nothing makes me sweat anymore. Well, almost nothing. Being invited to 10 Downing Street to discuss healthcare for women of ethnic minority backgrounds felt surreal for a girl from a small Yorkshire village. I couldn't wait to take a photo for my mum!

Trust Your Gut

Thinking about quitting your job and starting a business? GO FOR IT! When I told my family I was leaving my successful finance career to make condoms, they thought I was making a huge mistake. It was really hard and trust me, you'll probably get push back from the people who care about you, too. They mean well - it's a scary time to start your own thing! However, I truly felt in my gut that there was a real opportunity to build a successful business that advances women's healthcare. Eight years on, as I look back at everything we've accomplished - I still do! If there's one bit of advice I can give you, trust your instincts. It's easy to be swayed by naysayers or feel too frightened to leap into the unknown, but your instincts really do have your best instincts at heart. Good luck!"

Fighting Censorship in Women's Health

Over the past eight years, I've seen women's health as a sector boom, and it's exciting to be part of a real movement offering pioneering solutions for long-ignored women's needs. The challenging reality? We're battling censorship at every level.

Recently, our payment provider gave us 10 days' notice to find an alternative due to the "adult" nature of our products (sounds familiar?). Meta regularly bans our advertisements mentioning natural female health concerns, despite running ads for far-more-explicit erectile dysfunction treatements. It frustrates me endlessly that over half the UK population will experience menopause, yet the term is deemed too taboo for our Instagram ads. 

Fighting this gender bias takes our small team an enormous amount of time and energy (and costs us money!) but every instance of censorship fires me up more. The beautiful, heartfelt messages from our community prove how important HANX is and the difference we're making with every single condom, sachet of Libido Lift or bottle of Menopause Support supplements. No amount of censorship will convince me to let them down.

Want more?

• Ever wondered who are the Founders of HANX? Meet Farah and Sarah. Read on.
• Getting started with HANX sexual wellness? Discover our starter kit for bedroom beginners - shop here.