When my dad asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said, “I don’t know, but I know it will be controversial.” And, here we are.
I started my career on the front lines, an abortion clinic.
I went on to pioneer the sextech industry, building and later selling the first condom company in the states marketing to femmes.
I bring controversial products and movements to life in the spirit of reproductive justice
— and, I do it with pleasure.
Claire Courtney is a sextech & femtech strategist, entrepreneur, and brand advisor living in Portland, Oregon with her cat, Tuna.
My special sauce? I do what I love.
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I drive startups tackling radical social issues to new heights. My leadership style is compassionate and direct, and I live at the intersection of controversy and social good.
I thrive in freethinking environments surrounded by creative do-gooders, and I know how to incite spirited change in the face of backlash.
Navigating a ballsy go-to-market strategy that begs our culture to do better? I’ll define your voice, build your team, woo your haters, and jump the hurdles right beside you. I provide strategic direction and compassionate leadership to ball-busting businesses.
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I drive mission-driven startups straight through the glass ceiling. I’ve built over a dozen “naughty” businesses by hand with an objectives-driven approach that aligns radical companies for radical growth.
I am a determined problem-solver and an energetic freethinker determined to uproot the current way of things (in the name of intersectional wellbeing and reproductive justice!)
My strategies lean on a decade of experience in sextech and femtech (predating both industries, or should I say, creating them) and a lifelong commitment to social justice. I’ve built a tried-and-true toolkit for making the “impossible” ordinary — and, I credit my success to zero formal training and the wealth of a million mistakes. And, my white, cis privilege, of course.
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Building brands the patriarchy loves to hate. I’m a storyteller, cultural persuader, and creative strategist. My specialty is positioning your movement so even your strongest haters slow their roll.
I provide thoughtful brand identity, messaging, communications, and creative direction to help you rewrite history. My work has attracted massive media attention, facilitated radical policy changes, converted high-level stakeholders, and convinced old school senators to change their minds (and their votes).
Tackle archaic social norms with a cultural disruptor who knows how to set you apart (and set you up for growth). Ballsy branding is what I do best.
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I bring the voice. At least that’s what my clients say! I am a persuasive communicator with a knack for swaying opinions by establishing alignment, clarity, and credibility.
I bring a keen eye and an open mind to every project, but it’s my perfectionism and fearlessness that set me apart.
I work with my words to establish clarity, consistency, and ease, build a connective voice for your audience, and woo your haters in the process. Whether I’m drafting testimony or a press pitch, I focus on what matters most: Your audience and what drives them.
On the macro level, I direct key messaging, branding, and creatives for companies doing world-changing shit. On the micro level, I leverage the power of every syllable to set you apart.
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My content marketing strategies drive radical visibility, authentic human connection, and lasting impact. Activate high-level stakeholders, dazzle consumers with consistency, and say yes to meaningful growth.
Discover how to cement your place in emerging narratives, attract your top targets with ease, and inspire new consumer habits. My content and creative direction inspires generations to think differently.
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I persuade press to do things they’ve never done before. My strategies weren’t taught in a classroom. They were built back when Cosmopolitan wouldn’t even cover condoms from a female pleasure perspective, and they’ve been evolving ever since.
It’s simple: I want you to receive the recognition you deserve, centralize your cause with consistency, and radically change the way of things. I am a PR director, relationship builder, and crisis communications manager who knows how to make (or dodge) the right headlines. My greatest strength? I never back down from a challenge.
And yes, I did convince Cosmo, Glamour, Women’s Health Magazine, CNN, the Washington Post, and dozens of others to cover condoms from a female pleasure perspective. And now they’ve been doing it ever since.
And, I do what I love very well.
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The woman behind your favorite condom brands! GPC is the most innovative condom and lubricant company (in the f*cking world) and the proud parent of over a dozen groundbreaking, high-impact brands. I have the pleasure of supporting all of ‘em with branding, creative direction, content strategy, and product positioning. Is my job a goddamn dream? Yes, yes it is.
Highlight: So far? Launching the world’s first graphene condom, ONE® Flex™ - an innovation I’ve been rooting for since 2011. Running the GTM strategy was an actual dream come true. But truthfully, my real highlight is yet to come… Stay tuned!
Takeaway: Big penises don’t matter, but big thinking does! Think big, do big, create big change.
Mission: Drive innovative condoms to market that address inclusivity, education, and pleasure head on.
p.s. Have you seen the world’s first graphene condom?! You’re welcome.
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Driving strategy, vision, and communications for a femtech startup navigating political, social, and press crises. Chief Marketing Officer responsible for go-to-market strategy and implementation, press and crises management, branding and creative direction, team and budget oversight, and product and business development.
Highlight: Managing a talented team of social activists across four continents (the joys outweighed the logistical challenges) — and successfully introducing self-use sexual assault DNA evidence collection kits in the states.
Takeaway: I shine under pressure and in high-stake environments — and, I still enjoy speaking in front of large crowds!
Mission: Empower sexual assault survivors with autonomy and options.
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Destigmatizing chronic vulvar pain with a revolutionary line of intimate wellness products. Responsible for branding and communications, go-to-market strategy and implementation, creative direction, press relations, and product and business development.
Highlight: Some CEOs really can do it all. I was honored and humbled to work beside a bootstrapped, badass, immigrant WOC who balanced chemotherapy with crowdfunding from a hospital bed, successfully launching her first product line while battling for her life. Suzanne’s unwavering resilience as a cancer-surviving entrepreneur is a force to witness (like her shattering of many glass ceilings, including those at CVS and Allure!)
Takeaway: Get to know your audience as intimately as you know your privates. Or, perhaps more so.
Mission: Normalize chronic vulvar pain with natural, sustainable tools for self-care down there.
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Helping naughty businesses do great things with strategic leadership and direction. I’ve built over a dozen sextech businesses by hand, landing acquisitions, international expansions, and celebrity endorsements. I make the “ordinary” possible — and, I do it with great pleasure.
Highlight: When I got in the game, there was no “sextech” or “femtech” to speak of. We’ve come a long way, and we have a long way to go! Watching products come to life after months (or years) of development is always a highlight. But, when it comes down to it, I love what I do because I love who I do it with. I’m grateful to my people.
Takeaway: Sextech & femtech are booming — and finally attracting VCs — but funding is still going to the most privileged; this has to change for the industry to inspire greater equity across reproductive lines. While sextech and femtech are positioned as equalizers, our biased approach is a distraction from the real work to be done. Funding businesses built by BIPOC and LGBTQ+ femmes is the future of our industries.
Mission: To stack the shelves with products for reproductive wellbeing that honor the intersectionality of pleasure and justice.
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Here’s what my Dad talks about at dinner parties: I co-founded the first condom company in the US directed at womxn, attracting attention and funding to what would later be called “the sextech industry.”
I introduced our first condom line with a viral crowdfunding campaign (after investors wagged their bony fingers), and then I launched an international micro-business program to help other women do the same. Read more about that here.
Back in the states, I managed marketing and operations, landed dozens of top shelf media placements (never paying a dime), built a robust community of support, expanded into retailers, like Urban Outfitters, successfully opened the condom market to femmes, and exited Lovability to help more mission-driven founders change the world. It’s been a pleasure (and a headache) since day one!
Highlight: Bringing condoms out of the lockboxes at CVS and into the health and beauty aisles.
Takeaway: You can do anything — with perseverance (and privilege).
Mission: To promote a culture of condom acceptance and reproductive autonomy, and to drive funding and attention toward sextech (before there was a name for it).