The first portable menstrual cup flusher

We are CupHub, a startup that makes the portable menstrual cup flusher to address menstrual poverty in a sustainable way! Casey ensures that menstruators, who have less to spend, can still get through their periods comfortably. We do this by making the menstrual cup more attractive by improving its usability. What started as a personal annoyance about cleaning the cup in public restrooms grew into our business. 

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Aart and I got to know each other in the optional course Build-Your-Startup. During this course we were invited to apply to the Philips Innovation Award, where we made it to the finals! We also applied to other competitions, such as the TU Delft Impact Contest and the Erasmus University Challenge. Both of which we then won! How bizarre! We recommend everyone to join these contests: even if you think you are not far enough along with your startup yet. You get to know a lot of startups which is good for your network, you get to know partners with whom you can collaborate later on and you learn how to present your startup in the best possible way. This can be in pitch form, but also, for example, to formulate your vision and mission. 

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Besides the main prize at the Erasmus University Challenge, we also won a ticket to the StageTwo competition in Berlin. This means we will be representing the Netherlands in this pan-European competition! We are in full preparation, focusing much more on international collaborations and daring to dream bigger! 

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The prizes will allow us to start our pilot next time where the 20 participants can start testing Casey. Would you like to participate? Then sign up on our website: https://cuphub.net/pages/pilot-signup. Next year we will launch Casey and work together with the municipality of Rotterdam to tackle menstrual poverty in a structural way in Rotterdam! We will start with a local focus and will then expand!

Kickstart Lab has given us many new contacts. We found an accountant and a mentor from Kickstart Lab with whom we now meet regularly. We were also able to make valuable connections with the Municipality of Delft, something we were really looking for.

To anyone at the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey: don't listen to all the advice you get. Look to each person you meet for the connection or someone who can take you forward.

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Want to know more about CupHub? Then take a look at the webste: https://cuphub.net/ or via Instagram CupHub

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