Polari Group

'You cannot ignore marginalised communities' – meet the sex tech startup tackling anorectal health. 💡 During the fundraising process for Polari Group’s $539,000 (£417,000) pre-seed round, the sex tech startup faced “challenges” from the VC world. Polari Group is developing a novel device that it says can replace douching before anal sex. Inspired by their research and conversations with members of the LGBTQ+ community, co-founders Anna Vybornova and Dr Dr Henry Blest have developed a single-use, ball-shaped device designed to be inserted into the rectum before anal sex to prevent what they call “faecal accidents.” ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eMdes7ft 🔗 #sextech #healthtech #startup #biotech #investment #funding #research #health #UKtech

"You cannot ignore marginalised communities." We’re excited to share that we've been featured in UK Tech News! 📰 Read the article to learn more about our journey and how we’re revolutionising the SexTech industry. Article: https://lnkd.in/eksbVk9k Abbianca Nassar née Makoni UKTN

🎉 We’re excited to soon celebrate 1 year of innovation and success at Polari Group! 🎉 Mark your calendars for our anniversary on the 19th of September. We’ll be sharing more details about our plans for the big day soon. Stay tuned!

Sex has long been a taboo area for many investors. During my latest interview with the founders of Polari Group, I found out that when they were on a fundraising roadshow, some investors they pitched to abruptly ended the meeting after just a few minutes of discussing their London-based sex startup. Sex as a topic is already taboo but the startup’s founders say their focus on anorectal health has created extra hurdles requiring additional education for investors. Polari Group is developing a novel device that it says can replace douching before anal sex. Inspired by their research and conversations with members of the LGBTQ+ community, co-founders Anna Vybornova and Dr Henry Blest have developed a single-use, ball-shaped device designed to be inserted into the rectum before anal sex to prevent what they call “faecal accidents.” They're aiming to address and reduce the stigma surrounding anal sex, which is often “perpetuated by lingering homophobia," they added. Full article here: https://lnkd.in/eqi-EQ5f Polari Group Anna Vybornova and Dr Henry Blest I'm Abbianca, a business tech journalist at UKTN & ghostwriter at my one-woman ghostwriting biz Duru

This week Maddyness spoke with 3 startups in #diverse industries for our #QFQ profiles - interviews that take you behind the headlines... 👥 Amardeep Parmar of The Bae HQ on making connections, remote working and building a #network built on #diversity 🥣Jessica Leather (Higgins) of Freja talks alternatives to #ultra-processed 'health' foods and becoming a leader in the #bonebroth market 💦Anna Vybornova & Dr Henry Blest of Polari Group discuss medical science for the #LGBTQIA+ community, being a polarising company and all things douche

I'm often asked about the types of companies Entrepreneur First invests in—whether we support bio teams, consumer products, hardware... The truth is, we're sector-agnostic. Our focus is solely on backing highly ambitious founding teams with a strong right to win as they build for huge markets—regardless of the industry. Anna Vybornova & Dr Henry Blest at Polari Group are a perfect example of this. A team uniquely positioned to capitalize on a massive opportunity in a space that is still considered taboo. Great article by Maddyness UK! –––––– This is call for more individuals looking to build in the sexual health space. As Henry puts it, there is massive opportunity in taboo sectors! Taboo ideas are open secrets about the future, and I'd love to speak with those who feel similarly. https://lnkd.in/ey6jHYmR

Thrilled to be featured once again on Maddyness! 🚀 A big thank you to the team for recognising our work 🖤🌈 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/e8WfJKAz Anna Vybornova Dr Henry Blest Maddyness UK

Last month, startups in our portfolio have been making waves, shipping products and securing deals to ramp up their growth. Check out what they’ve been up to below 👇 Congratulations to Feather, Syntetica, Polari Group, altrove, Lodestar Space, Recurse ML, toby and Telescope.

More than delighted-- I'm honored-- to join the brilliant and talented duo of Anna Vybornova and Dr Henry Blest on their venture to improve anorectal and sexual health, education, and understanding. Stay tuned to see what we're up to!

Dr  Carmen Fong M.D., FACS  (she/her/they) Colorectal Surgeon Co-Director of Haemorrhoid Centres of America Author of Constipation Nation We are thrilled to announce that Carmen who brands herself as “your friendly neighbourhood Colorectal Surgeon” has joined Polari Group as a clinical advisor. She will offer her expertise on: Anorectal safety 👷 R_ctal anatomy 🍑 Product development ⚗️ Modelling bowel movements 💩 Community guidelines on anorectal health 📖 (announcement come soon…) Dr. Fong graduated from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. More recently she was a Assistant Professor of Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, in the Department of Colon and Rectal Surgery and is now the Co-Director of the Haemorrhoid Centres of America. We could not be more grateful for her guidance, and we are sure she will supercharge our efforts going forwards. 🚀 🚀 🚀 Welcome to the team and thank you for all of the support you have already given. 🫶