- Carina Hader studied aerospace engineering and dreamed of becoming CEO of Porsche.
- Due to a personal problem, all this changed and she decided to start her own business.
- She founded Nayca, which makes a heating pad that helps with period pain, with her father Bruno.
At some point in life, Carina Heidi Hader’s main aspiration was to be the first woman to become CEO of Porsche.
“That was my goal for a very long time, it was burned into my brain,” she told Insider.
Hader really enjoyed working as an engineer at the car manufacturer and felt she had what it would take to be a leader.
“I was promoted a lot at Porsche and I liked it there, but in the back of my mind I was always thinking ‘what if I do something completely different?'” she said.
Over time, this thought matured in the back of her mind. Finally, the aerospace engineering graduate decided to found her own startup for period products. She did this with her father Bruno, a marketing expert with years of experience. He was also looking to do something new after leaving his corporate job. It seemed the perfect opportunity to start a business together.
When Carina Hader told her father about her idea to make a reusable, tech-powered heating pad for women with period pain, he was surprised and kept silent at first.
“It’s not a topic you typically talk about with your father, although even before we started the company, we hardly had any taboo topics,” Carina Hader said.
But after some market research, Bruno Hader realized that there was big market potential, and he was quickly convinced.
The pre-sale sold out within 24 hours
The engineer herself struggles with menstrual pain, which isn’t exactly practical when you work a lot as a consultant and travel frequently.
“You can’t just whip out the hot water bottle in a meeting and ask for a kettle,” she said.
That’s where she got the idea. She decided to create an unobtrusive, heart-shaped heating pad called Nayca that you can place directly on your stomach between your underwear and pants or skirt. It heats up at the touch of a button and is always ready to use.
Suppliers and producers have already been found by the father and daughter’s company, which they’ve called Cebeha2 GmbH.
The pre-production phase is currently underway. The online store has been officially open for a few weeks, and customers can now pre-order the heating pad. However, there’s currently still a delivery time of 12 weeks. But that doesn’t seem to have bothered customers. In July 2021, the Haders launched a pre-sale in which all planned heating pads were sold out within 24 hours.
“That was our proof of concept and confirmation that the clientele really wants our product,” said Carina Hader.
Last year, she said, Cebeha2 GmbH already generated five-figure sales — without a product that could be shipped.
For now, the small company isn’t advertising.
“We can’t take on too much at the moment because we’re bootstrapped,” Hader explained.
Bootstrapped funding means that the startup has a very tight budget and scarce resources. The goal is to avoid spending while maximizing revenue.
The product has impressed judges in startup competitions
With her concept, as well as her cheerful charisma and a hands-on mentality, the engineer has really impressed in startup competitions.
In 2019, she took part in the Grace Summercamp, an accelerator program for women startup teams.
As recently as November 2021, she won Douglas’ “Beauty Futures” startup competition in the “Beauty Brand” category, beating out 196 startups from 23 countries.
Industry leaders such as Douglas CEO Tina Müller and digital head Vanessa Stützle, as well as investor Lea-Sophie Cramer were enthusiastic about Hader and Nayca after her pitch.
Hader won the chance to sell her product on Douglas’ platforms.
Currently, Hader is in negotiations with Douglas on what a collaboration might look like.
“For us, the cooperation with Douglas is a great opportunity, but also a great challenge,” she said.
Because we’re bootstrapped and work with a tight budget, we have to feel our way and we can’t supply all stores right now,” she added.
Both sides hope that sales via Douglas can start next year.
The founders work on an equal footing
“Bruno has never played the father card — nor I the daughter card; we work absolutely as equals,” said Carina Hader.
“Of course, we also discuss a lot and have tough conversations as co-founders when it comes to strategy or purchasing, for example, but it’s always on an equal footing,” she added.
Since Hader co-founded with her father, rather than it being handed down, she doesn’t see her company as a family business in the classic sense.
“But if I were to pass the company on to the next generation at some point, I might think about it again if Porsche came knocking with the CEO position,” Hader said.
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