Meet Rachael Newton, founder of suction-free menstrual cup brand, nixit.

Rachael Newton is the founder of nixit, a suction-free, made-in-Canada menstrual cup that is revolutionizing menstruation. Rachael started her career working as a lawyer for an investment bank for nine years before branching out on her own and starting nixit. As a progressive period care brand, nixit is helping to make using menstrual cups mainstream, and is also invested in changing and leading the conversation around menstruation.

My first job ever was… Waitressing at a cafe in Sicily, Italy. 

I decided to be an entrepreneur because… I wanted to make a positive impact on the planet and have a positive impact on those who menstruate. It wasn’t a conscious decision to become an entrepreneur, but once I felt the gap in the market and landed on the idea of nixit, I felt compelled to start. 

I founded nixit because… No one else was making what I believed to be the perfect menstrual cup. I truly believed that our suction-free cup is the future of period care and that if I could get it to market, I could both improve people’s period experiences and drive collective waste reduction. This is still my belief!

“Our mission is to not only to improve people’s cycles, but to spark conversations that make people feel comfortable to talk about this human experience. By destigmatizing menstruation, we empower people to make choices that are right for them.”

I’m passionate about the menstrual care market because… The traditional menstrual care market is based on the idea that periods should be managed with products that aren’t good for our bodies or the environment. The idea that we shouldn’t talk about or question our periods has fuelled the use of these products — and benefited the companies that make them. 

Our mission is to not only to improve people’s cycles, but to spark conversations that make people feel comfortable to talk about this human experience. By destigmatizing menstruation, we empower people to make choices that are right for them.

My proudest accomplishment is… Reading feedback from our customers! To be told that something I made has changed someone’s life and improved their period experience is extremely gratifying — it makes this journey feel all that more worthwhile. 

My biggest setback was… The pandemic. It was difficult managing home-schooling, looking after the children (they were three and five years old when it started), and running the business — which I have bootstrapped from the beginning. I obviously had to prioritize my family, but that meant nixit could only be tended to late at night and in the early mornings.

I overcame it by… Accepting that things at nixit would move more slowly than I wanted them to, but that we would get there eventually.