Cherie Hoeger - Saalt (Episode #010)
Cherie Hoeger on Modernizing Reusable Period Care, Menstruation Education, Changing Stigmas, Believing the Mission, Building Pro-Family Workplaces, and More (#010)
“And so we realized that there was so much power that one period cup could have to literally keep girls in school, break cycles of poverty, help their confidence, help them become young women and mothers who could provide for their families.” —Cherie Hoeger
Cherie Hoeger (@cherie.hoeger) is the CEO & co-founder of Saalt, a company aiming to modernize reusable period care. In 2018, Saalt launched its flagship product—the Saalt period cup—with the vision of making cleaner, more sustainable period care accessible to everyone.
Leading Saalt's social impact efforts, Cherie began networking with impact partners to provide their period cups to underprivileged girls and women so they could confidently manage their periods, stay in school, and lift themselves out of poverty. Now in their third year in business, Saalt has donated over 12,000 cups in over twenty-two countries to create a wave of informed cup users who then act as mentors for other donation recipients.
Before starting Saalt, Cherie had been an entrepreneur in multiple ecommerce ventures and worked as a technical writer with fifteen years of publication experience. Most recently, she co-authored seven editions of collegiate textbooks in the field of fitness and wellness.
Cherie is the mother of five daughters and considers them her greatest success.
This conversation fills the heart, soul, and mind—Cherie’s approach to life, motherhood, building her business, and how to make the world a more equal and sustainable place is truly inspiring. Please enjoy!
Listen to Episode #010 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast player.
Saalt co-founder, Cherie Hoeger, and Moms Who Build host, Margie Chuang, have an energizing conversation about modernizing reusable period care, the intricate tie between menstruation and education for women and girls in developing nations, the opportunity to change stigmas, building a community that believes in your company’s mission, and breaking down barriers to create pro-family workplaces. Cherie and Margie also talk about setting the tone of conversation around periods and openly discuss their individual period experiences.
Show Notes
What inspired Cherie to start Saalt and how she developed a reusable, sustainable menstrual cup. [2:10]
How Cherie learned about the menstrual cup market. [6:54]
The opportunity to change stigmas and modernize reusable period care. [8:18]
Saalt’s product and branding design process. [8:25]
Saalt’s early milestones and the stories behind them. [10:41]
The intricate tie between menstruation and education. [12:20]
Saalt’s “Back to School for Her Too” campaign. [13:10]
How Cherie was able to take the Saalt cup mainstream and get Saalt products onto the shelves at Target. [14:38]
One of the best decisions Saalt made before launching. [18:20]
Getting to 1,000 members and Saalt’s launchpad. [18:30]
Building Saalt’s community. [21:10]
About the Saalt Cup Academy and how it took on a life of its own. [22:29]
Selecting charitable partners and how to navigate those partnerships. [23:42]
Cherie and her family’s trip to Nepal to teach women and young girls about the benefits of the Saalt cup and how to use it. [27:42]
Margie and Cherie talk openly about their individual period experiences. [34:02]
Building Saalt’s progressive pro-family workplace. [37:54]
Cherie’s approach to worklife optimization. [44:15]
Entrepreneurial lessons that Cherie hopes to pass along to her children. [48:15]
What quality can make entrepreneurs successful. [53:50]
What’s next for Saalt and innovation in product technology. [55:16]
Rapid Fire Questions. [56:09]
Parting thoughts and encouraging words. [59:09]
What was your favorite takeaway or quote from this episode? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!
Selected Links from the Episode
Connect with Cherie Hoeger on Instagram
Connect with Saalt:
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Saalt Academy
Hamilton | Disney Plus
Listen to Episode #010 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast player.
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Connect with Moms Who Build host, Margie Chuang
Twitter: twitter.com/momswhobuild
Instagram: instagram.com/momswhobuild_
Facebook: facebook.com/momswhobuild
YouTube: bit.ly/youtube-channel-momswhobuild
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Past Interviews
For past interviews with inspirational moms building inspirational things, visit momswhobuild.com.
Quotes from Episode #010
““Anytime there’s a stigma, there’s an opportunity to change that stigma and to change the market, and to change the consumer mindset around it.””
““There is an intricate tie between menstruation and education. In developed nations, in our first world country, it’s kind of hard for us to imagine just how much impact a period can have on one girl and her education. It’s not something that we usually deal with. We have the products that we need. But in developing nations, it’s astounding how many girls drop out of school as soon as they hit puberty. And in fact, it was one of the primary reasons I decided to start Saalt. Looking at my five daughters and thinking, ‘Wow, what would I do if their education was limited by something as basic to the human condition as a period?’ And yet, this is a reality for hundreds of thousands of girls overseas.” ”
““As a society, we have been taught to keep the conversations around periods hush hush, so it’s up to us as menstruators to set the tone of conversation around periods. Our comfort level on how we feel about talking about our periods really gives permission to our male colleagues and people of all genders to also feel comfortable.” ”
““By simply talking about periods in a tone that carries no shock or shame, you can create a shift in the consumer mindset and with your friends and family that spurs this period progress. So, it’s all about not being afraid to talk about this basic human condition. Fifty percent of the population menstruates and has a period and let’s talk about that openly.””
““We have such power as females in the workplace and in entrepreneurship to empower other women through our examples of leadership. We’re the ones who need to take charge and lead in making those changes for women and the coworkers and teams we lead, because the challenges that we face in a traditionally patriarchal business are so real and we need to be the ones that are breaking those barriers, exploring those creative solutions, and helping solve unique challenges of women, particularly the young mothers in the workplace.””
