Raising Sexual Awareness with ZaZaZu

Today, we speak with Jingjin Liu, CEO and Founder of ZaZaZu, the first sexual wellness hub in ASEAN that synchronizes education, products and an intimate female community to empower women to enhance their sexual journey.

Hi Jingjin, tell us a little bit about yourself!

Hi! My name is Jingjin. I was born in China and went to Germany when I was 16. From there, I studied industrial engineering in college and worked at Siemens within their mobility and automotive department. My first foray into entrepreneurship happened by coincidence during my second year at Siemens. At the time, I went to an industry fair and got connected with a Chinese investor and a partner at Boston Consulting Group, in which we discussed the value proposition of bringing and consolidating automotive spare parts (“Made in Germany”) to Chinese original equipment manufacturers (OEM). I didn’t even know what venture capital was at the time. With a EUR 60,000 bank loan, we were on our way to building our first venture. We generated EUR 5 million in sales per year and exited in 2019. The entire operation was seamless! Our team complemented each other very well, and the venture itself didn’t require much hands-on operational activity, meaning I could continue working at my corporate job at the same time.

When I exited in 2019, I was already pursuing my Executive MBA at INSEAD. I knew that my next career pursuit would be focused on something I was deeply passionate about. I reflected on the time when I grew up in China as an introvert. Although I moved to Germany at the age of 16, the fundamentals were well engrained into my personality. I found it difficult to build confidence at a later stage. Even in Germany, I realized it wasn’t a cultural difference; women in the western world suffer from insecurity as well due to societal norms. They tend to be influenced at an earlier stage to behave a certain way, whether it is to be a ‘good’ daughter or a ‘good’ mother. I wanted to build a business that empowered women and help them build inner confidence. Upon this realization, I asked myself, “which area could I work on to create meaningful impact, and which areas could present niche business opportunities or a blue ocean for products that lead to women empowerment?” The idea of sex came to mind.

Everyone’s having sex. Sex is one of the oldest industries in the world, which is heavily stigmatized from the institution of prostitution and the prevalence of pornography. The agenda you see in the pornography industry, for example, tends to be driven by men. This idea of how to improve sexual health and wellness drove me into creating ZaZaZu.

Sexual wellness in Asia has been stigmatized for such a long time. What are the pain points we’re seeing today?

People residing in British-influenced countries and cities in Asia like Singapore and Hong Kong are way less open to discussing sexual wellness than others like Shanghai, Taiwan and Ho Chi Minh. Although Singapore and Hong Kong have more advanced economies, their heritage and culture date back to a colonial era in the 19th and 20th century where any discussion over sex is highly stigmatized.

Today, the broader conversation over health and wellness has been gaining traction, especially within subsectors like mental health. However, when the conversation steers towards sexual wellness or anything related to femtech, the mainstream media blatantly refuses to advertise any resources or products. Social media platforms with huge ad reach like Facebook or Instagram don’t allow these femtech companies to have a proper presence. Even the customers themselves are hesitant to share their purchases to their peers online. I believe this is one of, if not, the largest hurdle for femtech founders.

A major misconception about sexual wellness in Asia is that there’s a lack of recognition in this region for products, brands and support services. In today’s digital age, information and resources can easily flow from the West to the East. That’s not the issue. The issue we face is pertinent to the Asian women: that is, women aren’t convinced that sexual wellness matters. Many women don’t understand the functionality of their body and hormones and lack the fundamental belief that sexual wellness matters for their overall health.

Many would argue that one of the main reasons startups fail is because you’re trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. In Asia, many women don’t recognize that a lack of sexual awareness or poor sexual health is a problem. It’s like if you never tried great wine, you wouldn’t miss the taste of great wine. You would need the support of foreign imports to break this social stigma. A general ignorance, a strong sense of social and cultural stigma as well as poor advertising channels can lead to this thesis that women don’t care.

Our mission is to raise awareness and help change this narrative.

In terms of market size for sexual wellness products, how big is this industry?

The global sexual (hardware) products market, which includes toys, is worth $37 billion. In Southeast Asia, it’s valued at $7 billion.

The global sexual wellness market, which includes a wider scope ranging from wellness services to education, is worth $127 billion.

You saw these evident gaps in the market and disparity in views on such a contested topic. What is ZaZaZu’s solution?

ZaZaZu is the first sexual wellness hub in Asia that focuses on three key offerings: sexual education, consultation and curated products. Based on our preliminary market research, we discovered that there is a plethora of quality products that can be easily accessible to users around the world. However, the issue lies within curation. The business model adopted by many e-commerce platforms doesn’t cater to this niche segment, and many lack the knowledge to properly curate and tailor offerings that meet the needs of the customer.

We take the shame out of the game. We provide the curation ourselves and partner up with doctors and ergonomists who understand the science behind creating and designing wellness products. Currently, we package existing goods in the marketplace based on the needs of our customers. In the next phase, we plan to create these products ourselves based on further scientific and anatomical research.

In the beginning, we focused on awareness and pushed out educational content. But when COVID-19 hit, we had to figure out how to adjust while grow our user base. We still had limited reach with no roadmap to scale, and it wasn’t enough to sell products and provide educational content to spur demand. Given that we are raising our seed round from institutional investors, we introduced ZaZaZu Club, a members-only community club designed to give our subscribers and partners a platform to connect over tailored products and discuss around anything related to sexual wellness. Our premium members pay a subscription fee to receive additional benefits, including complementary products from partners. We will soon charge a fee to partners as well.

What is your team dynamic like? Do you have a co-founder?

I previously had a co-founder, Cass, who left in June. The idea of ZaZaZu formulated during our time at Antler. I was searching for a founder who not only shared a similar passion towards sexual wellness but was best suited for the job. Previously a gaming producer, Cass was trustworthy and tenacious, and we clicked immediately. However, Antler did not choose to invest in us because our profiles were too similar. To build a consumer brand, we needed a CMO, someone who was well-versed in marketing. I initially believed we could overcome this hurdle since investing into people was more important than skills.

We were able to raise $135K from angel investors and Loyal VC and work without having to confront these headwinds during the first 6 months. Our co-founder relationship was strong, yet it became evident that we needed a digital marketing expert that could help us scale beyond our current reach. We both came to the similar conclusion that to grow, she needed to exit the company. She kept a certain percentage and sold the rest back to me so I could make the necessary hire. In hindsight, this obstacle taught us the valuable lesson of finding founders who could offer complementary skillsets at the onset. As I continue to fundraise for our seed round, finding a CMO or digital marketer will be one of the main priorities in the pipeline.

My final two cents: finding a co-founder or building a co-founder relationship successfully is more of an art than a science. I’m still proud of my initial decision to choose people over skills. There is no guarantee or perfect formula that dictates co-founders will succeed in the long-term since everyone values key attributes differently.

What are some of your recent successes as of late? Any personal or professional milestones you hit as a founder?

We’re proud of developing the ZaZaZu Club, where we collaborate with our network of partners and facilitate a forum that integrates sex into the general discourse of well-being. So far, we achieved 2,500 members in 3 months. This model can serve as a catalyst for how we broach unconventional topics into the mainstream.

If you blatantly voice that sexual well-being is an important cause, people will shy away from you. However, if you reframe the conversation and talk around sexual wellness, meaning you integrate sexual well-being into the broader discourse of well-being, people will be more receptive. For example, as a part of our marketing campaign, we link the important aspects of sexual health with something people here in Asia can relate to: food. Like many cultures, food can bond people together and pave the way for more intimate conversations. For example, when we explain how oysters allow men to increase their sperm production rate, people are often more inclined to learn more and absorb this type of information. Only when you wrap their heads around the important benefits of sexual wellness, you can invite them into this ecosystem of sexual products.

Once society has overcome this barrier and destigmatize sexual health, only then can we act as a ‘normal’ platform where there’s no limitation on reach and more natural engagements. Media lead generation is still vital for our business so we are continuing to be strategic on how we cross this chasm.

On a personal note, many individuals are reaching out to me in advocacy from LinkedIn and private messaging. This support further validates my mission and gives me a sense of purpose, in that this is a problem worth pursuing. As we fundraise, we are fortunate to have angel investors on board who believe in the cause.

Have you experienced any recent failures, something you were able to overcome or are able to learn from that influenced your journey?

I already mentioned that my co-founder left since we needed a marketing hire. The process of finding a qualified candidate who is also willing to take risks and think unconventionally has been a long and strenuous one. For example, when I interview students from business schools, I find that many students come from a corporate background. You can be working for a major FMCG or luxury brand, but when you’re building a product that defies cultural norms, you can’t simply apply what you learned from these experiences or the classroom into such a role. You need a fresh perspective.

As a founder who aims to disrupt the way we conceptualize sexual wellness, what are some key tips or lessons you’d like to share for those who may be interested in entrepreneurship and/or sexual wellness?

On co-founding: Having a co-founder can either make or break your company. I’ve been working by myself since Cass left, and as a solopreneur, it has been easier to make decisions and take bigger leaps into key initiatives. However, it takes great wisdom and awareness to know your capabilities and limitations. Many investors would avoid funding a solopreneur and attest for at least two co-founders because it’s risk adverse. Unless you find 100% complementary fit with another co-founder, I believe it’s more appropriate to pursue a venture as a solo founder.

On building your own venture: Building a startup is hard enough. Do reflect if you decide to break into an industry that faces major headwinds like sexual wellness in Asia. It’s a long-term game with no track record or guidebook that could help you navigate. Everyone’s journey will be different. For ZaZaZu, the value or driver is in the impact we aim to create for women who feel insecure and mentally suppressed due to overdue societal norms. That’s the fire that keeps me going.

On customer journey: Stay as close as you can to the customer. You’ll encounter restrictions on all fronts: lack of presence on social media, no tailored advertising, poor big data analytics, lack of medical research and misunderstandings from consumers. Nevertheless, the bigger the problems, the larger the opportunity. On the consumer front, try to understand what matters to them and how you can leverage your platform to best solve their problems. The lack of awareness or acceptance is still an issue, so consumers won’t easily share their intimacy data. Find something that resonates with the end user (i.e food) and connect the two narratives together.

This interview was conducted by Jeffrey Dong. Jeffrey is an INSEAD candidate currently working within the investment team at Golden Gate Ventures.

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