Winners Welcome Podcast, Episode 17 with Claire Coder, Founder and CEO of Aunt Flow.

Claire Coder wired every dollar her company had into masks. Twelve months later, Aunt Flow had made $11 million.

It was a Wednesday midnight when Claire called her board member. Schools were closed, offices were empty, and Aunt Flow’s revenue had essentially gone to zero. Her plan was to put all of the company’s cash into manufacturing masks in its own warehouses. It could have ended the company. Instead, Aunt Flow generated $11 million in revenue and almost $3 million in profit in a year.

For Claire, that moment fits a pattern. She started Aunt Flow at 18 after dropping out of college. For the first five to six years she paid herself about $20,000 a year. She sat through 86 meetings before her first fundraising. Today, more than 4 million students rely on Aunt Flow products in their school bathrooms. When she started, no states required schools to offer free period care. Now 27 do. Aunt Flow was also Harlem Capital’s very first investment.

On this episode of the Winners Welcome podcast, Claire unpacks how she sells a necessity that most organizations have never budgeted for, often to facilities leaders who will never use the product. She explains why she built a loud brand when the category leaned quiet, and why she bet on patented dispensers when DTC was the default. She also shares a candid take on where resistance to her business has actually come from. And at a moment when every company is talking about AI, she makes the case for going more physical.

Her philosophy is simple. When your back is against the wall, you can see the entire room clearly.

This episode is brought to you by Gunderson Dettmer, the number one law firm in venture capital globally, partnering with leading investors and groundbreaking companies from start to scale. #PoweredByGunderson

Subscribe to the podcast for more conversations with founders, operators, and investors building what’s next.

About The Winners Welcome Podcast

The Winners Welcome Podcast brings elite founders and top investors into thoughtful conversations on pushing past possible, sharing the conviction, standards, and lessons behind building generational companies.

About Harlem Capital

Harlem Capital is a venture capital firm that backs the next generation of winners. The firm partners with exceptional founders with the irrational motivation to build generational companies. All Winners Welcome.

Stay updated on Harlem Capital news by subscribing to our monthly newsletter, follow us on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram.