A Trump-tied investor set off an Equinox boycott. What about the tampon startup he backs?
Tampon startup Lola's founders address their ties to Stephen Ross for the first time.
Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Ursula von der Leyen pursues technological sovereignty for Europe, Glossier abandons its Glossier Play brand, and Lola examines its ties to a controversial investor. Have a wonderful weekend.
– The man behind the menstrual products. Remember the kerfuffle that happened in August when Stephen Ross—investor, real estate developer, and billionaire owner of the Miami Dolphins—hosted a glitzy Hamptons fundraiser to support President Trump’s re-election campaign? The event kicked up a storm of negative publicity for Ross-backed companies like Equinox Fitness, SoulCycle, and Momofuku, who faced outrage from liberal-leaning customers who felt misled and betrayed by brands they thought shared their values.
Now, another one of Ross’s investments—Lola, a seller of organic tampons and other feminine care products—talks to our Fortune colleague Maria Aspan about its relationship with his RSE Ventures. It’s the first time the company has commented publicly on the matter.
Unlike some Ross-backed companies, which actively attempted to distance themselves from him, Lola has not put out any public statements about the president or their investor. Lola co-founder Jordana Kier says the company did not consider trying to buy out Ross’s stake directly or asking another investor to do so. However, she tells Maria that might change in the coming year, as the company seeks to raise a Series C round of investment. “That is an opportunity, and the moment where a bigger investor will want to come in to clean up the cap table” by buying out smaller investors, she says. (A spokesperson for RSE Ventures declined to comment on the firm’s investment in Lola.)
All sorts of startups are increasingly facing scrutiny over whether their investors share their values, or their politics. This is particularly complex for Lola, which has become involved in policy, especially the effort to repeal various states’ sales taxes on tampons and other menstrual products. “It’s a feminist objective—and one that serves Lola’s business purposes—but also one that has garnered some bipartisan support,” writes Maria. While Lola’s branding as “reproductive care for women, by women” brings to mind the more vocal stances of companies like The Wing or Glossier, it has declined to take a similarly public position on issues like access to abortion, which tend to split along partisan lines.
The questions about the sources of startups’ funding—and the motivations of the people behind it—are not going away any time soon. Nor is the reliance of direct-to-consumer companies and other startups on that private money. So I don’t doubt that we’re going to see more companies wrestling with how to think and talk about these kinds of controversial relationships. And for companies like Lola, which lead with feminist principles and a clear sense of mission, the stakes for getting it right are very, very high.
Kristen Bellstrom
kristen.bellstrom@fortune.com
@kayelbee
Today’s Broadsheet was produced by Emma Hinchliffe.