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Entrepreneur Fridays: Semprae Laboratories

Posted by Jean

WHO: Rachel Braun Scherl and Mary Wallace Jaensch

WHAT: Semprae Laboratories, a company founded by women and focused on women’s sexuality.  Semprae provides evidence based solutions supported by real science to create a place online for women to talk and learn about sexual satisfaction. The company’s flagship product is Zestra, a blend of botanical oils and extracts clinically proven to increase satisfaction.

WHERE: Saddle Brook, NJ

WHEN: 2008

HOW: “Much of how we got here feels like serendipity,” says Scherl.  Both former successful marketing and strategy consultants, Scherl and Jaensch focused on women’s issues for most of their careers. “We focused on women-driven businesses – birth control, health and beauty, fertility– servicing leading companies including Johnson & Johnson, Wyeth and Church & Dwight,” says Scherl.  

Knowing about their passion for women’s issues, a venture capitalist friend showed them a business plan for Zestra.  “He said, ‘This opportunity, this category is for you’,” says Scherl. In April 2008, the pair met with the company’s higher-ups hoping that they could potentially manage the company.  They was under the impression that Scherl and Jaensch were coming to the table with funding to back the troubled brand.  “We parted ways believing that our interests were not aligned,” says Scherl.

Although the meeting didn’t turn out the way they hoped, Scherl and Janesch’s walked away with their curiosity piqued.  “As we looked at the category, which we now define as sexual satisfaction, it looked like the “perfect storm” from a marketing perspective,” says Scherl. The pair noticed how many women were looking for increased sexual satisfaction that didn’t have access to very many solutions. “Women weren’t talking to their health care professionals about sexual satisfaction, even though studies showed that 43% of women were sexually dissatisfied.  Most doctors were reluctant to bring it up with their patients,” says Scherl.  

With the facts in front of them and clinical, healthcare and marketplace evidence that showed Zesta worked, Scherl and Jaensch decided to take action. “Mary and I saw and seized an opportunity to “start a conversation” with women about something very important to them,” says Scherl.
 
Three months later, Scherl and Jaensch launched Semprae Laboratories.  After about a year later, the company that formerly owned Zestra declared bankruptcy.  Semprae made an offer and they were awarded the company’s assets several months later for $2.5 million dollars.  After acquiring the assets, Scherl and Jaensch put an additional $3 million towards making over the product and re-launching.  They also decided to leave their consulting jobs too to put 100% into making Semprae and Zestra a success. “After spending 8 months researching and developing the brand’s new story, Zestra “launched” with new packaging, flavor, positioning, messaging, business model and organizational support in April 2009,” says Scherl.
 
After just 9 months in business, Semprae is on track to be a seven figure business in 2009. Semprae has big plans for the future too.  “We are focused on driving significant growth to get to breakeven by the middle of next year.  We expect that the Zestra franchise is capable of driving $100MM in sales.” says Scherl.

THEIR ADVICE: According to Scherl and Jaensch, their business motto can be summed up in a line from the 1975 movie “Rollerball”: “No time-outs.  No substitutions.” “Get up every day and work as hard and as smart as you can for as long as you can.  Figure out the two or three things that drive your business and focus 100% of your time, energy and creativity on those elements,” adds Scherl.