Strapt Vending
UX & Hardware Design, Build, & Launch
Strapt Vending
2020-2024
Carly Simenauer created Strapt Vending in 2020 to further the menstrual movement and expand access to personal care for women in public spaces.
Through Strapt’s proprietary app-driven + smart vending solution, Strapt provides free, high-quality period and personal care to women at no cost, and in the nick of time, engaging users through controlled, automated, and data-driven trial to generate interest, build brand awareness, and drive new customer conversions. This innovative business model has allowed the company to reach unlikely facility clients - not to mention the hands of 20K+ womxn - while elevating emerging brands that make a difference.
Strapt’s mission: To be her most trusted introduction to best-in-class personal care, by facilitating personalized and meaningful interactions between consumer brands and their audiences. Strapt believes that every product sample is an opportunity to create a lasting connection, and their passion for enhancing women’s health and well- being drives the company forward.
Tools, skills, & platforms Carly personally used, led, or managed: Adobe Suite, Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, Firmware Development, Software Development, 3D Modeling (OnShape), Prototyping (lasercutting, 3D Printing, soldering, PCB fabrication, etc.), Metal Fabrication, Tooling (Molds & Extrusions), End-To-End Integration Testing, Supply Chain Definition, Sourcing, Partnerships, User Acquisition & Growth, Email Marketing (Postmark), Social Media Marketing, CRM (Hubspot), Quickbooks, Slack, Microsoft Word, Zoom, and probably many, many more.
Imagined, built, and grown in-house, from the ground up.
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From the physical hardware to the mobile app, all IP was dreamt, ideated on, and designed in house.
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From prototyping in Atlanta, to building supply chains over seas, we built - from scratch - state-of-the-art machines that last and beautiful, intuitive software that enabled our platform.
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From observing our first machine out of a bathroom stall to launching dozens of units across the southeast, we grew Strapt to 10 employees and 20K+ users over 3 years.
Read on to see how we did it!
The Process
Research
The first half of 2020 was spent conducting research, via interviews, surveys, focus groups, & market analyses
Design & Build
From Summer 2020-Summer 2021 we designed and prototyped our first generation model, deployed in August 2021.
Launch
From August 2021-October 2023, we deployed 60 units across the southeast’s most popular shopping centers, stadiums, markets, hotels, and more.
After conducting hundreds of surveys, interviews, focus groups, and a market analysis, it was clear there was a huge gap in the market - not only for providing modern-day machinery to dispense essential products, but a gap in how existing companies were bringing their products to market. The current business model simply wasn’t built to incentivize innovation or mass adoption.
The Research
At Strapt, we prototyped most everything ourselves, building a truly unique solution from the ground up. After a year of blood sweat and tears, we not only had a mechanically sound dispenser, but a sensor-enabled, hardware-software system that could deliver products in a way modern day users were accustomed to: via their phones. Over the next few years, we would continue to iterate over 3 different generations of our dispenser.
Design & Build
Launch
Over the next 2.5 years, Strapt would launch 60 dispensers across the southeast, at renowned venues such as Ponce City Market, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and more. See below for some of our placements.
"It makes me feel like they actually care about women" - Belen D.
"It makes me feel like they actually care about women" - Belen D.
"It's a really big deal that you're doing this. All of the women I work with have been absolutely raving about it. Thank you!" - Lindsey S.
"It's a really big deal that you're doing this. All of the women I work with have been absolutely raving about it. Thank you!" - Lindsey S.
“Thank you a hundred times over to Strapt & Ponce City Market. I was having an URGENT issue and had to reach out to tell SOMEONE. thank you for saving the day, and my pants” - Kaitlyn M.
“Thank you a hundred times over to Strapt & Ponce City Market. I was having an URGENT issue and had to reach out to tell SOMEONE. thank you for saving the day, and my pants” - Kaitlyn M.
A few more photos from along the way….
