Dominnique Karetsos is a trailblazer in the sexual health and technology industry. Born and raised in South Africa, Dominnique has spent the last 17 years in London, building a career that spans various industries, from maritime logistics to beauty — and now sexual health. Her work is driven by her deep passion for transforming societal norms around sexuality and equality.
Dominnique began her career in maritime logistics, a male-dominated field, and later transitioned to the beauty industry with O’Boticario BRazil and L’Oréal. During her time in beauty, she witnessed significant shifts in consumer behavior, legislation, and innovation, particularly in South America and Africa. These experiences laid the foundation for her understanding of market dynamics and the power of human-centric approaches to consumer innovation.
From Personal Struggles to Advocacy
Dominnique’s career took a significant turn when, parallel to transitioning, she co-hosted multiple BBC Radio London shows. This opportunity filled her curiosity and afforded her the opportunity to challenge taboos and voice her opinions on systemic biases and societal issues, such as the stigma around breastfeeding in public. However, it was her personal struggles, including a difficult divorce that left her bankrupt with a three-year-old in a foreign country, that solidified her mission. “When you have nothing, the idea of purpose becomes far more guiding than the idea of money.”
“I suddenly realized how little agency we have as women over three vitally important chambers of our lives: sex, money, and tax,” Dominnique shares. “When we tick the box Ms, Miss, or Mrs, very few of us understand how wide the equality gaps and deep the systemic biases are associated with whichever one.”
Her passion for advocating sexual health stems from the belief that a healthy sexuality is the elixir for a confident, kinder and equitable society. “When you live a fulfilled and healthy sexuality, you move through the world as sex-positive, tolerant, empathetic, kind, communicative, and confident.” She believes three key elements are needed for the sexual health space to thrive: education, innovation, and investment.
1. Education: Laying the Foundation
Dominnique believes that education is the cornerstone of progress in sexual health. She notes that historically, there has been a significant absence in research and education, as far back as the founding fathers of medicine to contemporary schools and everything in between, largely driven by cultural, religious, and policy barriers. “Now is the time to solve the worldwide social and economic problem of the absence of sexual health education and innovation for all generations.” she says.
To address this, Dominnique advocates for human-centric, medically vetted, consumer research and inclusive education to reshape and reimagine positive narratives, dismantle shame and create positive behavioral change. She emphasizes the importance of understanding how innovation and products communicate with people, considering lexicon as the most empowering motor of social change. “The social reform we see happening today and over the past decade is encouraging discovery and exploration, and this new agency we have over our sexual health, especially prevalent in women’s health and pleasure, is driving new social and economic motors for the rest of the world,” she explains.
2. Innovation: Transforming the Industry
Innovation is another critical pillar in Dominnique’s vision for the sexual health space. Since 2016, she has invested in and advised several maverick Sexual Health & Technology brands, including, MysteryVibe, and MyHixel. Going on to build Healthy Pleasure Group that launched and scaled start-up brands, challenger brands and CPG’s entering this space and across 4 continents. By working with brands in this space, her goal was to transition the Sexual Health and Technology industry – a name she coined for this now billion-dollar industry in its early undefined days, into a credible industry that is pivotal to our overall health and longevity. This involved consolidating sexual health innovations that have historically been mistakenly associated with porn, and bringing them into the mainstream. The categories that Sexual Health & Technology encompasses include Femtech, Menopause & Aging, Menstruation & Hormonal Health, Sexual Wellness and Pleasure, LGBTQAI+ Health + Gender Affirming Care, Contraception, and Abortion Access, to name a few.
“People prioritizing their sexual health and well-being are here to stay,” Dominnique asserts. The rise of the MeToo movement and the COVID-19 pandemic have all contributed to a growing awareness and acceptance of sexual health as central to our overall well-being. “It took a global threat to humanity to wake us up,” she adds. “It put a huge spotlight on sexual health and well-being and the demand to solve our unmet and categorically ignored needs.”
3. Investment: Fueling Change
The third essential element in transforming the sexual health industry is investment. Dominnique points out the stark disparity in venture capital funding, with less than 2% going to women. To combat this, she co-created and sits as General Partner of Amboy Street Ventures, Fund I, a $20 million fund dedicated to dismantling the vice clause and being the first to invest solely in sexual and women’s health Technology.
“We are the first fund to invest solely in sexual health and women’s health,” Dominnique says. The fund supports initiatives ranging from abortion access, Hey Jane, to male contraception innovations like Contraline, an injectable hydrogel. “Imagine a world where more than 50% of the planet shares the burden of contraception. “You can see how Investing in sexual health delivers a colossal impact on our social and economic motors, leading us ever nearer to closing the health gap, the gender pay gap and leveling equality through opportunity.”
Building a Future: Healthy Pleasure Group & minthub
Dominnique’s journey culminated in the creation of the Healthy Pleasure Group (HPG), which aims to help brands launch, grow, and scale by starting with the consumer’s behavior towards their sexual health and wellbeing rather than consumer demographics. The HPG approach is proven for helping Sexual Health and technology brands overcome challenges in the industry. One of the main obstacles she highlighted was digital censorship, which makes it difficult for brands to reach their target customers. HPG’s strategy involves using lexicon and narrative to educate and shift consumer behavior towards adoption, education and loyalty. This unique strategy has given brands a competitive edge, leading to market share growth and potential for successful exits. Overall, her proven HPG approach has become an invaluable tool for Sexual Health and technology brands, enabling them to navigate the industry landscape and achieve growth and success.
“Sexual health, wellbeing and intimate unmet needs should have solutions created starting with our life stages and from a human-centric perspective,” Dominnique says. “Dr. Maria Peraza Goddoy and I created MintHub, a B2B innovation hub that brands can build or buy their next generation innovation from and provides medically vetted and consumer researched innovation. The success of our innovation is that we consider all life stages of humans, inclusive of physical and psychosocial conditions that impact people’s sexual health and wellbeing as they age.”
Working Toward a Healthier, Kinder Society
Dominnique Karetsos is unwavering in her dedication to building a global and unrivaled sexual health and technology ecosystem. Through her work with Healthy Pleasure Group, MintHub, Amboy Street Ventures, and various initiatives, she is driving change and promoting a more educated, innovative, and well-funded sexual health and technology industry.
“The faster we get honest innovation to market, leverage equality, close the gaps, and take products to market with positive narratives, data, and economics, the closer we get to a world where healthy sexuality is truly the elixir to a more confident, fulfilled and kinder society.”
Learn more about Dominnique by visiting her LinkedIn or her website.
