Insider Insight: Valentina Milanova, founder and CPO of Daye

What is your morning routine?

I wake up and then go to the gym for a weight lifting session. Weight lifting is crucial for women and assigned female at birth (AFAB) individuals as it helps us avoid bone disease, which we are more prone to. During my workout, I listen to a podcast that nourishes my brain – I like NPR podcasts like Throughline, You’re Wrong About, and This American Life.

After the gym, I take my two poodles, Polly and Ringo, for a walk to the office. On my walk to the office, I try to call a friend or my mother so we can stay in touch and I can support my inner circle, which is hard to do with the demands of entrepreneurship.

Which technology could you not live without?

I am addicted to my noise-cancelling headphones. I sleep with them in and find them really helpful in minimising stressful noises from the loud environments we all inhabit living in large cities.

How do you relax?

With hot yoga, which is a 60-minute vinyasa practised in a 37-degree Celsius room. After this practice, I feel as if someone has taken a microfibre and cleaned each one of my cells individually.

I find it very physically challenging, which means my mind is fully present in the now, and I can’t drift away with thoughts about work.

Which quote resonates with you?

Every line in the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling, but in particular:

“If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;”

I feel it describes a very important character trait that entrepreneurs need – the persistence to constantly reinvent themselves and their companies, to keep pushing, even when you have to start the same thing multiple times over, even when it feels as if all your hard work and efforts were futile.

What is the best thing about your job?

Reading our customer reviews and hearing the stories of people whose menstrual health has improved radically from having access to Daye’s products.

What keeps you motivated?

The gender disparities in gynaecological healthcare represent one of the world’s greatest injustices. I feel strongly that women and AFAB individuals, particularly those from less wealthy and more diverse backgrounds, need solutions that stop their physiology from being a limiting factor in their personal and professional development.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Release the burden of trying to satisfy everyone, for it is an unattainable feat. Recognise that how others perceive you often reflects their own projections and has little correlation with your true self. Accept the reality that, despite your sincere intentions, you may inadvertently provoke displeasure, and you will frequently encounter biased judgments.

What is something you wish you could experience again for the first time?

I am not a very nostalgic person, so I rarely look back wishing to recreate the past. My mindset is to be excited for the future and grateful for the past.

What is your greatest achievement since establishing Daye?

My life entirely revolves around Daye, so the majority of where I derive meaning and satisfaction is related to the company.

However, I did feel pride in climbing Kilimanjaro with no training – it was a very challenging experience and required me to keep pushing long after my willpower had gone.