Get to know Nadya Okamoto (she/her/hers) of the sustainable period care company August. You can check out Nadya's Norby here!
Q: WHAT DO YOU DO?
I'm the CEO and Co-Founder of August.
Q: WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
@nadyaokamoto on Instagram and TikTok!
Q: WHAT'S IN YOUR ORBIT THAT YOU WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT?
I won’t shut up about August + periods...most period products made today can take anywhere from 500-800 years to decompose, and most pads have enough plastic for 3-5 plastic bags. And as we all know, plastic-y pads are just not very comfortable, and use more chemicals in their production process too. Needless to say, a lot of period care on the market is detrimental to both our health and our Earth. That’s why sustainability was built into my company August – we’ve sourced high-quality 100% cotton to make our products, and our entire supply chain is ethical and carbon neutral. It’s so important for consumers to be able to trace how their products are made, and we really prioritize this transparency when making our period care.
Q: WHERE DO YOU FIND COMMUNITY?
In our August Inner Cycle! Community is at the heart of all we do. You can join our ‘inner cycle’ where we have almost 3000 members. I also linked this in my Norby link in bio page too!
Q: TELL US ABOUT A MISTAKE THAT YOU'VE MADE AND WHAT YOU LEARNED.
One of the biggest challenges I faced was burnout — both physically and mentally. I often worked until I was exhausted, and this was detrimental both for me and the people around me. Since then, I’ve really learned the importance of prioritizing my health and self-care and will continue to work on finding harmony in my work and life. My biggest achievement over the last couple years has been to get on a good sleep schedule, getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night!
Q: WHAT'S THE BEST ADVICE VS. THE WORST ADVICE YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED?
The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given was from my mom who would tell me that “a true leader is one who empowers others to be leaders themselves.” The worst advice is that if you aren’t about to crash and burn, you’re not working hard enough — and i think this lesson came from growing up in popularized hustle culture in many ways.
Q: HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?
To me, success is doing everything I can with my time, energy, and passion to contribute to this movement in some way. I feel humbled to be one small part in this menstrual movement, and excited to see what’s to come. On a personal level, I’d love to keep my daily habits of sleeping 8+ hours a night! Which still sometimes feels like a big and challenging feat...
Q: NAME 5 MUST-HAVES TO START YOUR CREATIVE JOURNEY:
- Superhuman - for email efficiency.
- Monday - task management for the team.
- An incredible team - i have a couple of assistants that help manage my creator work, and I don’t know what I would do without their support and teamwork.
- A phone - It’s a dangerous thing to have my career and social life stem from my phone, but it’s something I’m thankful to have access to.
- Digital detox time - because being a creator is so much fun and helps with finding a community, but you need to detox every once in a while too!
Q: AND FINALLY… SHOW US YOUR WORK SPACE!
I usually work from coffee shops. It helps my productivity and focus to work in more busy settings, like Brooklyn coffee shops. Currently answering these q’s on a Saturday morning at Kettl in Greenpoint, BK.
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