good morning! Gender plays an important role in presidential elections, the American Stroke Association is addressing women’s risks, and Millennials and Gen Z are having premarital sex. Have a wonderful Thursday!
– i will do it. Over the past few years, Libby Leffler has noticed several trends. Women outperformed men in earning college degrees. Single women owned more homes than single men. And women were poised to benefit from the upcoming $80 trillion wealth transfer.
Collectively, these trends boil down to the recognition that women, including young women, have assets that need to be protected. Loeffler, who was Sheryl Sandberg’s first chief of staff at Facebook and worked at Facebook from 2008 to 2015, is launching a startup that makes it easier for women to decide their financial future when they get married. I decided to do so.
Her company is called First, and it currently allows California couples to complete their prenuptial agreements online. Premarital sex has become less stigmatized and more common even outside of the ultra-wealthy, who have traditionally relied on it. Loeffler believes prenups will become part of an “essential personal stack,” as everyday as getting a mammogram or getting a joint membership at Costco.
The company raised a $4 million seed round, Fortune first reported. The round was led by Expa and Springbank, with participation from Sarah Kunst’s Cleo Capital and Karman Ventures. Kunst, who said she used the platform herself after it went live in the summer, said the startup fits her theme of helping with “complex consumer investments: expensive, uninteresting, and cumbersome.” That’s why he said he invested. “Everyone has premarital sex,” Kunst added. “Either you write it or the government writes it.”
Loeffler says millennials and Gen Z are more tolerant of premarital sex because they “know how painful divorce is.” According to a 2023 Harris Poll, 47% of engaged or married millennials said they had engaged in premarital sex. “If you have divorced parents, more and more people are turning to premarital sex as a basic hygiene measure,” she says. They believe premarital sex is important, regardless of wealth, and even sees it as a tool to prevent one partner from being responsible for shouldering the other’s student loan debt. “They’re actually more than money,” Loeffler said. “They’re about things you value, like your baseball card collection or your video game console. It could be about your grandma’s jewelry. It could be about your dog.” Loeffler herself underwent a prenup before getting married in 2016.
The first is part of a new generation of startups addressing the changing relationship expectations of Millennial and Gen Z couples. For example, Plenty is building a new app for couples who are combining their finances. And First isn’t the only platform for conducting legal proceedings online. Loeffler argues that her startup stands out because its contracts are custom and designed to be enforceable, rather than “plug and play.” This platform connects couples and lawyers. The initial prenup cost for couples through the platform is $2,650, plus additional fees for add-ons.
Loeffler chose the name “First” because a prenup is likely the first legal agreement many couples enter into together. She believes the platform could expand first to other states and then to other categories. Online divorce is also a growing business. However, it has not yet revealed which categories it will expand into.
emma hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for leading women in business. Today’s issue was edited by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.
Also featured in the headline
– Gender gap. Data shows that the gender gap in voting is widening, with men increasingly supporting Donald Trump, while women are continuing to support Democrats. The preferences of the youngest voters influence the gap, with 69% of women ages 18 to 29 wanting Vice President Kamala Harris as president, compared to 45% of young men. new york times
– Take a stand. Gisele Pericot took the witness stand at her husband’s trial in France. Her husband is being tried for drugging, rape and luring dozens of other men. Pericot called for a public trial and asked for video footage of the alleged rape to be released. “I want every woman who has been raped to say, ‘Madame Perico did it, I can do it too,'” she said in court, waiving her anonymity. I don’t want to embarrass them any further. ” BBC
– Risk factors. For the first time, the American Stroke Association’s guidelines include risk factors specific to women, including early menopause, combined hormonal contraception, and endometriosis. Before this section was added, stroke prevention guidelines had not been updated for 10 years. the hill
– Showing her scars. Kim Kardashian’s Skims is launching a campaign during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in which it will donate 10% of its bra sales from October 23rd to October 31st to support breast cancer organizations. Actor Olivia Munn, who underwent a double mastectomy while battling breast cancer, modeled for the campaign and showed off her scars. “The way my body looks is just a reflection of how hard I fought,” she says. USA Today
mover and shaker
Male contraceptive developer NEXT Life Sciences has appointed Darlene Walley as CEO of Plan A. Most recently, she served as Chief Business Development Officer at Pebble Life Science.
Property management company AKAM has appointed Daniela Luckett as senior vice president. She most recently served as senior vice president of Fetner Properties.
Redwood Capital Bank has appointed Stephanie Bai as senior vice president and chief risk officer. Most recently, Mr. Bye served as Senior Vice President of Financial Crimes at Quontic Bank.
BlockFills, a digital asset technology and trading company, has named Amy Shelley as CFO. She previously served as CFO of Options Clearing Corporation.
Marketing firm Fusion92 has appointed Daniel Aldrich as chief customer officer. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President of Business Development for Organic, part of Omnicom.
The FDA has appointed Michelle Tarver as director of its medical devices division. She has been acting director of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) since July. Mr. Tarver previously served as Chief Transformation Officer at CDRH.
on my radar
How Florence Welch turned anger into power The New York Times
CVS finds women are hired for impossible jobs Bloomberg
Working wives are becoming extinct Marie Claire
parting words
“As a woman, I’m torn between two things: It doesn’t cost anything to be nice, and women aren’t obligated to be nice. Both of those things are true. It’s true.”
— Bridgerton actor Nicola Coughlan
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