Rora

Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

Industry: Women’s Health; Consumer Health

MBA Founding Student Name(s): Neha Mehta; Catherine Malloy

Brief Description of Solution: Rora Hyrdating Mist is a hands-free hydrating spray designed for ultra-sensitive vulvar skin. It blends science-backed botanicals like skin-identical squalane, omega-rich sea buckthorn, hyaluronic acid, antioxidant pomegranate seed oil, soothing oat, and anti-inflammatory calendula to deliver deep moisture, fast absorption, and soothing relief without residue.

Funding Dollars: Pre-seed stage; Currently raising funds

What led you to launch this venture? We founded Rora after hearing countless women describe how menopause symptoms, particularly vulvar dryness, disrupted their daily comfort, confidence, and sense of self, yet were rarely discussed or treated seriously. Despite affecting more than half of menopausal women, there were no products that felt designed with dignity or empathy in mind. Deeply passionate about women’s health and consumer innovation, we saw both a personal calling and a market gap: women deserve products that honor their needs without shame. Rora was born to change the narrative from “just endure it” to “you deserve care.”

What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with venture? Our biggest accomplishment has been developing our product in-house: a proprietary, non-hormonal hydrating mist that has been validated by chemists and physicians, while preserving efficacy, safety, and a luxurious sensory experience. We also validated significant market demand through interviews with OB/GYNs, pelvic floor specialists, and hundreds of women experiencing menopause. This combination of science-backed R&D, authentic community-building, and functional innovation has laid a strong foundation for launch.

What has been the most significant challenge you’ve faced in creating your company and how did you solve it? Our biggest challenge was finding the right manufacturing partner. Most manufacturers we approached required very high minimum order quantities, shady IP practices, limited visibility into their production process, and large upfront capital which made it difficult to iterate and ensure the product truly met our customer’s needs. We spent months evaluating different partners, asking for clarity on ingredient sourcing, processing steps, and testing standards, and we walked away when transparency wasn’t there. Ultimately, we found a small-scale manufacturer who bought into our mission and was willing to collaborate, share their process openly, and support smaller pilot runs. The extra time to secure the right partnership was worth it because it ensured we could launch with a product built with intention, not compromise.

How has your MBA program helped you further this startup venture? Kellogg has been woven into every part of Rora’s story. When we first started talking about menopause and vulvar care, it could have been met with discomfort, but our classmates leaned in with curiosity and ideas. Peers from marketing helped us test messaging and brand language. Alumni shared their early fundraising decks and lessons from manufacturing. Professors made introductions that helped us find the right partners and stay focused on what mattered most. Kellogg taught us to think like category builders, not just founders, and to pair empathy with world-class execution. What’s been most meaningful is how everyone went above and beyond to help us accelerate, offering time, expertise, and encouragement long after class ended.

Which MBA class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it? New Venture Development was one of the most impactful classes because it turned Rora from an idea into something tangible. The class gave us structure and accountability, forcing us to make decisions, test, and show progress week by week. That rhythm shifted us from thinking like students to operating like founders and taught us how to balance momentum with discipline. It also gave us a community of peers who were building alongside us, sharing honest feedback and encouragement when things felt uncertain. That mix of rigor and support has shaped how we continue to build today.

What professor made a significant contribution to your plans and why? We feel extremely grateful to have been supported my multiple Kellogg professors and advisors, but two professors were hugely impactful. Rora really came to life in David Schonthal’s New Venture Discovery class. He pushed us to get out of the classroom and into real conversations and helped us realize knowing what problem to solve is the crux of being a strong entrepreneur. We learned to watch, listen, and understand how women actually experience menopause and hormonal changes instead of relying on assumptions. His focus on true customer discovery and product; market fit taught us to consistently talk to our customer, stay close to the problems, and let their needs guide every next step. David also served as a key advisor and mentor for Neha through the Zell Fellows program.

Later, in New Venture Development, Sonali Lamba helped us take those insights and validate them with rapid and through testing. We learned scrappy ways to test every assumption and quickly get the data we need to make decisions in an imperfect environment. She’s also been an incredible mentor and sounding board, reminding us that the founder journey is just as important as the venture itself — that how we grow, reflect, and lead personally shapes the company we’re building together.

How has your local startup ecosystem contributed to your venture’s development and success?
Northwestern’s startup ecosystem has been at the center of Rora’s journey from day one. The Garage was where we first started testing ideas and talking to customers — it gave us the space, community, and accountability to turn early curiosity into a real company. Through The Garage’s Jumpstart accelerator, we built our first prototype, shaped our brand story, and received the early funding and mentorship that made it possible to pursue this idea into our second year of Kellogg and eventually post graduation.

Through the Levy Inspiration Trek, we traveled to South Korea to research product development and manufacturing firsthand, gaining insight into how leading skincare and wellness brands source ingredients, manage quality, and work with partners. That experience gave us a global perspective and informed how we approached our own manufacturing strategy. The Zell Fellows program Neha was a part of at Kellogg has been equally formative. It offered one-on-one mentorship, funding, and a tight-knit founder community that pushed us to keep learning, stay honest about our challenges, and grow as leaders alongside the company. Together, these programs gave us both the resources and the resilience to build Rora with intention.

What is your long-term goal with your startup? Right now, our immediate focus is on our product launch for the spring and scaling our customer base. Our long-term goal is to become the trusted brand for menopause and hormonal health wellness, expanding into a full suite of functionally innovative products that support body comfort and emotional wellbeing. At Rora we’re trying to build a category-defining brand that restores agency, empathy, and dignity to women’s health.

Looking back, what is the biggest lesson you wished you’d known before launching and scaling your venture? We wish we’d known how much of entrepreneurship is about acting before you feel ready. We learned that feeling doesn’t go away, so embracing it rather than fighting it has been important. In business school, we were taught to research, test, and validate every move, but building Rora showed us that real progress happens once you step out of the spreadsheet and deck and into the world. We didn’t get perfect data or timing. Over time, we learned to trust the imperfect signals and chose to move anyway. The moments that shaped us most weren’t in analysis but in small action — testing samples before they were fully perfect, talking to customers everywhere from drugstore aisles to planes, and sometimes working backwards. We learned that progress doesn’t start when everything makes sense. It starts the moment you decide to move anyway!

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