Turning Aspirations into Action
Amanda Calabrese ’19 and Greta Meyer ’19, both graduates of Stanford’s Product Design program, transformed their vision into a flourishing enterprise called Sequel—a company revolutionizing the tampon industry.
A Pioneering Partnership
In the previous fall, Sequel embarked on a groundbreaking collaboration with Stanford Athletics for the 2024-25 academic year, offering complimentary Sequel tampons to student-athletes. This initiative represents the inaugural partnership between a college athletic program and a tampon brand in NCAA history.
Empowering Female Athletes
Calabrese, who was a student-athlete at Stanford, shared her motivation for the project: “Our goal was to assist athletes facing similar challenges that we experienced, particularly around the unreliability of period products when it mattered most.” Collaborating with Stanford Athletics is a dream realized for her, as it is where their journey began.
Innovative Design for Optimal Performance
Sequel tampons are quietly making a difference in locker rooms and team bags. Designed to enhance athletes’ performance, Sequel tampons utilize innovative helical grooves rather than conventional vertical channels, resulting in longer flow paths for superior absorption and leakage prevention.
Caring for Women’s Health in Sports
Stanford’s assistant athletic director, Sarah Lyons, emphasizes the importance of maintaining regular cycles for female athletes: “We want to manage what we can so that they can fully concentrate on their sports and reach their ultimate goals.”
From Concept to Reality
Calabrese and Meyer, both competing athletes at Stanford—Meyer with the Division I lacrosse team and Calabrese on the Open U.S. National Lifesaving team—understood firsthand the fear of leakage while competing. Frustrated by existing tampon designs, they aimed to create a more reliable, leak-proof option, a concept sparked in their shared ENGR 145: Technology Entrepreneurship class.
Launch and Expansion Plans
Shortly after graduating in 2019, they co-founded Sequel with their spiral tampon design. Following FDA clearance in fall 2023, their product entered the market at a pivotal moment, coinciding with the surge in popularity and viewership of women’s sports.
Expanding Their Reach
In addition to serving Stanford’s 20 varsity women’s teams, Sequel is proudly the official tampon provider for the USL Super League and the Unrivaled Basketball League—two women’s professional sports leagues established recently. Among the brand ambassadors are former Stanford athletes, including WNBA player Lexie Hull ’22 and pro beach volleyball player Charlie Ekstrom ’23.
A Bright Future Ahead
“Women’s sports are thriving right now,” stated Calabrese. “This audience is engaged and enables us to connect with fans, mothers, daughters, and everyone involved in sports. Our product is now tested under the most demanding conditions of reliability, comfort, and performance.”
Looking Ahead
The collaboration with Stanford Athletics marks just the beginning for the dynamic duo recognized in Forbes’ 30 Under 30. Calabrese and Meyer are eager to explore further partnerships, enhance their TikTok presence, and expand their affiliate program to include student-athletes across various colleges.
“We are developing some truly exciting initiatives with our partners,” Calabrese added. “This collaboration with Stanford was merely the first step; we have many more innovations on the horizon.”
