Claire Coder Talks about Ideation

Claire Coder is the world’s youngest ideation queenius (queen + genius, a word I stole from one of Maria Siriano’s Instagram comments). 

I (Brandi) met Claire at our very first Magic Sessions quarterly event, Gratitude, on the rooftop of The Jeffrey. Since then, every conversation with her feeds my ability to take the next step in my business, from understanding how to do my own PR, to connecting me with folks who can help me learn to market my book on Amazon, she knows all the things and connects the dots on actually DOING them, too. So naturally, when Autumn and I were looking for an expert on ideas to chat with, we turned to Claire!  

Here is a little more about Claire, followed by a Q + A on her ideas about ideas! 

Claire Coder is the founder and CEO of Aunt Flow. On a mission to ensure everyone has access to menstrual products, Aunt Flow stocks over 100 companies across the USA with their 100% organic cotton tampons and pads. Coder launched her first company at age 16, designed a bag for Vera Bradley that sold out in 24 hours, and has her own line of GIFs. The 21-year-old founder has been featured in TeenVogue, Forbes, and starred in TLC’s Girl Starter Season 1. When she is not jamming out to Macklemore, she is pretending like she knows how to run Google ads. 

Describe your favorite “big idea” moment.

I was at a Startup Weekend in the fall of 2015. On Friday evening of the event, I scurried to the bathroom to learn that I started my period unexpectedly. Of course, I scrambled to find a tampon or pad. In the bathroom there was mouthwash, q-tips, even mints... No tampons and pads to be found. Thus, I did what most menstruators do in this situation, I wadded up some uncomfortable toilet paper and made-do. That was the moment that I realized that "Toilet paper is offered for free, why aren't tampons?" This experience lead me to drop out of The Ohio State University and dedicate my life to ensuring everyone has access to quality menstrual products. 

Describe an idea that you loved, but didn’t work out in practice.  

I still want to create "sound absorbing paint." Something that will swallow sound from the outside, so you never need to hear an annoying car horn (or a cranky neighbor) while you are pleasantly sitting in bed, ever again. So far, this idea has not worked out because I don't know any engineers that can create such a complex paint-like substance. 

What is your process for capturing ideas?

Every "problem" in my day triggers me to think about potential solutions. I record all of my ideas in Slack (a communication board to jot down ideas.) 

How do you decide which ideas to put into action?  

Suzy Batiz, founder of Poo-Pourri, speaks about the process for understanding if ideas are worthwhile to work on. She shared a few steps to understand if an idea is a good-one:

1. Do you "light up" when talking about it?
2. Are you getting tingly "body sensations”?
3. Are you recognizing signs of synchrony in the world? Like you sit down next to a potential partner on an airplane.
4. Does the idea keep knocking at your door?
5. When you experience the idea in real life, does everything get high def?

Why are you a member of Magic Sessions?

While there are many events in Columbus, Magic Sessions is truly different in that it is interactive, connection-based, reflective, and genuinely improves the spirit. BONUS: They are FREE! #NoExcuses

Describe a meaningful, positive connection that has come from Magic Sessions.​

I am forever grateful that I met Michelle Gibson at Magic Sessions. Just a few weeks after we met, we went to the Overcoats concert together and now she is a homie. <3 ​