It was 2008, and the bottom was falling out of the financial markets. Mary and I found ourselves in Silicon Valley—two women, one in her forties, the other in her fifties—talking to venture capital firms about vaginas.

We had run businesses and consulted for businesses, but we had never raised money; certainly not serious, venture-capital amounts of money. I was the type who didn’t like calling other parents at my children’s school for $0.25 for a bake sale, but apparently, I was comfortable asking people for millions of dollars to grow a “vagina business.”

We had booked thirteen appointments with venture capital firms in two days. At that pace, even though each firm communicates what it believes is a different strategy, expertise, and market focus, these kinds of meetings become a blur to the entrepreneur—an indistinguishable parade of offices, from the lovely receptionist who greets you at the front desk right down to the file cabinets, dress code, male/female ratio (disheartening) and investment criteria (often indistinct, despite what they usually describe as very specific investment theses).

We went into the first meeting and right off the bat, we encountered the most obvious question: How was our product different from Viagra?

Great question. Seriously.

We had the answer all lined up, and we laid it out in scientific detail. Viagra, we explained, works as a vasodilator (it opens blood vessels), which increases blood flow, and male genitalia work like a hydraulic pump, so increased blood flow means the pump “gets pumped up,” leaving men basically ready to go. On the other hand, increased blood flow is onlyone part of what is necessary for a woman’s sexual response and enjoyment. And on we went sharing the knowledge that was relevant to the question.

As we continued to provide a detailed explanation of how the female sexual response was different and more complex, we could hear the snickers, see eyes glazing over or, in some cases, rolling back up into heads (which, by the way, is a far more disconcerting response than the constant checking of phones or childish laughter).

Meeting one: A pitch and a strike. Needless to say, we didn’t get funding at that meeting or a request for follow-up (a necessary sign to move towards a financing)—nothing.

At the second meeting, the men in the room (again, mostly w