I incorporated Preemadonna Inc. in my apartment in San Francisco with a vision to bring a nail painting robot to life, and build a bigger company and community of dynamic creators around it. We had zero employees and had raised $0 outside of capital. I was a young woman with a vision and the reluctant foresight to know that I was likely ahead of my time and that I needed to persevere as long as possible for the product and market to fit.
Over the years, my vision to enter the market with a smart at-home nail and body care devices has not shifted. The way in which we penetrate the market and the exact feature set of the early Nailbots has evolved as we’ve gathered more data points, moved through product development, ran experiments with social campaigns or early product crowdfunding.
The overall mission of Preemadonna still keeps me going. We have a unique opportunity to train, engage, and inspire young women that are makers, artists, hackers, coders - all while building interactive hardware and software experiences with and for them. Nailbot is an amazing beauty tool but it can also be a vehicle for STEM and STEAM engagement. For example, girls in our community can learn digital design, learn how Nailbot was made through our hacker kits (We provided around 50 to girl scout troops, tech camps, and interested girls for testing), and eventually code their own nail art. Our long-term perspective is that Preemadonna embodies smart beauty in both our products and our consumers - who are co-creators with us.
The name of the company is Preemadonna - it is not Nailbot. I get a lot of raised eyebrows when I present my company’s name. To some, it may sound narcissistic - mainly because my first name is Pree and the company sounds like it is named after me. To others, it may sound too “feminine” and that I’m making technology less serious by attributing it to something (nail decoration) already categorized as girly. We are believers that Preemadonna means first lady or star of the show and as such, we believe that the term properly describes our users. This younger generation of girls and women is dynamic. They hack hardware and express themselves in creative ways. Being serious and being traditionally feminine are not mutually exclusive. We are powering a younger community - one that has been underserved and underrepresented by technology companies.
We are at the moment of inflection and so excited to bring Nailbot to all of you after years of hard work. It is an exciting time:-) #GoNailbot.
Best,
Pree Walia
CEO & Founder, Preemadonna
pree@preemadonna.com