- July 11, 2023
- Posted by: Jenna Owsianik
- Category: Networking Events
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With great success, SexTech TO hosted its first networking event in Toronto at the Rivoli on June 27.
The evening attracted a diverse crowd of enthusiasts and professionals from various fields related to the sextech industry, such as sexual health and wellness, software and product engineering, and digital and broadcast media.
The SexTech TO Mixer was the brainchild of Alexandra Friedman, a software developer who aimed to combine her previous experience in sex-related businesses with her recent venture into the tech space.
From 2014 to 2015, Friedman worked for the disruptive adult social media network Make Love Not Porn. She’s also worked at several adult retail shops, including the now-shuttered Good For Her in Toronto.
Some attendees were introduced to the term “sextech” for the first time during the event.
“It is a very broad term,” explained Friedman.”It covers any form of tech that enhances human sexuality.”
“So that could be sex toys, that could be VR porn, that could be apps that help you learn. It could be any type of thing that is tech and helps with sexuality.”
Sextech Speakers Spotlight: Accessible Design Discussion
Friedman kicked off the Toronto networking event by introducing speakers Andrew Gurza and Lady Pim.
Gurza is a disability consultant, sex toy inventor, and media personality who’s appeared on MTV Canada’s “1 Girl 5 Gays” and in the reboot of “Queer As Folk.” He also hosts the podcast Disability After Dark.
Professional Dominant Lady Pim is a kink educator with ten years of experience under her belt. She also hosts The Bed Post Podcast, which openly discusses topics related to sexuality and kink.
Together they held a lively discussion and Q&A that covered challenges and opportunities in the adult industry with a focus on accessible design.
“When you design for disability, you actually design for everyone,” said Gurza.
“We’re trying to say that if you use the knowledge of disability, you create something completely different and out of the box.”
Gurza, who is also the Co-founder of disability-driven startup Bump’n, passed the crowd a prototype of the Bump’n Joystick.
Designed for hands-free self-pleasure, the full-body assistive sexual aid is half pillow, half sex toy mount.
“My sister and I designed this when we discovered that 63% of people can’t masturbate due to hand limitations, everything from arthritis to disability to injury, they can’t get off,” Gurza said regarding Bump’n survey findings.
“That’s a big problem for a lot of people in the world.”
Related Read: Recap of The Candian Investors Podcast Meetup
Sextech speed networking
Marilou Ethier and Jenna Owsianik. (left) Jeff Bennett shows Morari Medical‘s climax control patch. (right)
Afterwards, attendees had the opportunity to socialize, expand their networks, and explore potential collaborations.
To help break the ice, SexTech TO Founder Alexandra Friedman announced a timed speed networking session. I was delighted to run into so many wonderful people, both new and familiar faces.
One of the first people I spoke to was Jeff Bennett of Morari Medical, who was showing off his MOR climax control patch to curious onlookers. The wearable neurostimulation patch is known for its appearances on both the Consumer Electronics Show floor and Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Not since 2020 had I seen Sexe+Techno host and entrepreneur Marilou Ethier, who was in Toronto also attending the Collision conference. She’s gearing up to launch her French language sex education app Olie which gives advice to parents on how to talk to their kids.
The creator of the Rubjoy stroker also treated attendees to a safe-for-work tech demonstration of how the device works.
Related Read: What is Sex Tech?
Toronto’s first sextech conference
In related news, SexTech TO has announced its inaugural sextech conference will take place in Toronto in summer 2024. No specific date has yet been scheduled.
According to organizer Alexandra Friedman, the idea for the SexTech TO Conference came to her while attending Bryony Cole’s virtual SexTech School.
“There should be a community for people in sextech in Toronto, because there isn’t one yet,” she said. “I know that we exist and we’re here.”
“This industry is so ready for collaboration and innovation and I figured it would just be better for everyone if we all met and could work together.”
The SexTech To conference aims to bring together sex-positive professionals, brands, founders, content creators, developers, designers, engineers, service providers, performers, therapists, coaches, sexologists, educators, researchers, students, investors, and other interested individuals.
The upcoming event is also intended to help foster collaborations between professionals passionate about the growing market for sexual wellness technologies.
The global sextech industry is currently valued at US$30 billion and is projected to reach US$100 billion by 2030.
Top image photo credit: Greg/@theonetheycallgreg
