30 M a y o S a n t o s
B C B U S I N E S S . C A
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 24
IN 2015, Sara Jonsdottir was working
two full-time jobs and pursuing a degree
in fashion/apparel design at the Wilson
School of Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic
University. In the final year of the program,
students had to present three ideas to their
professor, one of which they would develop
into a full business plan.
The professor was Shirley Thompson, a
long-time retail executive who, before her
24-year stint at the university, had worked
with brands like Calvin Klein Sport.
"I was one of the last people to go and
she had approved a bunch of people ahead
of me," Jonsdottir recalls. "You couldn't
move forward with the project until you
got approval. And I thought I was a shoo-in.
I go to her and I present—one of my ideas
was feminist lingerie. And she says, 'No. I
know you can do better.' I remember being
shocked."
It was a Friday afternoon, and Jons-
dottir spent the weekend doing a deep
dive into alternative ideas and sectors. "I
have a heavy flow so I honed in on period
underwear," she says. "There was a lack of
innovation in the space. So I just came back
Monday morning with..."
GO WITH
THE FLOW
Once upon a time, Sara
Jonsdottir was challenged
to do better by her professor.
It led the two of them on a
journey that's still going
L E A D E R S H I P
Thompson finishes her sentence: "Guns
blazing. She was on fire."
Jonsdottir eagerly laid out a pitch for
leak-proof underwear that would essen-
tially act as a menstrual product. It got
Thompson's approval: "I just said, 'Run
with it.'"
After she finished her schooling, Jons-
dottir started an Etsy shop, which she even-
tually branded as Revol Cares. The business
began to grow organically and so, to keep
up with demand, she brought on her hus-
band, Mayo Santos, along with a couple of
employees. Thompson kept close tabs on
Jonsdottir, checking in often and inviting
her to speak at the university. "I was just
so engaged with the process that she was
going through and really excited to hear
PERIOD PIECE
Sara Jonsdottir (left) started
Revol Cares in university.
Eventually, she recruited
her former professor,
Shirley Thompson, to join
the company
