Today we’d like to introduce you to Tanu Jain.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My path didn’t start in a boardroom. It started as a kid helping my parents run their business. My mom didn’t speak English and my dad worked in imports and exports, which meant I was doing things most kids never get the chance to do. Instead of playing in the garden, I was working with manufacturers, packers, and clients, handling pricing, paperwork, and negotiations.
Later I helped my parents launch their jewelry business. Working at the mall, I spotted an opportunity, pitched them the idea, and landed their first wholesaler. I never thought of these as business skills at the time and decided to go into nursing.
That instinct of spotting gaps, tracing root causes, finding the systemic failure most people walk past turned out to be my real strength. I went into nursing, saw the gaps in healthcare infrastructure up close, and realized I needed to be on the side that fixes the system, not just treats the symptoms. That led me to product management, specifically in healthcare.
In 2021, I joined BioIQ as Lead Product Manager, where I ideated and led the development of population health testing platforms. It was the height of the COVID-19 national crisis and the country needed testing infrastructure at a scale that had never existed before. With no existing playbook, I defined the solution and drove the product from concept to national deployment in weeks, reaching 5M+ people across the country, including solutions deployed for Fortune 100 companies like Google. I also developed the COVID testing solution for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, bringing US-standard testing infrastructure to an international stage.
The platforms became the backbone of pandemic response programs, directly contributing to $200M+ in annual revenue, serving 15M+ Americans across 40+ national health plans representing seven out of ten fully insured Americans, and contributing to the company’s $500M acquisition.
Then in 2022, at a national healthcare conference during BioIQ’s acquisition, I got my period unexpectedly. I spent the entire day using toilet paper, terrified I’d bleed through my pants. I looked around and realized: every restroom, every venue, every city, same problem. No products. No solution. Just shame and scrambling.
That moment became FlowCare™, a period care infrastructure platform I founded. Making period products a standard in every restroom, like toilet paper.”™ In 16 months, I signed 7 enterprise clients across 5 verticals, including Ion, Texas Medical Center, Discovery Green, and Space Center Houston, generating $332K in contracts. FlowCare won Startup of the Year and People’s Choice at the 2025 Houston Innovation Awards.
What drives me is building infrastructure that removes barriers for others, because I know exactly what it costs when systems fail people.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I launched FlowCare™ on personal debt, with no team, no outside investors, and no existing playbook. There was no template for “period care infrastructure platform.” I had to define the category, design the solution, find manufacturers, build operations, and close enterprise clients simultaneously, alone.
To build a great product, first I had to understand the problem. Why are period products not a standard in restrooms? So I spent 2023 interviewing nearly 100 janitors across facilities to understand the real operational problem at its root. That research became the foundation of everything FlowCare™ is built on.
I then pitched the concept at a conference to a school district superintendent. Four days later their team was on a call ready to buy a product from a company that didn’t exist yet. I used that to validate the model, learn the sales cycle, and understand exactly what buyers care about.
I had to find a manufacturer and make them trust me, without large capital or a big company behind me, on my credibility alone. So I pitched Ion, a flagship Houston property managed by Transwestern, one of the largest property management companies in the country. Pitched in January 2024. Got the yes in March and then walked back to the manufacturer with a signed contract in hand. I won the HCC pitch competition to fund the prototype.
I had to learn how to design a product that meets commercial restroom needs, ADA compliance regulations, and material durability requirements for restroom environments, all alone.
What kept me moving was the clarity of the problem. 60% of American women miss work due to lack of period products. 84% of students miss school. That costs U.S. organizations $16 billion annually. This is not a niche issue, it’s a systemic infrastructure failure. And I had the clinical background, the product expertise, and the lived experience to fix it. It’s the mission that keeps driving it.
What makes you happy?
I find happiness in small things. Seeing friends and family, going on walks, rolling down hills. Building FlowCare™ has been tough, and these little moments bring a lot of gratitude.
But honestly, nothing compares to the testimonials. I’ve received hundreds of messages from people telling me how FlowCare™ helped them, saved them from shame and embarrassment. Not having to improvise with toilet paper. Not having to leave early. Not missing the meeting. That has been the biggest source of gratitude for me. At Space Center Houston alone, FlowCare™ has served 790,000 women.
I’ve spent my career building infrastructure that removes barriers. At BioIQ it was access to testing. At FlowCare™ it’s access to period care. The through line is always the same: systems that fail people at the most basic level, and the belief that someone has to fix them.
Houston has given me the community, the clients, and the stage to build something that matters. I’m proud to be doing this work here and proud that Houston keeps showing up for it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://itsflowcare.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsflowcare/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/itsflowcare/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanujainpm/
