Episode #71: Shannon Shores
Shannon Shores is the CEO of Wellex Inc, which powers samedaystdtesting.com. As CEO, she drives their brand promise to provide discreet, confidential STD testing with the highest level of customer service. She operates Wellex in St. Louis, which has the leading number of female entrepreneurs. In St. Louis, they refer to her as the "Queen of STD testing". Shannon strives to help people feel confident in their sexual choices while facilitating a judgement free discussion on how to reach and maintain sexual health.
When Shannon Shores was diagnosed with a strain of HPV that can cause cervical cancer, it was an emotional and scary experience. But at the same time, it helped cement her new career path, validating her decision to build a product that would offer discreet and fast STD testing to people all over the country. Shannon, who earned her master’s degree in social work, finds purpose through helping people, especially people in crisis--and this new venture allowed her to do exactly that. On today’s episode, we talk about how Shannon’s personal health journey and professional path coincided, leading to the start of samedaystdtesting.com. We also discuss how education and empowerment factor into the company’s mission, and why “your sex life, your business” is her motto for the company. Finally, we talk about why testing is so important, and why shame and judgement don’t belong in conversations around sexual health.
“We don’t care what has happened, what has brought you here. We’re glad that you’re here.”
Here are some of the things Shannon and I chatted about:
Discovering that she had a high-risk strain of HPV as she was entering a new relationship
Undergoing a colposcopy, aka a “pap on steroids,” to allow for further testing of cervical cells
Why she thought her partner was going to pass out as her doctor described a LEEP procedure
What her LEEP procedure was like, and what information it provided to her and her doctors
Why it was hard to be sent home and trust that everything would be fine until her next pap test
Why she only shared her diagnosis with a small group, including her partner and a few friends
How her HPV diagnosis solidified her sense of purpose as she worked on her new business
Feeling humiliated after finding out about her husband’s infidelity and needing a full STD test
How samedaystdtesting.com allows for more privacy and eliminates shame and judgement
- Reasons people don’t test, from not having symptoms to not knowing to ask for a specific test
Her goal of educating people on their choices so they can take charge of their sexual health
Why it’s important to get potential consumers on the phone with sexual health advocates
The anxiety people often feel during and after testing, and how they seek to mitigate that
The ways the company connects people to additional resources (like Betterhelp)
How she talks to her kids about what she does for work (and what “page 26” means)
Her advice for how to talk to partners about your STD status and tell your health story
“I’m not going to give you an e-cart solution. I mean, I can’t even buy shoes that way...so why would I pick my sexual health that way?”
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