Éva Goicochea Is Caught Red-Handed

Caught Red-Handed is a monthly interview series that begs the questions: What do cool people actually consume? What are their digital vices and indulgences?

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Before my Zoom with Éva Goicochea, the founder and CEO of sexual wellness brand maude, I considered putting on makeup but didn’t. It felt fruitless – I’d be speaking to a brilliant, glamorous entrepreneur who had probably already finished a dainty cup of chia seed pudding and gone for a three-mile jog in a crisp, matching Athleta set hours before I had even gotten out of bed, motivated only by the generous pour of coconut creamer I’d put in my iced coffee. Contoured or not, who was I trying to fool?

However, when I explained the gist of the Caught Red-Handed series to Éva, she laughed: “It’s funny because I’m not cool at all. And my Gen Z team reminds me of that.”

It’s a big season for Éva and her team. In early August, they launched Stay, a male desensitizing spray, and on September 12th, they debuted their first male-focused device, a vibrating ring called Band, designed for shared stimulation.

“The philosophy is destigmatizing male things that they don’t walk to talk about. So that’s maude’s mission: making everything accessible,” Éva tells me.

We also chatted about what Éva gets up to when she takes a much-needed break from revolutionizing the intimacy industry, including the EDM artist she blasts on repeat, her quest to find New York’s finest iteration of her favorite pastry, and that one time she found herself starring on a reality show.

Emma Sharpe: Running an empire as successful as maude comes with stress and pressure. What’s on your pump-up playlist when you need to get yourself in the right headspace for an important buyer meeting or the launch of a new product?

Éva Goicochea: There’s this German DJ called Parra for Cuva, and I listen to his music all the time, kind of on repeat. I’m like, is there something wrong with me? But it helps me.

ES: When it comes to sex on-screen, what’s your go-to rom-com movie?

Éva Goicochea: Oh, yeah. I’m the worst. I love Serendipity. I could watch it every day of my life. I love When Harry Met Sally. I grew up in the era of 80s and 90s rom-coms, so I love all the trash from that time. It’s not trash, actually! They’re classics.

ES: When you get a break from your screens, what have you been reading lately?

Éva Goicochea: I’m a book collector, but I never read them because I read so much on my phone. I just finished The Power of Money. The author is a venture guy, but it’s really about a personal perspective on money and how that applies to the financial world. You don’t have to be an expert to read it; I read it in two or three hours. It’s an easy read.

ES: If you were to create a special-edition maude candle based on your guilty pleasure meal or favorite cocktail, what would it smell like?

Éva Goicochea: I drink a lot of amaro. Even in the summer, maybe on ice. So I’d do something around amaro: there’s something about the herbal sort of masculinity, it’s kind of sweet and takes you to another place.

ES: You told New York Mag a couple of years ago that you typically start every morning with green juice. On the weekends or a day off, do you ever shake that up with a Starbucks order or a treat from a local cafe?

Éva Goicochea: I haven’t seen a green juice in such a long time. During COVID, I was a lot better about breakfast. I don’t know what happened, but when I turned 40, I just started loving raisin, so I always get a pain au raisin, which I feel is the unsung hero of the pastry world. I’m on the hunt for the best one in New York, so if anyone knows one, please let me know.

ES: Part of what makes maude so special is the super sleek, intentional design. When it comes to your personal fashion ideology, do you have any favorite designers, aesthetics, or novelty pieces that might surprise people?

Éva Goicochea: I like a very muted palette, and I’m always wearing matching sets. So what surprises people is when I wear color. I have a couple of dresses with flowers on them, and people are like, “Where the hell did you borrow that from?”

But a lot of that has to do with the uniform mentality — it helps you feel like you can think about other things, and I think a lot of people who are busy or overloaded can feel that way. So my philosophy is, if it matches, I will wear it. If it’s in black or white, I will wear it. Keep it simple.

ES: If you were forced to participate in a reality show, which show would you pick and why?

Éva Goicochea: You want to hear something really random? My husband and I were on a reality show once, many years ago. Don’t even try to find it, and I’ll never tell you, but the premise was we had to redo a room in our house from scratch and build everything. So it was 24 hours of building furniture, and the funny part was the producers kept trying to get us to fight, and we were like, “We’re not gonna fight as we have saws and hammers in our hands – we’re busy! We have stuff to do.”

It was a very interesting test of, like, can we handle the pressure? So I think we could do The Amazing Race together. We don’t fight with each other; we just get to work.