STIMULATE continues to celebrate 21 Trailblazing Female Founders in honor of International Women’s Day – which was March 8th – and looks forward to welcoming them to the 2025 STIMULATE Trade Show + Conference in Nashville this August. Among those being celebrated includes Thao Luu-Brinberg, who is the Co-Founder and Chief Innovative Officer of Nu Sensuelle alongside her husband, Barry Brinberg.
Nu Sensuelle is an award-winning pleasure products brand that empowers the sensually curious to experience elevated levels of connection, intensity, and growth through innovation, education, and inclusion. Nu Sensuelle’s stylishly packaged, innovative toys are backed with the stability of engineering – which is led by Thao Luu-Brinberg – who earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology. Multi-faceted on every level, Luu-Brinberg also managed to fuel her creative passions by studying fashion and design, then leveraging her diverse educational background to help launch Nu Sensuelle.
My dream at a young age was to have my own business, so I made it my job to learn every facet of business, not just engineering, in every company that I worked in,” she explained. “This way, when the time was right, I would have all of the knowledge required to run my own business.”
Since 2009, the Luu-Brinberg’s have worked together in their own company and since 2014, they have been based in the United States – relocating from Australia. Nu Sensuelle offers a wide range of versatile products for both solo and coupled use, and embodies a spirit of adventure.
Get to know more about Luu-Brinberg and join STIMULATE in applauding her for her bold and outstanding support in sexual health and wellbeing.
Q: Every story has its own beginning. How did your journey bring you to this vast and wonderful world of sexual health and wellness?
Luu-Brinberg: My journey into sexual health and wellness hasn’t followed a straight path—it’s been a blend of curiosity, purpose, and a bit of boldness. Coming from a STEM background, I started my career in manufacturing engineering, constantly aware of how gender disparities could shape our opportunities and experiences. While I appreciated the logic and structure of engineering, I also felt a strong pull toward something more personal and more human. Instead of asking, “What can I build?” I began to ask, “How can I help heal?” Sexual wellness remains one of the areas where stigma, shame, and silence still linger. I was especially aware of this, coming from a conservative culture and strict religious upbringing. I saw a chance to bridge the gap between technology and tenderness—to design products that not only serve the body but also support emotional and psychological well-being. With Nu Sensuelle, I discovered my purpose: to create with intention, design with dignity, and bring pleasure and presence into people’s lives. For me, this isn’t just a job—it’s something I genuinely believe in.
Q: Being an entrepreneur certainly has highs and lows, but the drive to keep pushing through is what keeps so many entrepreneurs motivated. What drive keeps you inspired on your professional journey?
Luu-Brinberg: What keeps me going is a deep belief that true innovation should always lead to greater freedom. Every technical, financial, or even philosophical obstacle becomes an opportunity to reflect, adapt, and grow. What fuels me most are the stories we hear: women who, for the first time, felt truly seen through our designs, couples reconnecting across long distances, and individuals reclaiming joy and ownership of their bodies after trauma or illness. For me, this work isn’t just about making new products—it’s about opening new doors. It’s about imagining what’s possible. In a world that often tells women to shrink, I want our work to say: expand. Expand into your pleasure. Into your strength. Into your whole, vibrant, beautifully unfiltered self.
Q: When it comes to the business of sexual wellness specifically, what do you hope to achieve in the year ahead in your own business?
In the year ahead, we’re excited to deepen the way we connect—with each other and ourselves—both in the tangible and emotional sense. We’re continuing to grow our smart technology offerings with products that respond naturally to the body’s rhythms and app-based features that help foster intimacy, no matter the distance. But it’s not just about tech—it’s also about trust, understanding, and inclusion. We’re committed to making pleasure more accessible for people of all ages, abilities, and identities. We’re especially focused on uplifting voices that have too often been left out of this space. Looking forward, I hope that Nu Sensuelle doesn’t just introduce new tools for wellness—but helps create a more open, affirming way of talking about pleasure, healing, and self-expression,” shares Luu-Brinberg.
Q: There is so much variety and range within the wide world of sexual wellness. Here at STIMULATE, we define this as “head to toe, young to mature, purpose to pleasure”. How do you define sexual wellness?
Luu-Brinberg: To me, sexual wellness is about feeling fully alive in your body. It’s where our physical and emotional selves meet—where identity, intimacy, and self-understanding come together. It’s not just about moments of desire; it’s about how we move through the world and connect with ourselves, others, and our own stories—past, present, and future. Sexual wellness isn’t a luxury—it’s a birthright. It’s just as much about easing pain—whether it’s menstrual, menopausal, or emotional—as it is about embracing pleasure. It’s about feeling safe, finding joy, and reclaiming your story with confidence and care. At its heart, sexual wellness is about wholeness—and everyone deserves that.
Q: If you could hope for one thing to change when it comes to sexual health and wellness for the next generation of professionals, what would that be and why?
Luu-Brinberg: I hope that we can finally separate shame from science. Too often, people enter this field with passion and technical know-how, only to be met with discomfort, hesitation, or resistance—from society, institutions, and even within themselves. I imagine a future where sexual wellness is treated with the same respect, curiosity, and care as any other part of healthcare. I want the next generation of professionals to feel proud to innovate for pleasure—because, in doing so, they’re also innovating for peace in our bodies, relationships, and communities. Let’s empower them to create not just new products but entirely new ways of thinking.
Q: If you could ask yourself any question, what would it be? And how would you answer it? What would you create if you had no fear of failure, judgment, or rejection?
Luu-Brinberg: If I could create anything, it would be welcoming spaces—both in the real world and online—where women, especially those moving through aging, illness, or feeling unseen, are gently reminded that pleasure still belongs to them. I’d design spaces that feel like sanctuaries—not clinics or stores—but warm, inviting places filled with care, wisdom, and a little bit of magic. I’d fill them with soft light, music, and sensory experiences that quietly say: You’re not too late. You’re not too much. You’re here. You are safe—and you are so worthy.
Q: Finally, what’s your best piece of advice for aspiring leaders within this community?
Luu-Brinberg: Lead with care and deep respect—this work is meaningful. In this space, we’re not just creating products or touching skin—we’re connecting with people’s stories, hopes, fears, desires, and healing. It’s tender, powerful, and deeply human. So, lead with strength but also with softness. Strive for excellence, absolutely—but stay open to listening, growing, and starting fresh when needed. Because at the end of the day, we’re not just designing for pleasure—we’re designing for possibility.
We could not agree more with Luu-Brinberg that this work is meaningful, and it’s so clear to see in the quality of products, design and customer connectivity that Nu Sensuelle delivers.
Returning to STIMULATE for the third time – and all three years since STIMULATE has debuted – explore more about Luu-Brinberg and Nu Sensuelle by connecting with them directly at STIMULATE.
Secure your spot at STIMULATE taking place August 4+5, 2025, in Nashville here.
