Anarella Martinez Madrid: Winner of the 2025 Great Companies International Women Entrepreneur Award
- Great Companies
- Jul 16
- 4 min read
Name: Anarella Martinez Madrid
Business Name: Sex School
Location: Berlin , Germany & Valencia Spain
Establishment (Year): 2018 and 2025
Category: Sex Education
Website: www.sexschoolhub.com
Company Detail:
XO Sex School is a Berlin/Valencia-based media company founded by Anarella Martínez-Madrid that produces and distributes educational, inclusive, and pleasure-positive audiovisual content on sex, gender, and relationships. Its mission is to transform how sexuality is represented and taught by offering diverse perspectives, ethical production values, and professional intimacy coordination.
It offers:
Film & Series Production: Documentaries, short films, and educational series focused on sex education, intimacy, and gender topics.
XO Sex School: A digital platform hosting content from a curated collective of educators and creators. The platform offers individual films, season bundles, and subscription options for both individuals and institutions.
B2B Licensing: It licenses its content to broadcasters, VOD platforms, festivals, universities, and cultural institutions, offering flexible packages (3–8 years) including versioning and dubbing.
Creator Hub: A space where vetted creators upload monthly or quarterly sex-ed films, supported by ethical guidelines and fair revenue sharing.
Overall, XO stands at the intersection of film, education, and activism—redefining sex education through compelling, diverse, and cinematic storytelling.
Unique Selling Proposition or Competitive Advantage:
XO’s unique selling proposition lies in its fusion of cinematic storytelling, inclusive education, and ethical production—a combination rarely found in the sex education or media landscape.
What makes XO unique:
Pleasure-Positive, Inclusive Content: Unlike mainstream sex ed platforms that are clinical or heteronormative, XO offers nuanced, diverse, and realistic representations of sexuality, bodies, and relationships—centering BIPOC, queer, trans, non-monogamous, and disabled voices.
High-Quality Production Values: XO approaches sex education with the visual and narrative quality of film and television, making the content emotionally engaging, visually rich, and accessible to a wider audience.
Ethical and Transparent Creation: Every piece of content is created under strict ethical standards, with trained intimacy coordinators on set, clear consent protocols, and fair treatment of all collaborators.
Multilingual, Culturally Adaptable Catalogue: XO's films are available in multiple languages and can be dubbed, subtitled, or versioned for different regions—making XO a flexible option for global distributors and institutions.
B2B + B2C Synergy: XO caters to both individual viewers and professional clients (broadcasters, schools, streaming platforms), which creates a robust and sustainable model for impact and revenue.
In short, people choose XO because it doesn’t just inform—it transforms how people experience and understand sexuality, with empathy, artistry, and integrity.
Challenges Faced During the Journey:
Building XO meant overcoming multiple challenges—both systemic and personal:
Breaking Taboos Around Sex Education
Talking openly about sex, pleasure, and diversity in sexuality is still considered taboo in many regions. Convincing platforms, educators, and broadcasters to engage with XO’s content meant consistently navigating stigma and censorship.
Funding Ethical Media
Producing high-quality, ethically-made films with fair pay and intimacy coordination is expensive. It was challenging to find funders and partners who believed in XO’s mission, especially for a topic considered “controversial” by many institutions.
Balancing Art and Education
XO had to constantly negotiate the fine line between artistic storytelling and educational value—ensuring the content is accurate, respectful, and also emotionally powerful. This required close collaboration with sexologists, creators, and community consultants.
Representation and Inclusivity
Building a diverse, intersectional team and creator collective meant challenging industry norms and creating safe, inclusive structures from scratch. That included vetting contributors, setting ethical standards, and creating trust across communities.
Payment Processor Censorship
One of the biggest hurdles has been Visa and Mastercard censorship, which restricts or flags sex-positive content regardless of its ethical or educational value. This limits XO’s ability to monetize fairly and forces it to find creative, secure workarounds—often without the tools or protections other industries take for granted.
Tech and Platform Development
Creating XO’s own VOD and licensing infrastructure with limited resources, while making it user-friendly and secure, has been a steep but necessary learning curve. Despite these obstacles, XO has grown into a recognized voice in ethical, inclusive sex education media—proving there is a strong need and audience for what it does.
Advice for Women Entrepreneurs:
Believe in their vision, even when others don’t. As a woman—especially in taboo or underrepresented industries—they will face doubt, dismissal, or outright resistance. Let that be fuel, not a barrier. Their perspective is their superpower.
Know their values and hold their boundaries. Success isn’t just about growth; it’s about doing it on their terms. Build something that reflects their ethics, their rhythm, and their definition of success—not someone else’s.
Don’t wait to feel “ready.” Perfection is a trap. Start messy, learn fast, and adjust along the way. Confidence often follows action, not the other way around.
Ask for help. Collaborate. Share power. They don’t have to do it all alone. Build networks with other women, mentors, and communities who get their mission and will grow with them.
Take up space—even when it feels uncomfortable. Especially in male-dominated industries, their voice might not be the loudest in the room. Say it anyway. Make the room shift to hear them. And finally: rest is resistance. Burnout won’t help their business thrive. Their joy, health, and pleasure are not optional—they’re revolutionary tools in building something sustainable. They’re not just building a business—they’re building a future. Keep going.
