Lorals isn't your standard business.

In fact, when Melanie Cristol, a former associate at O'Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles, spoke with her family about it, they were thrilled that she was pursuing a career in entrepreneurship. They just wished it were a different product. Over time, thankfully that stigma dissipated, she said.

“At this point, my grandma checks in for updates,” joked Cristol.

After nearly five years in Big Law and working for gay civil rights organization Lambda Legal, Cristol left her post in O'Melveny & Myers' corporate litigation and criminal defense practice in 2014 to found Brazen Goods LLC, a company whose mission is to develop products that help women become healthier and happier. Within the last two years, she's been working on Lorals, a lingerie made from thin latex that women can wear during oral sex.

“Our overarching goal is to help women everywhere be able to enjoy oral sex as much as possible,” Cristol said.

While the path from Big Law associate to would-be sex tech titan isn't necessarily the road most traveled—the burgeoning sex tech market is now valued at $15 billion—Cristol is taking it all in stride. She is using her legal know-how to develop a product that could revolutionize the way women and men connect in a healthy, de-stigmatized way.

“A lot of my friends were feeling like they were turning down something they probably would enjoy, but they just didn't feel comfortable saying 'yes' for a variety of different reasons,” she said. “So when I initially came up with the idea for the product they were really excited by [it] and were like, 'That could really solve my problem!'” Cristol said.

Cristol, who sunk the bulk of her Big Law savings into her new business endeavors, noted that so far the response from friends, former colleagues and the media—Fast Company recently profiled Lorals and Cristol has been interviewed on Medium—has been overwhelming.

“It does seem that Lorals are filling a real need for people and that feels validating,” Cristol said. “I'm really excited to be able to do that.”

Cristol first joined O'Melveny & Myers in 2009 after graduating from Columbia Law School. During her time at the Am Law 100 firm, she represented a variety of companies in the pharmaceutical, health care, consumer products and technology space. Representing her clients gave her insight into the constructs and operations of companies and organizations, which made her want to create her own business, Cristol said.

So in late 2014, she left O'Melveny & Myers to branch out on her own. And while deep down she knew that Lorals was something she wanted to develop, Cristol said she spent some time thinking about whether or not she wanted to pursue a product that leaves many sheepish in conversation.

“I didn't really know if I had the guts to do it,” Cristol said. “I knew that it was such a taboo topic and that I would be talking very openly about sexuality, [but] I knew that I felt comfortable with that.”

Cristol began researching other sex tech products and eventually developed the patents on her own, working with New York-based boutique Wuersch & Gering and intellectual property partner Linda Shudy Lecomte in filing the various patents pending for the product and its manufacturing both in the United States and internationally.

Lorals launched officially earlier this month and are currently available for presale on Indiegogo, a crowdfunding website for tech products. The plan initially is to distribute online and then move into selective retail shops, Cristol said.

While Lorals currently don't protect against sexually transmitted infections, Cristol and Lorals announced Thursday via YouTube a new goal, thanks to input from their customers, to develop a version that prevents STIs. Cristol estimates that effort, which will require approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, could cost some $80,000 and reinvent the look of female prophylactic technology.

“I want to be able to give as many women as possible the opportunity to use this product,” she said. “I really want to listen to what the customers want and then adjust our business plan to help them as much as possible.”

And many of Cristol's former colleagues at O'Melveny & Myers have also voiced their support for her new endeavor, albeit with a bit of shyness, she said.

“Several of them have contributed to the crowdfunding campaign and it's been really cool to have the support of a group of people who are not remotely involved in the sex tech industry,” she joked.

As for the possibility of a return to Big Law, Cristol wouldn't rule it out given its advantages, but right now she remains focused on building her own potential empire.

“The stability of [Big Law] has felt very desirable at times,” Cristol said. “Entrepreneurship is certainly not nearly as stable of an income or career, but at the same time I love what I do every single day.”