Following the trip, Sunnen returned home to build his manufacturing business around the auto engine rebuilding trade.
In 1957, Joseph Sunnen and his wife, Cornelia, traveled to Puerto Rico and were taken on an inspection tour of some of the poorer neighborhoods.
Joseph Sunnen believed deeply that people had the right to not bring children into the world, particularly if they did not have the means to support them.
He "considered it an overwhelming challenge to invent a birth-control device that would be medically acceptable, easy to sue and low in price.".
After testing for safety and efficacy, he approached a large pharmaceutical company about producing his product, but they showed no interest.