A Virtual FemTech Forum That Sparked A Global Movement In Women’s Health
By Marija Butkovic, Anja Streicher and Bérénice Magistretti
It’s been ten days since we hosted the FemTech Forum, the first global virtual conference about FemTech. Needless to say, it was a huge success and we are still receiving positive feedback from our entire community, both those who participated as speakers and those who attended.
This conference was truly global!
More than 900 attendees from all over the world joined us throughout the day to discuss, listen, and learn about FemTech, and this was beyond our imagination.
We were blown away by your support and words of encouragement, and it was once again proven that these conversations are very much needed and wanted.
30+ speakers globally gathered to share their knowledge, experiences, thoughts, challenges, successes and more with us all. We learned so much by witnessing such engaging conversations and discussions during the entire day! There was a lot of fun and laughter as well, as it should be, because education above all should be entertaining!
We started early in the day and ran eight sessions until late in the afternoon, covering a wide variety of topics, such as:
'Balancing Trust, Privacy and Innovation in FemTech',
'Designing Products To Suit (And Fit) A Modern Woman’s Needs',
'Investing in FemTech: Challenges and Opportunities',
'Tech for Mums',
'The Gender Gap in Medical Research',
'Fertility: Not Just a Woman’s Issue',
'Is Sexual Wellness Still a Taboo in Business and Venture Capital?', to
'Launching and Scaling A Successful FemTech Startup'.
Some amazing companies supported this forum as sponsors and we are very grateful for them as partners for this project. The FemTech Forum wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Intimina, Bayer, Valley Electronics, Tide Banking, MAS Holdings, Barclays Eagle Labs, RS Components and Myovant Sciences. We listed more information about them below.
Bayer G4A works with extraordinary people to develop new health solutions in the digital world. Since 2012, G4A has worked with numerous startups to deliver meaningful results, seeking startups to partner and collaborate and change the experience of health. The G4A Growth and Advance Tracks offer a gateway to partner with Bayer through integrated healthcare solutions in the digital health space. Applications for their programme are now closed, but make sure to follow their updates if you wish to apply for the next batch or just keep your eyes on interesting startups from the next cohort!
Intimina is a Swedish brand that offers the first and only range of products dedicated exclusively to all aspects of women’s intimate health. Its mission is to provide a comprehensive collection of products and information for women at every stage of life, from the first menstruation to beyond menopause. As a global brand available in major pharmacy chains, medical offices, and online, Intimina's vision is to make it easy for women, regardless of their age or location, to access reliable information and solutions for all their intimate health needs.
Many thanks to FemTech Forum knowledge partners Valley Electronics AG, Myovant Sciences and Gemser and and our supporting partners DesignSpark, Tide, FemTech at MAS and Eagle Labs!
More than 30 community partners supported this forum by sharing news about it within their communities and networks, thank you everyone!
But, let’s start from the beginning.
Why did we decide to run the FemTech Forum in the first place?
We hosted our first FemTech event back in 2017. It’s been incredible to see the progress that has been made since, not only in terms of conversations about women’s health in general, but also in terms of the emergence of so many innovative companies that use tech-powered solutions. These apps, devices and services help us make more informed health decisions, teach us more about our bodies and are changing our everyday life for the better, regardless of which gender they are targeting.
Everything we do at WoW is based on the feedback we get from our (global) community and we knew that many women within our community were interested in knowing more about technology in healthcare, about the products that give us insights about our health, about new apps that help us unwind, relax, and gain confidence. It doesn’t come as a surprise actually, because health is what we all have in common!
We started with our Women & Health events series last year because we wanted to open a conversation about women’s health, covering everything from menstrual health, sexual wellbeing, reproductive health and mental health. We also wanted to spotlight tech-powered solutions and products that are disrupting the market and hear the stories from the founders of these companies.
Because the fact is - The FemTech industry is booming. Check out some key facts and stats about the space:
➡️Investors are starting to recognise the value of this industry, which is estimated to be worth $50 billion by 2025, according to Frost & Sullivan;
➡️Women in the workforce spend 29% more per capita on healthcare than their male peers;
➡️Women are 75% more likely to use digital tools to track their health;
➡️A decade ago, just $23 million worth of venture capital was invested in the global FemTech industry, according to PitchBook data. That figure grew at a modest pace until 2015, when there was a spike in funding that totalled $334 million. In 2017, VC investors participated in 49 deals in the FemTech space, totalling $354 million.
➡️The main areas of concern for women are centered on access to affordable healthcare, maternal and child care, family planning and fertility, mental health, management of chronic diseases and elderly care. Most FemTech applications therefore revolve around key women’s health issues, such as reproductive and maternal health, general health, and wellness, which includes mental health, chronic diseases, and communicable diseases. (source: Frost & Sullivan)
So, is FemTech really a niche? We don’t think so! FemTech is here to stay and to grow, and we couldn’t be more excited to see what the future brings. We hope you enjoyed the FemTech Forum! In case you missed it, here is a recap of the day:
Panel discussion: 'Balancing Trust, Privacy and Innovation in FemTech'
In a world where practically everything is digitalised and tech-enabled, protecting data from cyber breaches is top of mind, especially for sensitive data that relates to our health. When women upload information about their fertility or sexual habits on an app, discuss their results on a video call or chat with an online bot, they want to know that this data is safe and private.
We wanted to find out how FemTech companies keep innovating while making sure the information they collect remains confidential so we brought together Nicole Leeds, New Business & Go-to-Market Strategy Lead at Clue, Dr Stephanie Kuku, MD, Senior consultant at Hardian Health; Clinical Entrepreneur at NHS and Senior Advisor at World Health Organization, Natasha Singh, Principal Consultant - Privacy & Data Protection at Gemserv, and Thérèse Mannheimer, Founder and CEO of Grace Health, to discuss it with Marina Gerner, an award-winning journalist writing for the Guardian, the Times’ Raconteur special reports, the Wall Street Journal, who was moderating the panel.
Check out some key quotes from our speakers below:
➡️Nicole Leeds (Clue) - "Our health data is not limited to our reproductive organs - it is about our health, lifestyle and so much more. So the femtech space shouldn’t be either. Understanding women’s health and changes in their body over time is of utmost importance. If one does not have the data on something, it is challenging to innovate in this space."
➡️Stephanie Kuku (Hadrian Health, NHS and WHO) - "Intended use of information and data is key - we need to think about what data is being shared right from the start. Responsible data sharing is not an innovation killer.”
➡️Natasha Singh (Gemserv) - "Research in FemTech and Health Tech must be responsible and ethical, with participants having accountability. Finding the right balance between collecting the minimum possible amount of data while still being able to improve and train the algorithm / model behind the application is crucial."
➡️Thérèse Mannheimer (Grace Health) - “Any innovation in femtech moves the industry forward, the market is definitely not saturated and it can never be. If we show both investors, key stakeholders and individuals the benefits of building products in this industry, the better it will become.”
Panel discussion: 'Designing Products To Suit (And Fit) A Modern Woman’s Needs'
Female entrepreneurs have decided that it was time to put an end to the “one-size-fits-all” approach when it comes to designing products for women, which are often built around male-driven data. We’re in an era where women are pushing the frontiers of innovation in the healthtech industry, designing products that suit (and fit) a modern woman’s needs because they’re the ones who know their customers best.
From a sustainable menstrual cup to a hormone-based mini lab, FemTech startups are revolutionising the space and we gathered some of them to discuss it: Eirini Rapti, Founder and CEO of Inne, Urska Srsen, Co-Founder of Bellabeat, Kristy Chong, Founder and CEO of Modibodi, Danela Zagar, Global Brand Manager at INTIMINA. This panel was moderated by Olga Razumovskaya, a former Wall Street Journal reporter covering technology, venture capital and startups in the US and Russia, now Strategic Communications Consultant at EM.
Check out some key quotes from our speakers below:
➡️Urska Srsen (Bellabeat) - "Women inherently take care of everyone else first, femtech needs to simplify the process of taking care of yourself. Femtech is not just a trend or buzzword, but it’s still a very underserved market. Investment community is also getting more and more excited about these products and companies, so now is the right time to enter this industry."
➡️Eirini Rapti (Inne) - “Four parameters crucial for women nowadays are Mobility, Connectivity, Convenience and access to Education. And in order to live in a diverse world, we need to have more diverse leaders, too. And it goes beyond just women. Also, we have to change the way we talk about certain topics, and sometimes it very much depends on how the community of women around us talk about these topics and whether it resonates with the idea. Getting validation from other women who are experiencing the same as we do can be very powerful.”
➡️Danela Zagar (INTIMINA) - “The lack of research and knowledge in the space of women wellness contributed to the delay in femtech innovations. When we are talking about period products, those products are a necessity for women. We recently conducted a poll in the US and discovered that 46% of girls who took the survey have missed their school lessons because of their period, while 1/4 have struggled financially to buy period products or a meal. Period poverty is real and we need to fight against this, not only through government activities but also through companies and NGOs who are working on this.”
➡️Kristy Chong (Modibodi) - “It’s an absolute right that women do not have to pay tax for products that are a normal part of their everyday life. It would be wonderful to see cheaper, hopefully even free, products for women. And it’s very important to stop talking about topics such as periods, incontinence and leaky boobs as taboo topics, we need to have more open and honest conversations about it, we need to be more authentic, and use different language and dialogue.”
Panel discussion: 'Investing in FemTech: Challenges and Opportunities'
Investors have started to recognise the value of the FemTech industry, which is estimated to be worth $50 billion by 2025 (Frost & Sullivan). From ovulation-tracking bracelets to CBD-infused tampons and sexual wellness apps, VCs across Europe and the U.S. are backing more and more startups in the women’s health space. Simultaneously, there is an increasing number of female VCs that are either joining firms as partners or launching their own firms. These investors understand the needs of women and want to back more female leaders to reduce the gender gap in tech. We had the pleasure of having some of them join us for a panel discussion: Sophia Bendz, Partner at Atomico, Maren Bannon, Founding Partner at January Ventures and Louise Samet, Partner at Blossom Capital. This panel was moderated by Bérénice Magistretti, FemTech Journalist and Angel Investor, passionate about promoting and investing in female-led companies.
Check out some key quotes from our speakers below:
➡️Sophia Bendz (Atomico) - "When we say that the target audience for Femtech is half of the world population, I would argue that it’s more than 50%, as when a woman chooses her contraception or tackles heavy PMS, there is, in most cases, a brother, a father or a husband that is also affected and who should take responsibility for it.”
➡️Maren Bannon (January Ventures) - “There are about 25 million women in the U.S. who are experiencing menopause, and then you compare that to something like erectile dysfunction, which roughly impacts the same number of men, yet the space has received significantly more venture funding than solutions tackling menopause.”
➡️Louise Samet (Blossom Capital) - “Femtech is a recession-proof category, as what you spend on contraceptives, or health in general, is absolutely critical no matter what’s going on in the world.”
'Tech for Mums' - Fireside chat with Michelle Kennedy, Founder and CEO of Peanut
Becoming a mum changes our lives forever and sets us on an ongoing rollercoaster of emotions. Yet even though many women go through postpartum depression, loneliness and anxiety, we often only talk about the good moments as mental health is still considered taboo in our society. We wanted to discuss if a tech solution can help mums feel more empowered by sharing and connecting with other mums so we invited Michelle Kennedy, Founder and CEO of Peanut to join Anja Streicher, CMO at Women of Wearables, for a fireside chat.
Key takeaways and quotes from Michelle Kennedy:
➡️Motherhood will always be the thread why women use Peanut, but you can also use it if you’re thinking of starting a family, and later this year if you’re going through menopause, so we’re thinking about all stages of women’s lives.
➡️There’s no topic on Peanut that is taboo.
➡️1 in 4 women will have a miscarriage. We’re building a safe environment for women to have these conversations.
➡️On fertility: “Women need support and a place where they could go safely and ask for advice for surrogacy or adoption, or IVF.”
➡️On fundraising: “It was challenging, I went quite early to VCs, it’s actually not that common to have friends and family who are able to write those initial checks, and not everyone has savings they could use for their startup capital. So it’s really important to have small, pre-seed early funds for women, particularly for women of underrepresented groups.”
➡️On investors: “You are giving them the opportunity to be a part of something huge, if you’re building a next billion dollar company, you are inviting them in to be a part of the opportunity and you cannot and shouldn’t forget that. You want people who are excited about the opportunity but also who will help you get where you want to be. Finding investors is like dating - you want to find that chemistry.”
➡️The message I heard a lot: “You will not get funded if you don’t have a technical co-founder. That’s not true. You can be a solo founder. Being a solo founder can be challenging, my team and board are very important.”
➡️Female founders community is really important, we have to pay it forward. People like to be a part of the movement.
➡️It’s important to never stop telling your story. I never ever stopped telling the story of Peanut.
➡️Motherhood is about support and connectivity.
➡️On growth: Finding your company’s natural ambassadors is really important, people who will naturally advocate for you.
➡️On asking for feedback: “Speak to your customers and users, ask them why they are using your product, what they love and what they don’t like.
Panel discussion: 'The Gender Gap in Medical Research'
It wasn’t until 1994 that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S. mandated the inclusion of women in clinical trials. Although progress has been made, we still have a long way to go. We wanted to discuss how the exclusion of women from scientific research impacts treatments, how failing to account for the different effects a drug may have on men versus women compromise quality of care for women, we wanted to cover topics that revolve around the lack of physiological data, the economic costs of research in women’s health, gender bias in science and more. We invited Jill Angelo, Founder and CEO of Gennev, Ilka Schellschmidt, Head of Women’s Health Clinical Development and trained OB/GYN at Bayer, Helene Guillaume, founder and CEO of WILD.AI, Dr. Brittany Barreto, co-founder and Executive Director of Femtech Focus, to join us on this panel discussion moderated by Laura Lovett, Managing Editor of MobiHealthNews where she covers the intersection of healthcare and technology.
Check out some key quotes from our speakers below:
➡️Jill Angelo (Gennev) - “One thing we’ve learned about women in menopause is we don’t know much about them. There hasn’t been a lot of research on them, nor have we looked at the hormonal changes that are happening in their bodies related to their risk of cardiovascular disease, or dementia, or Alzheimer's, or bone health.”
➡️Dr. Brittany Barreto (Femtech Focus) - “I think that the more women we get in capital decision-making positions, we actually will not have to fight so hard for female founders to get funded, or femtech to get funded, because the women general partners of funds will see the problem, and you only have to have one slide in your pitch deck. When we have more female VCs, we will spend less time convincing male VCs about our health issues, and more time talking about the solution.”
➡️Ilka Schellschmidt (Bayer) - “I think fundamentally we are still of the opinion we can do whatever we want, but until we really change the gender representation in science and in senior science positions, especially in senior positions, we won’t be able to change the situation to the degree that it is necessary. If cardiologists are male and white, they will study male white patients. That’s somehow still, I think, an issue. We are trying to circumvent that situation, but I think the underlying society problem we have here we need to address as well.”
➡️Helene Guillaume (WILD.AI) - “A big issue is the gender data gap. The research has been nearly nonexistent, but when it has happened, often it has been on like a pool of 30 women in the U.S. [who are] white, 24-years-old. So there is also not a diversity in terms of age, life stage, ethnicity – which is an issue because our bodies are ever changing through these big life changes and when we are menstruating. If you look at developed countries, there is no good excuse not to be serving different ethnicities.”
Panel discussion: 'Fertility: Not Just a Woman’s Issue'
Infertility has become a global reproductive health issue that is affecting many individuals and couples. But while men also face infertility issues, the pressure and burden of reproductive health is often imposed on women. So we wanted to open up the conversation about this and see how we could empower women and men with actionable data, how we could motivate them to become more proactive about their fertility.
We had Khaled Kteily, Co-Founder and CEO of Legacy, Elina Berglund Scherwitzl, Co-Founder and CEO at Natural Cycles, Lea von Bidder, Co-Founder and CEO of Ava, and Alyssa Atkins, Founder and CEO of Lilia, joining us for this panel discussion moderated by Amy Lewin, deputy editor of Sifted, the new media platform covering startups and tech in Europe, backed by the Financial Times.
Check out some key quotes from our speakers below:
➡️Alyssa Atkins (Lilia) - “50% of the people who are looking to secure their eggs are in a relationship, and 27 is the age when people start thinking about fertility. I prefer to use ‘egg securing’ rather than ‘egg freezing’ to describe the process and, if you ask me, the best time to do it is when you have the least money. I think securing your eggs will be the next normal, it's a way to gain some freedom back.”
➡️Khaled Kteily (Legacy): Sperm health is a great indicator of overall health, but it is surprisingly underfunded. There’s still so much stigma when it comes to male fertility, because perception around male fertility is less empowering for men working in this space. And although male investors are not very comfortable to discuss this topic, they are still more likely to invest in these startups because they can understand it more than female (in)fertility.”
➡️Elina Berglund Scherwitzl (Natural Cycles) - “Why hasn’t there been more innovation in this industry? Women’s health and reproductive health haven’t been funded until recent years, and haven’t been researched. And education around women’s health and body is the key, it’s crucial. Birth control in the UK is covered by the NHS. In the US, a lot of people don’t have access to it. So markets are very different, and companies in this space need to do a thorough research on what their options are.”
➡️Lea von Bidder (Ava) - “Fertility is an equality issue. Innovation needs to grow out of clinical research which is expensive and it takes time. In the US now, we see that 1/3 employers now offer some sort of fertility benefit plans for employees. In Europe, we still rely heavily on insurance systems for this kind of support. Average pregnancy in the US costs around $60k - $70k if you go for fertility treatment, which is a lot of money and still inaccessible for many people who need it. All this means that fertility is still one of those areas in women’s health with two class healthcare systems. And Because fertility is not just a woman’s issue, it is getting more funding than menopause.”
Panel discussion 'Is Sexual Wellness Still a Taboo in Business and Venture Capital?'
When male investors still cringe upon hearing the word “vagina” and Facebook’s algorithms ban ads that allude to a woman’s anatomy, you know there is something wrong with the world of tech. Thankfully, there are fearless female leaders out there that see these obstacles as an opportunity to tackle gender bias by normalising the conversation around vaginal health. We had an open and honest conversation about the vagina, sexual wellness and orgasms with Lora Haddock DiCarlo, Founder and CEO at Lora DiCarlo, Dr. Jane van Dis, Medical Director at Maven Clinic, Trish Costello, Founder and CEO of Portfolia and Billie Quinlan, Founder and CEO of Ferly in this panel discussion moderated by Bérénice Magistretti, FemTech Journalist and Angel Investor, passionate about promoting and investing in female-led companies.
Check out some key quotes from our speakers below:
➡️Trish Costello (Portfolia) - “We have to start seeing ourselves as investors, even with small amounts of money. If we don’t come together and put our money behind these companies, we will not see change. It’s really about our money going in, because that’s where the power is.
➡️Billie Quinlan (Ferly) - “I remember when we first started building Ferly, we’re two young women building a sexual wellness product, and people around us were really resistant to us building the business. We got the feedback that if we continued down this journey, then we’d never be taken seriously as entrepreneurs.”
➡️Dr. Jane Van Dis (Maven) - "I love when female founders come in and change women's health. We don't need anymore pill clubs, we don't need any more bros getting that venture capital. I'm all for vaginas and I will speak for them everyday!"
➡️Lora Haddock DiCarlo (Lora DiCarlo) - “We get shadow banned all the time just for pushing content, so we have to pivot the way we share things. We have to spell masturbate differently, we have to spell vagina differently, just to have our content be seen. Lady bits, hoo-haw, snatch, cooch, honey pot, pink taco, butter boat, Hairy Manilow... I think it's about time we get comfortable with the word vagina. And while we're at it, we should get comfortable with the terms labia, vulva, and clitoris as well."
Panel discussion: 'Launching and Scaling A Successful FemTech Startup'
With less than 3% of venture capital money going to female-led startups, the fundraising landscape for female founders is challenging, to say the least. And when some VCs label the FemTech space as a “niche market”, it’s that much harder to raise for products and services that target women’s health. Yet with successes like Maven Clinic’s recent $45 million Series C round, top tier investors, like Sequoia Capital, are beginning to understand the value of investing in FemTech companies. Add to that Modern Fertility and Ruby Love both raising $15 million for their Series A rounds and you get a coherent investment thesis - FemTech may be an emerging sector, but the market is there: 50% of the population. We invited Katherine Ryder, Founder and CEO of Maven Clinic, Afton Vechery, Co-founder and CEO of Modern Fertility, Kat Mañalac, Partner at Y Combinator, and Crystal Etienne, Founder and CEO of Ruby Love, to join us on this panel discussion moderated by Chris O'Brien, European Correspondent for VentureBeat.
Check out some key quotes from our speakers below:
➡️Katherine Ryder (Maven Clinic) - “Fundraising is never easy, and back then in 2014, there was no issue with value proposition and the size of the market, perception in the US was that women’s health is a small market. Now women’s health is a thesis inside venture capital firms which is great to see, it’s been a collective effort from all the founders in the space. I personally don’t like the word FemTech. It’s important not to make women’s health just about women, because you equally need the support, particularly in pregnancy, of a partner who often isn’t a woman.”
➡️Crystal Etienne (Ruby Love) - “Bootstrapping for us wasn’t a choice, we were struggling to fundraise, but we were focused on building a product and running a company and we made it. People of colour are not asking for special treatment, we’re just asking to be a part of conversation. Lesson I learned while building this company is that customers really want information and they want to be involved in making the product better.”
➡️Afton Vechery (Modern Fertility) - “Other women paved the way for the next generation of founders in FemTech with their success stories so it is easier to fundraise. There is a huge shift in recent years from investors, investors are now coming to us. But it’s important to have investors with different expertise. Investors today are ready to listen and take these companies seriously, but education is still necessary.”
➡️Kat Mañalac (Y Combinator) - “We have invested in some amazing femtech companies over the past few years, but we were also quite worried that investors at Demo Day won’t see the opportunities that are available in this space, that beyond YC these companies will have problems fundraising. But we were delightfully surprised that other investors were interested as well. Despite that, there still needs to be more education and storytelling when it comes to femtech and why these solutions are so important and founders need to back it up with data and statistics as much as possible.”
On behalf of our organising team, we would like to use this opportunity to thank not only our brilliant speakers, but our moderators as well who did a fantastic job in making these discussions relevant, interesting, and educational. But, also, to all of you who made them so engaging with all your comments in the chat box, and your questions! We had a great day discussing FemTech and we enjoyed every second of the Forum. Thank you! ❤️
FemTech Forum 2020 was co-organised by Marija Butkovic, founder and CEO of Women of Wearables; Anja Streicher, CMO at Women of Wearables and Bérénice Magistretti, FemTech Journalist and Angel Investor. Connect with them on social media!
Marija Butkovic - LinkedIn / Twitter