WoW Woman in FemTech | Amanda French, co-founder and CEO of Emme

Interview by MarijaButkovic

Amanda French is the co-founder and CEO of Emme, a femtech company that is revolutionizing birth control. Emme invented the first smart, connected pill case for birth control pill management. 

Amanda has over a decade of experience bringing innovative products to the market with a particular focus on women’s health. One of the first innovations she helped develop was a product that facilitated the distribution of antiretrovirals to mothers in the developing world to prevent the rates of HIV transmission from mother to child postpartum. This product was recognized directly by Hilary Clinton and won USAID’s Saving Lives at Birth Grand Challenge. 

Prior to founding Emme, Amanda developed breakthrough heart valve technology as an R&D engineer with Edwards Lifesciences, where she also held roles in program management, manufacturing, and marketing through the Technical Development Program. She went on to develop state-of-the-art hearing aids at Earlens. She brings her prior experience of developing innovative medical technology to drive the advancement of innovation in women’s health at Emme. 

Amanda was a 2016-2017 Innovation Fellow at the Stanford-Byers Center for Biodesign, and a Ferolyn Fellow in 2018-2019 with the Fogarty Institute for Innovation. She holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University. 

What is the idea behind Emme, and how did you come up with it?

I founded Emme out of the Stanford Biodesign Innovation Fellowship - a program that brings physicians and engineers together to solve unmet healthcare needs through a rigorous process-driven approach. During my time at Stanford, I was surprised at the lack of innovation that I saw in women’s health compared to the other categories where I had industry experience (cardiology and ENT). I heard from countless women about their stressful experiences with birth control pills. After learning that nearly one million women have an unplanned pregnancy in the United States each year due to missed pills, I knew this was a pressing healthcare need that technology could solve.  

When did it all start, and do you have other members in your team? How long did it take you to be where you are now?

I had the idea for Emme early on during my fellowship at Stanford in 2016 and formally founded the company in 2017. We have a strong and experienced team with diverse backgrounds that combine to bring Emme expertise in healthcare, design, and technology. 

What was the biggest obstacle?

We would never have expected to launch a hardware company amid shelter in place, but we made the best of it! COVID-19 has impacted our supply chain and forced us to rewrite our plans for hardware validation testing, but I am so impressed by how nimble and creative our team has been to keep everything on track.  

What are your biggest achievements to date?

I founded Emme in 2017 because I knew that technology could solve the missed pill problem, and I believed that millions of people would benefit from this solution. Over the past three years, I have raised $3.5M to bring Emme to market. We ran a national beta test, where the Emme Smart Case and app drove an 80% reduction in missed pills, and 85% of the participants reported improved confidence with the pill. These insights have led to the most significant achievement - launching the Emme Smart Case at emme.com and working hard to meet the demand from our 10K member waitlist.  

What are the challenges of being an entrepreneur in the niche you are in? How about being a female founder/entrepreneur?

It’s been reported that women’s health is underfunded relative to other healthcare areas, and the data clearly shows that female founders receive only a small proportion of overall funding dollars. I am encouraged by the progress we are seeing with female founders. 

What are the projects you are currently working on?

The feedback loop we nurture with our customers is an essential part of our innovation process. During the beta, we spoke with our customers weekly, and we frequently seek feedback via surveys and focus groups. We have some exciting product announcements in-store that align with our customers’ top needs, which expand on the capabilities of our integrated system for birth control management. Stay tuned! 

Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you, and if yes, why?

Throughout my career as a mechanical engineer, I was almost always the only woman in the room. I think it’s essential to empower women in tech, and studies have established time and time again that diverse teams drive better results. 

What is the most important piece of advice you can give to all female founders and female entrepreneurs out there?

Have confidence in your strengths, and surround yourself with an incredible team and set of mentors who excel in areas where you don’t have experience. Don’t be afraid to believe in your better vision for the world, especially in the face of rejection from those who don’t quite see it yet - that’s all part of an entrepreneur’s job!    

What will be the key trends in the health tech and femtech industry in the next five years and where do you see it heading?

One of the biggest trends is the acceleration of virtual care and telemedicine, a trend that is only further accelerated now due to COVID-19. I also see an increase in technology that empowers the patient at home through asynchronous care delivery, remote patient monitoring, and digital solutions. These themes are central to what we are building at Emme, with a core mission of putting women’s health in women’s hands by offering an integrated solution that makes the pill experience more effective and empowering. 

Who are your three inspirational women in health tech and sex tech?

Karen Long, a pioneering femtech CEO, is an inspiration. She led Nuelle, one of the first women’s health companies that delivered groundbreaking solutions for sexual well-being. I was thrilled when she agreed to be Emme’s first formal advisor, and she has been instrumental in our approach to marketing and branding. Similarly, Deborah Kilpatrick, CEO at Evidation Health, is a pioneering digital health leader, and It’s an honor to have her on the Emme board of directors. Angela MacFarlane is another fantastic mentor and source of inspiration to me, and she has proven that leading from a place of empathy can be a CEO’s greatest strength.

Website: emme.com

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This interview was conducted by Marija Butkovic, Digital Marketing and PR strategist, founder and CEO of Women of Wearables. She regularly writes and speaks on topics of wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT, entrepreneurship and diversity. Follow Marija on Twitter @MarijaButkovic.