WoW Woman in FemTech | Carey Kyler, Senior Innovation Catalyst for AARP Innovation Labs
Interview by Marija Butkovic @MarijaButkovic
Carey Kyler is a Fortune 500 trained consumer insights expert, design thinker, former network television executive, and consumer evangelist. Working on brands like Tide, Cover Girl, AARP, and the Discovery Channel, her passion is identifying opportunities and bringing new solutions to delight consumers. As a Senior Innovation Catalyst for AARP Innovation Labs, she is responsible for developing new breakthrough products to improve quality of life. She has been a regular guest speaker at Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, and George Washington Universities, and dabbles in chocolate making on the side.
Carey, welcome to WoW and thank you for participating in this interview! Tell us a bit about your background and your projects so far. How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?
I spent much of my early career in Fortune 500 companies - specifically in consumer and products research and statistical analysis. I received incredible training in data analysis, uncovering insights, and design thinking. As a statistician, I found that some industries were more welcoming and wanted to use data to design products and analyze results, while others pushed back quite a bit. It taught me to go beyond numbers to understand the strategic applications of the data, and I learned how to build the story of the data to aid breakthrough product development. Along the way I discovered that my passion wasn’t solely crunching numbers, but getting under the hood to understand key consumer needs and how to solve them with innovative products. My career has spanned everything from cosmetics, construction, and television programming to non-profit/social mission. Through that journey, I transitioned from research to strategy, and from strategy to product development. I became a design thinking specialist and innovation trainer. When AARP launched its innovation lab about 3 years ago, I jumped at the opportunity to help AARP craft its innovation/product development practice.
What does your current job role entail?
As Senior Innovation Catalyst for AARP Innovation Labs, my core responsibility is to develop and create products that empower people to choose how they live as they age. We focus on three key pillars of Health, Wealth and Self, functioning as business leads for our product areas- sort of like startup founders. Day to day, I could be identifying opportunities through research, working with our dev team to create an MVP, conducting competitive analysis, testing products, helping internal and external partners with design thinking projects, or working with startups to enhance and accelerate their offerings.
What projects are you working on at the moment?
I’m currently working on solutions for menopause; seeking non-pharmaceutical tech methods to help give women a sense of control and comfort during this important life transition. We’ve launched a challenge for this on Hackster that runs to MAY 12 2020. It’s exciting, since there is so much opportunity to make a significant impact for people. The deeper I get into it, the more I realize that, as women, we’re not adequately prepared for menopause. Many (if not most) women I speak to are unaware that there are 35+ symptoms associated with menopause. Critically, we have to break this taboo and make it okay to talk about menopause openly, without fear of ageism or sexism. It’s a big, but important lift.
How long did it take you to be where you are now?
I’ve been building my career over the past 30 years.
What was the biggest obstacle?
I am a passionate evangelist of human-centered design. So much of this is founded in my P&G training, where the mantra was “The consumer is boss”. In some for-profit industries, however, I found myself defending using data and consumer insights to make decisions against creative vision or business opportunity. It becomes an experience vs. data discussion. In my opinion, the best decisions come from a blend of both. At the end of the day, though, 10 products that nobody wants is the same as zero products. It’s imperative to create something that consumers/users will love and/or solves a true problem for them.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
In the days that I was at Procter & Gamble, working with the upstream product development team, I had the opportunity to work on some very large global product launches. I was a key member on the team for Cover Girl, and conducted the foundational research which led to their multicultural (Queen Latifah) beauty line. As a television programmer for Discovery Communications, I leveraged my insight and strategy capabilities to build a new approach to network programming, ushering in a new style of shows (like Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations) that led to a 25% growth in ratings for the network. Since moving to the nonprofit world, I’ve gained a greater sense of purpose in my work; working to solve important issues for people that can have a real impact in their lives. I feel very proud of the work we are doing in menopause. It’s a topic that has been taboo for far too long, especially given that it is a major transition that all women go through. 1 in 3 women are currently going through menopause and many are suffering in silence; bringing options to them to control their symptoms and reduce any disruption in their lives will provide a major impact.
What does the #WomenInTech movement mean to you? What are the challenges of being a woman in health tech / STEM?
As the mother of a teenage daughter who codes and is exploring her options, it gives me incredible hope about the opportunities that she will have to work in a diverse and inclusive environment in a field she loves.
In your opinion, what will be the key trends in the health tech and STEM industry in the next 5 years and where do you see it heading?
Without a doubt, for me, it is femtech. It’s projected to be a $50B industry by 2025. We’ve seen major launches and tech advancements over the past several years-creating solutions, and also bringing women’s health into the spotlight. Products like period underwear, smart tampons, and trackers have solidified femtech as a viable and growing industry. There have been major contributions in fertility and period tech… and we’re now starting to see menopause solutions being launched—tackling this makes sense, especially as there are roughly the same number of women age 40-59 (perimenopausal / menopausal age range) as there are age 20-39 (adult fertility years). In a recent study, we found that 93% of menopausal women would be interested in a tech solution to manage their symptoms. This is huge, especially as so few women (~6% ) choose hormone replacement therapy. Women are seeking non-pharmaceutical options to navigate menopause, and at this point there are only a few options available for them. Additionally, we are beginning to see women’s sexual health gain visibility; at CES this year, there was an entire section featuring products in the women’s sexual health arena. The Hacking Menopause session I led with Kindra (a P&G Ventures + M13 collaboration) at CES was standing room only - so I anticipate this product category will continue to grow exponentially (especially as Millennial women are beginning to turn 40 this year!)
Who are your 3 inspirational women and / or businesses in health tech and / or STEM?
There are so many to choose from that I don’t want to look like I am playing favorites! I’ll just say that many of them are featured on the Women of Wearables site .
Website: http://www.hackingmenopause.com/
Social handles: @aarpilabs
Did you know that there are over 35 symptoms of menopause including hot flashes, mood swings, trouble sleeping, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating? If you have a solution that gives women a sense of control, comfort, and wellness during this phase in her life, AARP Innovation Labs wants to hear from you!
The team at AARP Innovation Labs launched the Hacking Menopause Challenge with Hackster.io to find engineers, developers, designers and creative thinkers to build tech-enabled solutions that help women experiencing perimenopause and menopause symptoms, and is offering $16,000 in cash prizes. Register and find out more about the challenge at https://www.hackster.io/contests/aarpmenopause
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. Visit marijabutkovic.co.uk or follow Marija on Twitter @MarijaButkovic.