WoW Woman in Women's Health I Lulu Ge, founder and CEO of Elix
Lulu Ge is the founder and CEO of Elix, the first platform to personalize clinically-proven Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for chronic care, beginning with menstrual and hormone health.
Elix empowers people to become their own best healers by targeting the root cause of pain and other life-disrupting symptoms.
Prior to founding Elix, Lulu spent several years in Management Consulting advising fortune 100 companies, leading the Change and Transformation function at Hudson’s Bay Company and Saks Fifth Avenue. Her team was responsible for a portfolio of strategic initiatives valued at over $350m+ touching an employee population of 45,000+. There she identified the opportunity to leverage data and analytics in creating personalized customer experiences that fostered loyalty and community, a foundational pillar of Elix.
She incubated Elix while receiving her Masters of Business Administration at Wharton, where Elix was selected to be in the University’s VIP-X Accelerator and placed top 10 in the annual startup competition.
Lulu currently lives in New York City with her husband and numerous houseplants. She enjoys cooking plant-based recipes, practicing ashtanga-style yoga, traveling to different wine regions of the world, and discovering new healing herbs.
Elix is the first digital platform to use modern technology to personalize Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), by combining time-tested knowledge, medicinal botanicals, and clinical research to empower self-healing. Built on the principle that menstrual cycles are a vital sign for our overall health, Elix formulates pure and potent liquid herbal extracts clinically proven to treat hormonal imbalances that are the root cause of painful and life-disrupting symptoms. Beyond herbal treatments, Elix is committed to breaking women’s health taboos and bridging the gap in healthcare knowledge through community events and their content vertical The Wisdom.
Lulu, how did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?
My journey to the femtech industry was born out of my own frustrations with debilitating period symptoms, lack of support from the modern-day healthcare system, and feeling totally lost in trying to understand my own hormone health.
Thanks to my family’s roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine—my grandfather ran the local hospital in Hunan—I found my way back to herbal medicine and rediscovered the healing potential of herbs and adaptogens. I quickly realized that people with periods everywhere could benefit from more personalized and holistic support, and set out to create Elix.
What are the challenges of being in the industry you are in?
One of the main challenges facing our community members is the systemic sexism of our current healthcare system which creates the need for her to become her own health advocate. A majority of current “solutions” to chronic care are full of varied health side effects and the cultural conversations seem to put the responsibility on her to “power through” or “suck it up” rather than investing time and resources towards education and sustainable healing.
Anecdotally, I’ve heard from countless members of our community about how it took her years to get a doctor to finally believe that her pain was real and deserved medical attention. One Elix community member from Oklahoma shared how she went to 20 different doctors over a 6-year period before finally receiving her endometriosis diagnosis - and, even after the diagnosis, Elix was the first thing she tried that helped her “get out of bed and function” on the days of her period.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
We are really proud of the diversity of our Elix community – we serve women and people with periods in all 50 states and Canada between the ages 16-52 with up to 20 different types of symptoms: including cramps, migraines, anxiety, hormonal acne, mood swings, fatigue, bloating, irregular cycles, heavy bleeding, clotting, back pain, breast tenderness and more. In fact, 37% of our community originally experienced monthly life-disrupting symptoms due to a chronic condition such as PCOS, endometriosis, PMDD, fibroids, etc.
In the last year, Elix launched the first-ever IRB-approved clinical trial to validate the effectiveness of a personalized Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) supplement for menstrual and hormone health. We also synthesized data collected from nearly 100,000 completed health assessments, in a first of its kind State of Menstrual Health Report, while growing 2700% since launch.
Everyday I am grateful for the opportunity to help so many women learn more about their bodies and their cycles to heal from within. Our strong and diverse community we get to serve - oOur team has exchanged 100,000+ messages with our community and hosted 50+ educational events becoming the go-to women’s community for East meets West knowledge on how to holistically support our cycle and our health.
What are the projects you are currently working on?
In addition to conducting clinical trials and R&D to expand our line of herbal formulas, we are also expanding our offering of educational resources to support the Elix community on their journeys to menstrual and overall wellness. We have a board of several prominent holistic practitioners and are working with women’s health communities across the country to continue sparking & normalizing conversations around menstrual and hormone health.
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
100%! More representation is critical to disrupting the status quo and creating impact-driven ventures to address underserved needs. In all industries, but especially in femtech, women bring their own experiences and insights that can’t be found anywhere else. It’s important to show the younger generation that it is possible to become leaders in this space and bring more awareness to the challenges faced by people with periods, to create a world where we can all be our own best healers and live up to our potential every day of the month!
What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?
As the menstrual wellness movement continues to mature over the next decade, consumers are increasingly seeking brands and communities that help them tune in and learn more about their cycles and their bodies so that they can take charge of their own health.
Elix is proud to empower our community members with education, insights, and tailored herbal treatments that enable her to heal holistically. I’m excited to see more growing awareness and conversations about the importance of menstrual health to our overall health, wellbeing, fertility, and longevity.
What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?
Don’t be afraid to fail! If something doesn’t work initially, look for what it can teach you about a better path forward. At Elix, we celebrate both our wins and weekly learnings to engrain into our culture that failed experiments are a stepping stone to growth. This mindset gives the team more confidence and flexibility to always experiment and discover ways we can better serve the community.
Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?
Given that Elix sits at the intersection of tech, health and expanding access to products that serve women’s needs, I really admire pioneers who are reimagining how we can build with intention and impact. Michelle Obama for using her roles to advance health outcomes and education in underserved communities. Katrina Lake for showing the power of leveraging data and consumer insights to evolve product offerings. Whitney Wolfe for her incredible pivot in launching Bumble and how she continues to evolve the business model based on consumer feedback and changing marketplace opportunities. That thoughtful, everyday evolution is essential to how we serve our Elix community as well, with our Online Health Assessment and Check-Ins that continuously improve and evolve our products and processes.
About FemTech Untapped program
FemTech Untapped is an online program and a global movement tapping into areas of women's health that have long been underserved, underresearched, and underfunded. In 2022, we will be covering a wide range of topics with a goal to educate and destigmatize areas of FemTech that still remain “untapped”.
Join us every month for a series of events where we will cover topics from diversity and inclusion in the femtech space, to menstrual health and sextech, to mental and cardiovascular health for women and underrepresented audiences and groups in the healthcare space. Together, we can all work towards FemTech being more accessible and inclusive.
This interview was conducted by Anja Streicher, Chief Marketing Officer at Women of Wearables. Anja is passionate about improving women’s health and wellness and supporting women in business, education, and children’s literature.