WoW Women in FemTech | Rebecca Sternberg, Vered Italiano and Varda Messer, co-founders of Aquafit

Rebecca Sternberg is a strategic designer, with over 20 years of media, technology, and architecture experience. BA Harvard, MA Rice.

Vered Italiano is an applied chemist and industry leader in advanced materials including hydrogels and 3D printing. BA Shenkar, MA Hebrew University. 

Varda Messer is a graphic designer with over 30 years of experience in international operations and design management. BDes Pratt. 

Ladies, can you tell us about Aquafit and how you came up with and created your product?

We founded Aquafit Intimate in 2017 to develop a better approach to sexual wellness for women. Our Intimate Gel Stick brings together vaginal muscle training, with pH balance and the delivery of beneficial natural extracts such as hyaluronic acid, vitamin b, vitamin c, aloe vera, lactic acid, and more, to deep vaginal tissue. We were driven by design usability which for us meant all-natural ingredients, pain-free ease of use, and addressing the unique needs of the vaginal environment.

How did you connect and form your team?

Varda Messer and Rebecca met to complete a Triathlon in a threesome. Varda did the biking, Rebecca did the running and we got to talking after the finish line. We have since become close friends and co-founders. We then fortuitously found Vered who is an industry-leading applied chemist, who had some freedom because the company she worked for was bought. She is driving the core science and innovation behind it all. 

How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?

After radiotherapy for cervical cancer, Rebecca encountered a vaginal dilator and lubricants/gels for the first time - the experience was not workable. There had to be an alternative. Once we developed the Intimate Gel Stick (literally a gel in semi-solid stick form) we realized it’s a platform for sexual wellness. 

While few women talk about it, 40% of women report pain the last time they had sex. And sexual wellness is what takes us from menstruation through to menopause and beyond. 

When we started we did not realize the degree to which sexual wellness for women is underserved.

It took us two years to develop and regulate our first Intimate Gel Stick product. We also realized that education is a significant part of sexual wellness. Together with gynecologist Dr. Amy Kesselman, we developed a free self-care space that lets women self-assess, self-report, and get help with sexual wellness concerns. Its been a challenge to garner funding and we were taken aback that search engines and social media flag sexual wellness content and queries as pornography.

What are your biggest achievements to date?

We received two grants from the Israel Innovation Authority, and seed funding from the Case for Her. We were awarded the Proctor and Gamble Innovation Award in 2021. We have received two patents, have two commercial products sold directly to consumers. We released our conversational self-care space and have worked with over 500 women. Every woman who reports back to us that we saved her sex life, is a world of achievement on its own.

What has been your biggest obstacle? What are the challenges of being an entrepreneur in the niche you are in? 

Women don’t talk about vaginal/intimate wellness. Not with each other. Not with health and wellness teams.  Health and wellness teams take on average 15 visits to diagnose Vaginismus. Regulation is costly. Funding for female founders in femtech, in intimate wellness, in a B2C category, that is not digital health ... not a simple equation. 

What are your biggest achievements to date?

We have 2 patents and 2 commercially available products. We are most proud of the impactful conversations we are having with each of our users.

What are the projects you are currently working on?

At the moment we are focused on building out the sexual wellness self-care category (products and digital services) as a direct-to-consumer offering. 

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

Absolutely! Technology and innovation are creative fields, women represent half of the worlds’ talent and users.

What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?

Empowerment and advocacy of women through direct-to-consumer self-care products, home testing, digital tools that create awareness, knowledge, and access to women’s wellness and health.   

Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?

We are always happy to see women as entrepreneurs, regardless of the industry.

Cristina Ljungberg and Wendy Anderson @TheCasefor Her are inspirational investors. 

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

Just do it. But everything takes longer than expected so make sure you have hefty shoelaces. 

Website: https://www.aquafit-intimate.com/

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 and read her stories for Forbes here.