Femtech At Work

Infertility affects 1 in 6 adults, but what if hundreds of IVF injections could be replaced by a non-invasive, connected drug delivery platform, designed by a daughter who became a “human pin cushion” and the father who spent 50+ years in non‑invasive drug delivery?

Today, we chatted with Ellen Gonda, co‑founder of GonGlobal, a pioneering Femtech startup on a mission to radically transform the IVF journey. After enduring cycle after cycle of injections and describing herself as a “human pin cushion,” Ellen turned to her father, a leading expert in non‑invasive drug delivery, and asked a simple but life‑changing question: “Is there a better way?

Tune in because she’ll take us behind the scenes of preclinical R&D, IP strategy, fundraising with doctors and pharmaceutical executives, and navigating the “Valley of Death” between preclinical work and commercialization.

If you’re interested in IVF, femtech, non‑invasive drug delivery, or the realities of building a mission‑driven women’s health company from the ground up, this conversation will give you both a deeply human story and a front‑row seat to a game‑changing innovation.

Key Takeaways:

• How Ellen’s personal IVF journey and “human pin cushion” experience sparked the idea for a non‑invasive alternative to hundreds of injections
• Why infertility isn’t just a woman’s issue and how male‑factor infertility contributes to around half of all cases
• Learn how GonGlobal’s connected, non‑invasive drug delivery platform could transform the IVF patient experience and improve treatment outcomes
• Understand why Australia—especially Victoria—has become a powerhouse hub for women’s health, IVF innovation, and early clinical research
• Find out how Ellen leveraged accelerators and pre‑accelerators to transition from corporate communications into a biotech founder role
• Learn how IP strategy, licensing, and preclinical R&D shape the future of a femtech startup like GonGlobal
• Understand why doctors, pharma executives, and IVF patients themselves are backing this innovation with capital and conviction
• Find out what stigma and silence still surround infertility and how Ellen’s candour is changing the conversation

Resources:

Ellen Gonda: LinkedIn

GonGlobal: LinkedIn

GonGlobal: https://gonglobal.com/

Maaike Steinebach LinkedIn

Website Femtech Future: https://www.femtechfuture.com

Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

This conversation is more than a founder story—it’s a glimpse into a future where IVF is less painful, more personalised, and truly centred on the patient. Ellen Gonda and Gon Global are showing what’s possible when lived experience, world‑class science, and a relentless mission to serve women come together.

If this episode moved you, be part of the movement: share it with someone on a fertility journey, like it, and leave a review so we can keep amplifying the voices of the builders changing women’s health. And see you next week for another episode of Femcheck at Work, where we spotlight the founders reshaping the future of care.

Abortion is legal across Australia, so why are so many women still turned away, forced to travel hours, or pay hundreds of dollars for essential care? In this episode, a registered nurse and co-founder of Aunty Jane, Alison Lima, pulls back the curtain on Australia’s abortion system, the quiet gatekeeping happening behind clinic doors, and the tele-abortion model rewriting what compassionate, accessible abortion care can look like.

Care should never be one-size-fits-all. Whether it’s using AI to bridge language gaps or leveraging abortion funds to ensure no one is left behind, we’re exploring how to center the human experience in reproductive health. At the end of the day, Aunty Jane exists to fill a gap and our greatest dream is to one day see that gap closed for good.

Let’s dive in!

Key Takeaways:

• Why even after decriminalisation, Australian women still face so many legal, geographic, and systemic barriers to abortion care
• How a rural emergency nurse became the co-founder of Australia’s first nurse practitioner–led tele-abortion service and why this business was born from urgent need, not ambition
• How Aunty Jane’s no-scan protocol safely removes mandatory ultrasounds and in what ways has ultrasound historically been used to gatekeep abortion care
• Why only a small percentage of GPs and pharmacies in Australia provide medical abortion and what that means for cost, access, and equity
• How tele-abortion works step-by-step at Aunty Jane from first consult to 24/7 nursing support and a 14-day follow-up focused on both clinical and emotional care
• How abortion, fertility, periods, and menopause are deeply interconnected and why siloing abortion outside women’s health conversations reinforces stigma and shame
• How clinicians in abortion care protect their emotional and physical safety while still using storytelling and social media to de-stigmatise abortion as routine healthcare
• How AI triage tools and translation could transform support for people having abortions without replacing the human care that matters most

Resources:

Alison Lima: LinkedIn

Aunty Jane Health: LinkedIn

Aunty Jane Health: https://www.auntyjanehealth.com/

Maaike Steinebach LinkedIn

Website Femtech Future: https://www.femtechfuture.com

Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

Your body, your story, your choice. You deserve more than gatekeeping and whispers. If Alison’s story changed how you view abortion care in Australia, don't let the conversation end when the audio stops.

Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it. Start a dialogue in your own circle. Help us move abortion care out of the shadows and into the heart of healthcare exactly where it belongs. This isn't just a podcast; it’s a call to treat reproductive care as the routine, compassionate service it is. We stand with the women and clinicians who refuse to wait for permission to do what is right.

Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time!

For years, women were told, “It’s just pain.” What happens when that pain is turned into hard data that doctors can’t ignore?

In this episode of FemTech at Work, we have Samantha (Sam) Costa, nurse practitioner, midwife and founder of Charlie Health, a clinically designed women’s health platform built in Australia for women across the reproductive lifespan. Sam shares how years of working in fertility and women’s health clinics, from tertiary hospitals to remote Indigenous communities in Cape York, exposed the huge gap between what period and fertility apps promise and what women actually experience. That frustration and award‑winning research into cycle‑tracking apps sparked the idea for Charli Health- a hybrid model that combines a powerful cycle and symptom tracker with access to real clinicians via a virtual clinic.

For listeners, this episode is an invitation to know your body better, track your health before there’s a problem, and be part of closing the gender health and pain gaps one data point and one conversation at a time.

Key Takeaways:

• Find out how a nurse practitioner’s frustration with popular period apps led to the creation of a clinically designed women’s health platform
• Discover why turning “it’s just some pain” into longitudinal data can change how seriously GPs take women’s symptoms
• Learn how Charli Health’s hybrid model (app + virtual clinic) is redefining access to women’s health care across rural, remote and metro Australia
• Understand how ring‑fenced, women‑specific AI and local clinical guidelines make Charli Health different from generic tools like ChatGPT
• Discover why well-women, not just those with diagnoses, should be tracking their cycles, pain and hormones from their teens onwards
• Find out how data from Charli Health could help with earlier recognition of conditions like endometriosis without relying solely on invasive surgery
• Understand how Charli Health is working to be culturally safe and relevant for First Nations women and diverse language and education backgrounds
• Discover what most founders get wrong when they start with tech instead of a real clinical problem and how Sam avoided that trap

Resources:

Samantha Costa: LinkedIn

Charli Health: LinkedIn

Charli Health: https://charli.health/

Maaike Steinebach LinkedIn

Website Femtech Future: https://www.femtechfuture.com

Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

Your body has been talking to you for years. Are you finally ready to listen? Press play now to hear how Charli Health is transforming women’s pain, periods and fertility journeys into powerful data, real diagnoses and life‑changing care and to discover what’s possible when women refuse to be dismissed.

If this episode moved you, be part of the movement: share it with a friend who needs to hear it, hit like, and leave a review so more women can find these stories. See you next week for another episode of FemTech at Work, where we spotlight the founders and innovators reshaping women’s health.

In this episode, we’re joined by Amelia Godfrey, the pelvic health physio and founder of Pelvy, who’s rewriting the rules of care. Too often, issues like leaking, pain, and postpartum recovery are dismissed or hidden in shame, but Amelia is changing that narrative.

We dive into how Pelvy uses thoughtful tech to bridge the gap between evidence-based education and real-world results. From breaking "poo taboos" to simplifying rehab, this conversation is an invitation to rethink what’s possible when clinical advocacy meets innovation.

Key Takeaways:

• Discover how a pelvic health physio became a global FemTech founder, and what gap in care Amelia sees that made Pelvy non‑negotiable to build
• Learn why pelvic health physio is considered first‑line treatment and how it can transform outcomes for leaking, prolapse, pain, and constipation before surgery is even on the table
• Find out why up to 30% of pelvic health appointments get cancelled and what this reveals about shame, overwhelm, and the “too hard basket” in intimate health care
• Understand how Pelvy turns forgotten advice into daily action and what the in‑session clinician workflow actually looks like for patients inside the app
• Discover how personalised cues, timing, and breathwork matter and how a single well-chosen cue can change the way someone uses their pelvic floor
• Learn why cultural background and family norms shape pelvic health and what surprising practices from Eastern traditions actually align with modern evidence
• Find out how Pelvy supports men’s pelvic health too, and why men often suffer in silence, and how the app is designed to include them
• Understand the sacrifices behind a bootstrapped FemTech startup and what Amelia gives up—financially, personally, geographically to keep Pelvy alive
• Discover how clinician feedback reshapes the product in real time and how a simple “template” feature radically increased usage and impact
• Learn what myths about “normal” pelvic function Amelia wants retired and how challenging those beliefs could change someone’s quality of life today

Resources:

Amelia Godfrey: LinkedIn

Pelvy: LinkedIn

Pelvy: https://pelvy.app/

Maaike Steinebach LinkedIn

Website Femtech Future: https://www.femtechfuture.com

Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

Your pelvic health doesn’t have to be an afterthought, a taboo, or a lifetime of “this is just how it is.” It’s the silent foundation of how we move, love, parent, age, and show up in the world. If this resonated with you, be part of the movement, share this episode with someone who needs it, like and review the show so more listeners can find these stories, and join us again next week for another powerful conversation on FemTech at Work.

What happens when an elite runner is praised for losing her period in the name of performance until it nearly breaks her body, and forces her to truly listen to it?

In this episode, elite runner, coach, and Femmi co-founder Lydia O’Donnell joins us for a raw and honest conversation about disordered eating, hormone health, and how training with her menstrual cycle helped her rebuild performance, health and confidence from the ground up.

If you care about women’s health, sport, or creating solutions that are genuinely built for women, this is an episode that will stay with you long after it ends.

Key Takeaways:

• Find out how losing her period and being told it was a “good thing” pushed Lydia to completely rethink her body, her health and her running
• Learn why most coaching and sports science still default to male bodies and what that actually does to girls and women in sport
• Understand how FEMI went from one-to-one coaching on five messy platforms to a single app that connects training, cycle tracking, learning and community
• Find out what questions FEMI asks on onboarding (from goals to PBs to cycle info) to make training feel like having your own coach in your pocket.
• Discover what it’s really like pitching to 100+ investors as female founders building only for women, and why the 2% funding stat hits so hard
• earn how FEMI’s Friday women-only run communities and new in-app groups help women find their tribe, whether they’re in Auckland, London or Hong Kong
• Understand Lydia’s vision for using AI, wearables and hormone data to build truly hyper-personalised training
• Find out how reframing “bad” training days as normal hormonal shifts can stop women from blaming their bodies and start trusting them
• Discover Lydia’s one big piece of advice for founders in women’s health who feel scared to start but know the system wasn’t built for them

Resources:

Lydia O’Donnell: LinkedIn

Femmi: LinkedIn

Femmi: https://www.femmi.co/

Maaike Steinebach LinkedIn

Website Femtech Future: https://www.femtechfuture.com

Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

Hit play on this episode and walk alongside Lydia as she turns “just push harder” into “listen to your body” and shows what happens when running, hormones and women’s health finally line up. If you’ve ever thought sport wasn’t really built for you, this conversation might just change the way you move and how you see yourself.

This isn’t just a story about an app; it’s about women refusing to shrink themselves to fit into systems that were never built for them and building new ones instead. You can be part of it.

If this episode moved you, be part of the movement, share it with a friend, hit like, and leave a quick review so more people can find these stories.

See you next week on FemTech at Work for another honest conversation with a founder changing the future of women’s health!

When a man launches a women’s mental health fundraiser and accidentally builds Australia’s leading organisation for women’s mental health, something in the system is clearly broken and ready for change. This episode is a front-row seat to that transformation.

In this episode of Femtech at Work, we sit down with Luke Morris, founder and CEO of Women’s Mental Health Australia (formerly the Liptember Foundation), to unpack how a quirky fundraising idea turned into a national movement reshaping women’s mental health across the lifespan.

You’ll hear how mental health systems were historically built on male data, and how Women’s Mental Health Australia is closing the gap by connecting women’s physical and mental health—from PMDD and PCOS to perinatal mental health and menopause.

If you care about women’s health, gender equity, or simply want to understand how one idea can shift a national conversation, this episode will challenge, inspire, and move you to action.

Key Takeaways:

• Find out how a casual fundraising idea based on lipstick evolved into Australia’s leading women’s mental health organisation
• Discover why a male founder chose women’s mental health as his life’s work and what this says about true male allyship
• How mental health systems built on male physiology and data have failed women in both research and clinical practice
• Understand how conditions like PMDD and PCOS dramatically increase women’s mental health burden and why they’re so often overlooked
• Discover how gender-disaggregated data is rewriting the story of women’s mental health in Australia
• Find out how a long-term partnership with Chemist Warehouse became the catalyst that took Liptember from a small fundraiser to a national force
• Learn how Women’s Mental Health Australia uses annual research to decide where every donated dollar can have the most impact
• Understand why geography, city vs regional and remote, still shapes access to quality mental health care for women
• Discover how new programs like the Working Mothers initiative aim to support women navigating the return to work after childbirth

Resources:

Luke Morris: LinkedIn

Women’s Mental Health Australia: LinkedIn

Women’s Mental Health Australia: https://www.womensmentalhealthaustralia.org.au/

Maaike Steinebach LinkedIn

Website Femtech Future: https://www.femtechfuture.com

Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

This episode with Luke Morris is more than a story about a charity. It's a blueprint for how courage, data, and relentless advocacy can reshape an entire system for women.

If this conversation opened your eyes to how deeply the system has failed women, don’t let it stop at awareness. Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it, and become part of the movement that’s rewriting the story of women’s mental health. Let's keep amplifying voices that move women’s health forward.

Thank you, and see you next week for another powerful episode of Femtech at Work.

What happens when a registered nurse and public health practitioner discovers that the menstrual products she relies on are filled with undisclosed chemicals—and decides to redesign period care from the ground up?

Today at FemTech at Work, we have Helena U, founder of Inoya, to unpack her unexpected journey from clinical practice and public health into the world of femtech and sustainable period care.

If you care about women’s health, ethical products, sustainable periods, or you’re a clinician or founder sitting on a big idea, this episode will challenge how you think about “normal” period care and what it takes to build a company that truly aligns with your values.

Key Takeaways:

• Find out how a research session on hidden chemicals in pads pushed Helena from frustrated consumer to Femtech founder
• Learn what really goes into many conventional menstrual products and why ingredient transparency and regulation are still so “loose” in Australia
• Discover why Helena abandoned the idea of single-use organic pads and pivoted to reusable products after listening closely to early customer feedback
• Learn how being a nurse and public health practitioner influences Helena’s refusal to use fear-based marketing, even when agencies push for it
• Find out what makes the Inoya Cup’s patented bell shape and handle a more beginner-friendly and how small design changes reduce bladder pressure and discomfort
• Discover how Helena navigates tough trade-offs between safety, sustainability, and profitability without compromising her mission or her customers’ health
• Understand why accelerator programs like UQ Ventures were a turning point for Helena’s confidence, funding, and community as a solo founder
• Learn what policy changes like mandatory ingredient disclosure and stronger safety standards, Helena believes would radically improve menstrual health outcomes
• Discover Helena’s advice for clinicians and aspiring women’s health founders who are afraid to start, and why feeling uncomfortable may be a sign you’re growing

Resources:

Helena U: LinkedIn

Inoya: LinkedIn

Inoya: https://myinoya.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myinoya/

Maaike Steinebach LinkedIn

Website Femtech Future: https://www.femtechfuture.com

Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

Ready to rethink everything you thought you knew about your period products? Hit play and step into Helena’s world, where science, empathy and design collide to create safer, gentler and more sustainable menstrual care.

If this story moved you, share this episode with someone who needs to hear it, hit like, leave a review so more listeners can discover these voices, and join us again next week for another powerful conversation on FemTech at Work.

What if women didn’t have to beg for capital, but could build, fund and scale their ideas on their own terms from anywhere in the world?

In this episode of FemTech at Work, we have Irene Tsang, founder and CEO of Lift Women Group, Australia’s first women-focused crowdfunding and funding ecosystem. From growing up in China and Hong Kong to starting over in Melbourne as a single mother of two, Irene shares the deeply personal journey and purpose that led her to tackle the $1.5 trillion global gender finance gap.

If you care about female founders, FemTech, women’s health, gender-lens investing, and new models of funding, this episode will inspire you to rethink what’s possible when we lift women together!

Key Takeaways:

• Find out how Irene’s journey as a migrant single mother led her to build Lift Women and dedicate her life to closing the gender finance gap.
• Discover why less than 2.3% of venture capital goes to women-led startups and how reward-based crowdfunding can flip the script.
• Learn how Lift Women’s RISE model (reward crowdfunding, partnerships, community, education) creates an end-to-end funding and support ecosystem for female founders.
• Understand how early crowdfunding traction helped FemTech startup OVUM AI go from idea to MVP to raising a $1.7M seed round.
• Find out why men are a crucial part of the Lift Women story and how male allies actively support female founders on the platform.
• Discover real FemTech examples from HPV-detecting period pads to biodegradable menstrual products and brain–hormone monitoring that are changing women’s health globally.
• Learn how even small contributions and micro-backing can meaningfully change the trajectory of women-owned businesses worldwide.
• Understand why confidence, impostor syndrome, and lack of networks often hold women back more than the absence of capital itself.
• Discover how Lift Women’s new AI co-pilot helps women structure campaigns and businesses in minutes, and when it actually makes sense to use AI in a startup.
• Learn how Irene defines success over the next 5–10 years not just in terms of Lift Women’s growth, but in the collective wins of the founders they support.

Resources:

Irene Tsang: LinkedIn

LiftWomen: LinkedIn

LiftWomen: https://project.liftwomen.com/

Maaike Steinebach : LinkedIn

Website Femtech Future https://www.femtechfuture.com

Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

Ready to help rewrite the rules of who gets funded? Hit play now to hear how Irene Tsang and Lift Women are transforming the way female founders access capital, confidence and community and discover the simple steps you can take today to power the next generation of women-led innovation.

If this episode moved you, be part of the movement: share it with a friend who needs to hear it, hit like, leave a review so more listeners can discover these stories, and make your voice count in lifting women everywhere. See you next week for another episode of FemTech at Work.

Imagine a world where period pain doesn’t derail your workday, your workout, or your weekend plans—just because smart, playful, science-backed products are finally within reach.

In this episode, we have the Sydney-based founder Annelise Grosman of Kooze Wellness, the cheeky Gen Z brand behind heart-shaped heat patches designed to make menstrual cycles “suck a little less.”

Annelise shares how a personal struggle with period pain, and a desire to avoid constant painkillers, led her to create on-the-go heat therapy patches for menstrual cramps, ovulation pain and chronic conditions like endometriosis.

If you’re curious about FemTech, endometriosis, women’s pain relief, or launching a product-based business from scratch, this conversation is packed with insight, honesty, and inspiration!

Key Takeaways:

• Learn how Annelise turned a simple idea for heat relief into a real FemTech brand without any prior product development experience
• Find out what you can take from her decision to prioritise heat therapy over traditional pain medications for menstrual pain relief
• Discover how Kooze’s heart-shaped period patches actually work and what makes on-the-go heat therapy so effective for cramps and chronic pain
• Find out what surprising insights emerged when endometriosis and chronic illness communities started using her patches
• Discover how she is navigating strict Australian healthcare regulations and retail barriers while keeping Kooze fun, accessible, and affordable
• Learn in what ways building an e‑commerce brand plus a B2B workplace wellbeing channel has reshaped her original vision for Kooze Wellness
• Understand what mindset shifts aspiring founders can apply from Annelise’s advice to “not doubt what you don’t know” and just start
• Discover how Kooze uses authentic, story-led social content to help women feel seen, heard, and supported in their menstrual and chronic pain journeys

Resources:

Annelise Grosman: LinkedIn

Kooze Wellness: LinkedIn

Kooze Wellness: Instagram

Kooze Wellness: Tiktok

Kooze Wellness: https://www.lovekooze.com.au/

Maaike Steinebach: LinkedIn

Website Femtech Future https://www.femtechfuture.com

Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

Step into a future where your period doesn’t call the shots. Hit play now to discover how KOOZ Wellness is turning lived experience, science-backed heat therapy, and bold FemTech storytelling into real relief for menstrual and chronic pain, one heart-shaped patch at a time.

Be one of us! Share this episode with someone who needs it, like it, leave a review so more listeners can discover these stories, and subscribe so you don’t miss out. See you next week for another episode of FemTech at Work, where we spotlight the founders reshaping the future of women’s health.

What if treating “just a bit of leakage” early could keep you out of aged care, off pads for life, and back to running, jumping and living freely?

In this powerful conversation, we have Chelsea Cornelius, mechanical-turned-biomedical engineer and CEO of Stratos MedTech, the company behind PeriCoach—a clinically-backed pelvic floor training system designed to treat urinary incontinence and mild to moderate pelvic organ prolapse.

You’ll hear how PeriCoach was developed in deep collaboration with clinicians, using vaginal sensors, biofeedback and an app to help women finally see and feel whether they’re doing their Kegels correctly.

This episode is a must-listen if you care about pelvic health, FemTech, medical devices or simply want to understand how one founder turned an overlooked, stigmatized issue into a global, tech-enabled solution for women.

Key Takeaways:

• Learn how Chelsea went from race-car-obsessed mechanical engineer to biomedical innovator tackling women’s incontinence
• Discover what your pelvic floor actually is, how it functions, and why pregnancy, sport, chronic cough and aging can quietly undermine its strength
• Understand why up to half of women perform Kegels incorrectly and how biofeedback helps you see in real time whether you’re truly activating the right muscles
• Find out how PeriCoach’s insertable probe, sensors and app work together to guide at-home pelvic floor training and support remote monitoring by clinicians
• Learn how stigma, shame and silence around incontinence shape women’s care-seeking behaviour and what’s starting to shift that narrative.
• Discover the surprising differences between launching a FemTech device in Australia versus the US and why the US has been more receptive to commercial innovation
• Understand how Pericoach is working with systems like Veterans Affairs, private insurers and future reimbursement pathways to scale access for women
• Find out what hard-won advice Chelsea has for today’s FemTech founders about minimum viable products, regulation, fundraising and not over-perfecting before launch

Resources:

Chelsea Cornelius: LinkedIn

PeriCoach: LinkedIn

PeriCoach: https://www.pericoach.com/

Maaike Steinebach : LinkedIn

Website Femtech Future https://www.femtechfuture.com

Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

Ready to move pelvic health out of the shadows and into the spotlight? Hit play now to discover how PeriCoach is helping women swap pads for power, shame for science, and quiet suffering for confident, leak-free lives.

This episode pulls back the curtain on a silent epidemic affecting millions of women and spotlights the FemTech innovation daring to change that story. From hidden pelvic floor muscles to breakthrough biofeedback, Chelsea Cornelius shows what’s possible when engineering meets empathy.

If this conversation opened your eyes, don’t keep it to yourself; be part of the movement to normalize women’s health. Share this episode with a friend, like it, and leave a review so more listeners can find these stories. And see you next week for another powerful episode of FemTech at Work.