Today is a special bonus episode! I interview Katelyn Marini, Managing Director at the Bowdoin group. The Bowdoin Group is an executive search firm that specializes in leadership and strategic roles, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) services, and major hiring projects for a wide range of companies, from small firms building out their executive team to larger firms sourcing talent for rapid market expansion. The Bowdoin group knows women’s health is an emerging market that needs thought leaders at every level to support and accelerator our growth. I am so pleased to see Bowdoin stepping up to the plate as the go-to femtech executive search firm. They have partnered with FemTech Focus one our upcoming jobs fair on March 23rd! In fact, the first hour of the event will be an in-depth talk about the current jobs market in the United States and what skills one needs to land a job in femtech. Consider this bonus episode as a preview to this excellent talk. Please be sure to register for the jobs fair at femtechfocus.org Learn more about the Bowdoin Group at www.BowdoinGroup.com Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview Priya Oberoi, Founding general partner Goddess Gaia ventures. Priya is an entrepreneur, founder, and lawyer by training. She is also a cancer survivor passionate about investing in technology that improves women’s health. Goddess Gaia Ventures is a female-founded 100M Pound venture fund investing in pre-series A femtech startups in the United Kingdom. They align their investments with creating a sustainable and healthy planet and prioritize investing in underrepresented and female founders. If you would like your startup's fundraise to be considered by Goddess Gaia then go to www.ggventures.co.uk to submit information about your deal. Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview Dr. Harpreet Nagra, a behavioral scientist, clinical researcher, licensed psychologist, and equity expert. She serves as the VP of Behavior Science and Advanced Technologies at One Drop. One Drop is a digital health company harnessing the power of behavioral science, mobile computing, and data science to transform the lives of people with diabetes and other chronic conditions worldwide. In this interview, we speak about techquity. Techquity refers to digital health solutions being more equitable, accessible, and inclusive. I know many of you listeners know about the systemic biases in AI/ML algorithms used in healthcare that aren’t being addressed – in just one example, most of the data used to power AI are from studies done predominantly with male subjects. In another example, a 2019 study found that an algorithm assigned the same health risk scores to Black patients who were considerably sicker than white patients. As we continue to see digital health exploding, these companies are based their solutions on biased algorithms. Dr. Harpreet and I discussed how we must prioritize the creation and refinement of digital health tools to advance “techquity” and cultural humility. Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview Deborah Copaken, the author of "Ladyparts", a memoir. Deb is a New York Times bestselling author of several books, including Shutterbabe, The Red Book, and Between Here and April, among others. A contributing writer at The Atlantic, she was also a TV writer on Emily in Paris, a performer, and an Emmy Award–winning news producer and photojournalist. Her photographs have appeared in Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Oprah Magazine, and many more. We speak today about her seventh book entitled “Ladyparts, a memoir” where she describes her real-life journey through female health issues in a world prioritized for males and systems that are supposed to support the sick but often keep them down. Be sure to get your copy of her book at your local book store. Learn more about Deb at www.deborahcopaken.com. Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview Arielle Spiegel, the founder and CEO of CoFertility. Cofertility is a dynamic website where you can get all your fertility questions answered. CoFertility can’t make you get pregnant faster. But they can make the waiting less lonely and confusing. I love Arielle's story of how and why she founded CoFertility. She founded it in the middle of her own fertility struggles. She says she had a great doctor and a clinic but she still had questions. Sometimes these questions were too embarrassing to ask. Sometimes they felt stupid. Sometimes they happened in the middle of the night. She would look online and find some answers but they weren’t credible, out of touch, or completely overwhelming. So she started CoFertility to curate the expert answers to every fertility-related question all in one place. My personal favorite resource they have is a full database of funding resources to pay for fertility treatments. Check this out and more at www.cofertility.com Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview Morgan and Courtney King, the Cofounders of Orchyd. Orchyd is a period care company that provides inclusive and sustainable support to women and everyone who has a period by reshaping the way we look at menstrual care. They have a period tracking app with on-demand telemedicine and a Bluetooth enabled purse that holds your menstrual products and reminds you when to bring them along with you so you don't find yourself bleeding without being prepared. Essentially Orchyd provides a modern-day solution to old-world problems. Read more about the King sisters and Orchyd in the Show Notes. Check out their app, purse, and other offerings at www.orchyd.com Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview SJ Sacchetti the CEO of Cleo. Cleo’s mission is to transform the perception and experience of being a working family from a disadvantage to an edge in America’s workforce. Cleo is a family benefit offered to prospective and current parents through their employers. Cleo’s clients include major companies such as Pinterest, salesforce, PepsiCo, and Upwork. Cleo brings working families the support they need from family planning to parenting children up to age 12 with mental health support, career coaching, parenting advice, family health navigation, and more through one-on-one guidance with a coach, personalized content, and an intuitive app. In this episode, we not only speak about the need for employers to support working parents but also how the pandemic has disrupted what we think of as work/life balance. Platforms like Cleo are needed now more than ever not only to maintain business success but also to keep parents and children healthy and happy. Learn more at www.hicleo.com Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview Amy Beckley, PhD, founder and CEO of Proov. Proov is an at-home test and app to monitor hormone levels and predicts fertile windows and ovulation quality. Proov was invented by Dr. Amy Beckley after three years of infertility and seven miscarriages, Amy applied her own science expertise to uncover a luteal phase defect also known as a problem with ovulation quality. With help from her doctor and a simple supplement, Amy was able to get pregnant with her daughter. She is now on a mission to support other women trying to get pregnant. Proov’s Confirm PdG test strips were clinically validated and are registered with the FDA and received FDA clearance in March of 2020. Their tests are the first and only FDA-cleared PdG tests to confirm successful ovulation at home. Proov’s corresponding app tells you exactly when to test and provides a monthly ovulation score. Just upload a picture of the pee strip test to get numerical results in minutes about your hormone levels. I’ve truly enjoyed watching Proov grow as a company from idea to Series A funded with sales starting to go international. They have a lineup of strong intellectual property on their tests and some incredible investors supporting them. Get 20% off your order at www.proovtest.com with promo code "femtech". Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview, Mary Fenske, the founder and CEO of Posture Wings. The Posture Wings athletic bra supports the breasts, spine, and shoulders while allowing for freedom of movement. It's a sports bra that helps with posture support and keeps bones and joints in proper alignment so that muscles are used correctly. Posture Wings are engineered to leverage the skeleton and muscles to support breast tissue. The patented straps improve posture support while reducing bounce and pain. The combination of comfortable, effective breast support with posture positioning is a game changer! In this episode, I did a lot more listening than talking. Mary is so informed on the history of bras and the science of posture and breast tissue, it blew me away. I just wanted to keep listening to her recount the stories of how we got to where we are and what health problems women face today that may be due to our bras! Learn more at www.posturewings.com

Enjoy the episode!

Hi femfans, in today’s episode, I interview Juan Pablo Segura, president and co-founder of Babyscripts. Babyscripts is a virtual maternity care software solution. It enables physicians to virtually connect with expecting and new mothers between visits with a fully customizable, branded, HIPAA-compliant mobile app. Providers are able to educate, empower and engage with patients with daily content up through 1 year postpartum. The app offers a robust library of educational content in English and Spanish, weight tracking tools, and customizable assessments and surveys including remote blood pressure monitoring and monitoring the mental health of the mom. Babyscripts is helping fill in the maternal health gap using technology. Learn more at www.babyscripts.com Enjoy the episode!