Mind the Gap: Women’s Health

Marie Morice spent 25 years working on climate change, sustainability and gender strategy at the UN, WWF, Barclays and Accenture. After her divorce, and the process of reclaiming her own sexuality that came with it, she retrained as a clinical sexologist. She is now the founder of the Pleasure Atelier, which runs workshops in Paris, London and online on the history of female pleasure, anatomy and sexual communication.

In this episode, Camille and Marie discuss:

• Why so many women still can't name their own anatomy, and why the clitoris has only recently started appearing in school curricula
• The taboo around sex, and how sex educators get shadowbanned on social media
• How Marie handles trauma in her workshops, and why the starting point is permission to experience pleasure
• Research linking sexual satisfaction to health, including orgasm and menopausal symptoms
• The stigma around sex after menopause, and why for many women it can get better
• Why younger generations report having less partnered sex
• Porn literacy for adults, ethical porn, and protecting children from early exposure
• Why Marie wants a satisfying sex life treated as a health indicator, not a lifestyle extra

Mentioned in this episode

• Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
• Want by Gillian Anderson
• The Kinsey Institute
• Natsal (UK National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles)
• Pour le Plaisir (film)

Follow Marie:

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-morice-msc-csc-40a885a/
• The Pleasure Atelier Website: https://www.thepleasureatelier.co.uk/

Dr. Lara Zibners spent two decades as an emergency pediatrician before, in her words, accidentally co-founding a women's health startup. Trained in the US and based in the UK for 20 years, she went back to school at 50 for an MBA and is now co-founder of Calla Lily Clinical Care, a British B Corp building a leak-free vaginal drug delivery platform. The idea grew out of her own experience of seven rounds of IVF and months of painful progesterone injections.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The real difference between "wellness" and "medical," and why some founders choose the wellness label to avoid regulation and reach revenue faster
• Why the traditional VC model clashes with the slow, evidence-heavy path of women's health innovation, and who is filling the gap
• Why continuous hormone monitoring can't yet tell your doctor anything useful, why it isn't the same as continuous glucose monitoring, and what would need to exist first
• What it takes to build a women's health company, from getting "punched in the face 99 days in a row" to choosing the right co-founder
• Whether women's health companies should be led only by women, and why Lara thinks the answer is "everybody pull up a chair"
• Why the next phase of women's health has to come back to science and evidence

Lara's message to women, founders, and investors is to look past the hype and ask for what changes outcomes.

The conversation explores the significant challenges faced by founders in women's health and sexual wellbeing, particularly regarding financial barriers and misconceptions that lead to misclassifications in the industry. It highlights the systemic issues that entrepreneurs encounter when trying to secure banking services and payment processing, often due to the stigmatisation of products related to women's health.

Investment & Innovation: Building the FemTech Pipeline with Malin Frithiofsson, CEO of Daya Ventures

Only 2% of venture capital goes to all-female founding teams. In this episode, Malin Frithiofsson, CEO of Daya Ventures, breaks down how a venture studio model is closing that gap, building FemTech startups from the ground up, de-risking innovation, and putting ownership back in women's hands.

We cover: the funding gap behind the research gap, why "FemTech" needs a real definition, autoimmune disease and occupational health as the next frontiers, and what it actually takes to pitch women's health to investors who only speak the language of returns.

In this episode, Simone Sabbione, CEO and co-founder of MelioDays, discusses her journey in women's health, the challenges faced in developing solutions for menstrual pain, and the systemic issues surrounding funding and innovation in this space. She shares insights on the importance of resilience in the startup world, the need for more women in leadership roles, and the future of women's health. Simone emphasises the significance of small actions in driving change and encourages aspiring female founders to believe in themselves and their ideas.

Vasanta Pundarika is the CEO and founder of Lotuspring, a healthcare advisory firm helping visionary leaders in women's health and behavioural health build sustainable growth strategies. With 20 years of experience as a healthcare investment banker, she has advised on transactions ranging from early-stage startups to multi-billion dollar companies.

Vasanta breaks down why heart disease, not breast cancer, is the number one killer of women, and why so few people know it. She unpacks the real mechanics of fundraising in women's health: what investors actually look for, why founders are exhausted from explaining their sector before they even get to their pitch, and what it truly takes to build a women's health company that lasts.

Clear-eyed, financially fluent, and deeply grounded in clinical reality this one is essential listening whether you are a founder, an investor, or simply trying to understand why this space is still struggling to scale.

In this conversation, Michaela, CEO of FemInvest, shares her journey in establishing a venture capital fund focused on investing in women-led businesses. She discusses the challenges women face in entrepreneurship, particularly in securing funding and the importance of financial and health literacy. Michaela also highlights her personal health challenges and the systemic issues surrounding women's health. The discussion emphasises the need for collaboration between governments and venture capitalists to improve outcomes for women, as well as the cultural barriers that persist in the investment landscape. Ultimately, Michaela advocates for empowering women to take control of their health and financial futures.

In this conversation, Dr. Mitzi Krockover discusses her extensive career in women's health, highlighting the importance of innovation, investment, and advocacy in improving healthcare for women. She emphasizes the need for a comprehensive understanding of women's health issues, the barriers faced, and the role of intersectionality in addressing disparities. Dr. Krockover also shares insights from her podcast, the significance of philanthropy, and the impact of political decisions on women's health. The discussion concludes with a call to action for individuals to advocate for themselves and others in the realm of women's health.

In this conversation, Liz Powell discusses the critical role of policy in women's health, the impact of Roe v. Wade, and the challenges faced by healthcare providers. She speaks of the importance of advocacy, education, and community involvement in addressing disparities in women's health access. Liz also highlights the need for better representation in clinical trials and the potential for innovation in women's health. The discussion concludes with a call to action for voters to engage in women's health issues and the importance of bipartisan support for effective policy changes.

In this conversation, Katie Schubert, president and CEO of the Society for Women's Health Research, discusses the historical exclusion of women from clinical trials, the current state of women's health research, and the importance of advocacy and policy change. She highlights the challenges women face in healthcare, including data gaps and the need for intersectional approaches. Schubert emphasises the role of employers and technology in supporting women's health and calls for community engagement to drive positive change.

I’d like to thank Clark at Pine Forest Media for his incredible support throughout the production process, Studio Indice for their brilliant work on the visual identity, and Lechani for the beautiful music.

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