Flo Health | Femtech | A Broken System
Welcome to the Forty-First edition of Unstoppable Female Founders!
#Unstoppable Female Founder
Ida Tin is a woman whose vision and determination have sparked a revolution in women's health technology. She is the co-founder and former CEO of Clue, the world's most trusted female health app, as well as the brilliant mind that coined the term "FemTech."
Ida's path to becoming a tech founder is as inspiring as it is unconventional. Originally set on studying art, she found herself accidentally enrolled in a business course after stumbling into the wrong office at university. A fateful redirection that would eventually lead her to create an industry projected to be worth over $1 trillion by 2027. However, before diving into tech, Ida led motorcycle tours around the world for five years with MotoMundo, the company she co-founded with her father.
Despite growing up in an open-minded environment, Ida soon recognized a major health gap affecting women across various stages of their lives. Conversations about menstruation, menopause and pregnancy were often absent due the taboo nature of the topics. Ida couldn’t understand why given that all human life starts with a woman's body and the reproductive process, so why was it not more widely spoken about or researched?
With the advent of the iPhone and consumer sensor technologies like Fitbit, Ida saw a unique opportunity. In the summer of 2013, Clue was launched globally as the world’s first science-based, gender-neutral and easy-to-use menstrual tracking app. Clue quickly earned accolades, including being rated the top menstrual cycle tracking app by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
While building Clue, Ida realized the lack of community around women's health services and products, thus in turn, coining the term "FemTech" in 2016. The term not only united a growing industry but also provided investors with a clear and understandable category to invest within. It bridged the gap, particularly for male investors, and created a cohesive identity for technologies addressing fertility, period-tracking, pregnancy, menopause, and more.
One of the core values that sets Clue apart from other apps is its staunch commitment to data privacy. Unlike many competitors, Clue does not monetize its users' data. This ethical stance has cemented its reputation as a trusted resource for women globally. Clue collaborates with users and scientists to conduct research that enhances our understanding of the female body and health, without compromising user trust.
The rise of FemTech, fueled by Ida's vision, represents a significant shift in the emphasis on women's health. By challenging taboos and bringing critical health issues to light, Ida and Clue have paved the way for greater investment and innovation in this space. The projected market size of $1 trillion by 2027 highlights the vast potential of building a world with women in mind.
FemTech is not just about practical health advantages; it’s about challenging gender inequality and empowering women with knowledge and tools to take control of their health. Ida’s work exemplifies how technology and cultural innovation can drive societal change.
Ida Tin's journey is a testament to the power of vision and perseverance. As a published author and an active voice in the FemTech space, she continues to advocate for ethical data use, gender equality and the potential of AI in advancing women's health.
Ida has a new book coming out titled FemTech which outlines her journey founding a $1 Trillion dollar industry. Sign up for the pre-release: https://femtechbook.com/
The Rant
Flo Health | Femtech | A broken System
YES! Yes, it does!
If you’ve logged into LinkedIn within the last 72 hours, you’ve likely seen the uproar over Femtech platform Flo Health landing a $200 million Series C, boosting their valuation to unicorn status.
At first glance, this seems like thrilling news, a femtech platform focused on women’s health achieving unicorn status. However, there are layers to this story that deserve a closer look.
However, there is a downside – Flo Health, a platform dedicated to women’s health, was founded by men, is led by men, and primarily invested in by men.
On one hand, I do agree that seeing $200 million invested in women’s health is promising. It signals growing interest and investment in a sector that has been historically underfunded. It raises awareness, fosters conversation, and brings attention to issues that have long been considered taboo. In fact, less than 4% of funding goes into R&D for women’s health. We know that until recently, most health information and data about women’s bodies were based on research conducted on men.
However, it’s also disheartening that the first femtech unicorn in Europe is male-founded, primarily due to a significant investment from General Atlantic. This investment alone is larger than all the funding raised across the femtech sector in Europe in 2023. It’s a stark reminder of the persistent challenges female founders face when raising capital for their businesses.
VCs often advise that they seek founders who have “experienced the problem they’re trying to solve.” Yet, in this scenario, the founders of Flo Health, who have never personally experienced the issues they aim to address, received substantial funding to try and figure it out. This feels like a double blow to all the female founders in femtech who have struggled to secure similar support, let alone funding.
What bothers me most is the narrative surrounding Flo Health’s founders. They claimed to have seen a “gap in the market”—essentially, they identified an opportunity to capitalize on women’s health for profit. This contrasts sharply with founders like Ida Tin (profiled above), who launched Clue to genuinely assist women with their fertility and reproductive health issues.
While it’s encouraging to see investment in women’s health, it’s crucial to recognize and address the underlying inequities female founders face every day. Taking inspiration from a post by Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen about this topic, here are just a few of the injustices: :
Female founded companies receive less than 2% of capital investment out of the $580 BIllion deployed in 2022.
During the pitch process, 66% of questions posed to women were prevention oriented whereas 67% of questions posed to men were promotion questions according to research conducted by Prof. Dana Kanze at the London Business School.
Women are held to a higher standard and judged more harshly than men.
Investors prefer pitches presented by men. A Harvard study found that when investors were presented with two identical pitches, 68% funded the startup when presented by a male voice and 31% funded the exact same startup when presented by a female voice.
And yet, the data shows, when women do receive investment, they return double that of their male counterparts. This combined with research highlighting that women are driven by intrinsic motivators, to not just generate profits with their ventures, but to contribute to the greater good of society. Further cementing how broken the system is!
Hype Corner
The amazing female founders who have raised capital with their teams over the past week. HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO THESE AMAZING WOMEN:
🇩🇰 Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen, Emma Due Bitz & Camilla Cloëtta Falkenberg Co-founders of Female Invest
🇫🇷 Ilke Ugur Marion Co-founder & Managing Director of Meddenovo Drug Design
🇫🇮 Rasheda Hamza Co-founder of Oinride
🇪🇸 Judit Giró Benet & Lidia Navarro Farré, PhD Co-founders of The Blue Box
🇬🇧 Georgia Aubrey Co-founder & Partnerships Director of LovevToVisit
🇬🇧 Alexandra Birch Co-founder & Chief Scientist at Aveni
🇬🇧 Dr. Chiraz Ennaceur Co-founder & CEO of CorrosionRADAR
Congrats again to all of these founders.
Events for Female Founders
🇩🇪 {Hamburg} AiDiA Founder Pitch event will focus on elevating black founders as part of the wider conference happening on the 7th of Sept. 2024.
🇬🇧 {London} Sifted Summit is back on the 2nd & 3rd of October. Join 3000+ European Founders, Investors and Operators
🇫🇷 {Paris} WVC:E is back on October 7th & 8th in Paris. This conference is dedicated to female founders with previous speakers including Eileen Burbridge of Passion Capital and Sarah Drinkwater, General Partner of Common Magic.
🇸🇪 {Malmö} Nordic Fe:male Invest Summit by Minc will be held again this year on the 6th of November in Malmö is THE tech event driving diversity within the startup eco system. Tickets on sale now, Early Bird rates expire on 30th of June!
Do you know of any events or programs aimed at supporting female founders? Send them over to be featured!
UFF NEWS ALERT
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Thanks again for taking the time to read this week’s newsletter!
Have a wonderful weekend! ☀️
JH