HappySneeze

What is "the vulva"? Yes, at HappySneeze, we are asked this question quite a bit. When we were asked the first time, I was WHAT?!?!? A vulva is a vulva, not a "hoo ha" (see image, it's a real email), or a "down there". But as we were replying to the question, we realized that we were "meeting our customer where she was." ? ? ? A-HA moment ? ? ? Meeting our customers where they are. Easy right? This phrase gets thrown around a lot in digital health and I guess in any other innovative industry where we want users to change behaviors and eventually adopt our product. ??♀? But... do we really understand what it means in real life? ?? I will be sharing practical examples in these next few days trying to build to a set of principles, so if you are in the world of UX, Product-Market Fit, Message-Market Fit, or innovation in general, make sure to follow me Laura Vidal Borrell So example #1: What is the vulva? ? In this case, this is what we reply: " What is the vulva, great question! This is how wikipedia describes it ?? "In humans, the vulva (pl.: vulvas or vulvae) consists of the external female sex organs". Among friends, you probably call it just... pussy ??. In this exercise, it is what you will be able to see when using a mirror. Let me know if you have further questions! " So, the first principle in “finding a customer where they are” is to let go of your judgment, turn on your empathy, and reply to the question as if you were a good friend ??. The person is not more or less than you are, and their context is not better or worse than yours. Just different. I will be back in a few days with a second practical example that may resonate with all of us working with activist brands. ? Till then, ask yourself: is my language turning anyone off who may benefit from my product and help me accomplish my mission as a company? Shoutout to the Providers, Educators, and Brands breaking taboos around pelvic and sexual health (why is Jen Gunter not on Linkedin?!?!) Dr. Aziza Sesay Valentina Milanova ???? Mary Claire Haver, MD Suzanne Vernazza Angie Reidner CNM Michelle Norton-Hughes Shagun Maheshwari Laura-June C. Samantha Marshall Emma Rees Wendy Powell Lina Chan Hannah Samano Alice Pelton #femtech #womenshealth #ux #uxcopywriting #brand #branding #digitalhealth #healthequity

Aarushi Mittal?has been our summer intern, and before she goes back to?the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, as a sophomore, we want to give her a BIG THANKS! Aarushi came to us after completing an externship with Extern. She is passionate about the healthcare industry and aspires to be a Healthcare Legal Consultant. She has teamed up with us to research the women's health ecosystem to enable strategic partnerships with companies whose values align with ours. If you have intern-level projects in the Regulatory and Compliance space, you want to get in touch with Aarushi! Michael Guerrero Marlene Jia Monika Chadda Janine Swarbrick Bethany Corbin Alexandra Gonzalez Alba

What would we do as a society if 1 in 2 men were incontinent? You have no idea how many times we have had to explain that urinary incontinence is a pathology, not a "wellness issue". This is not because of a lack of health education, it is purely a gender bias issue. This bias puts us at a disadvantage in getting investment, grants, and speaking opportunities. It is not a serious enough issue. Now, when I flip the gender, then people start to listen. Then it becomes serious. This is why I now start my conversations with, "What would we do as a society if 1 in 2 men were incontinent?" A lot less explaining to do. Do you have similar stories? Pls share! #bias #genderbias #womenshealth #femalefounder

Fresh off the press: Bright news on the Digital Health/mHealth space! The Catalan Public Health System is creating a framework to make apps and digital services accessible to its 8M+ lives. This includes their own relational apps (read: your chart, appointments, prescriptions, etc) but also therapeutic apps created by 3rd parties. Today they have published the Best Practices Guide to Develop Health Assets for the Public Health System (Guia de Bones Pràctiques per desenvolupar actius digitals per a la ciutadania). Link in comments The guide provides a framework with the requirements to have apps and other digital services integrated (and covered!) by this public payer. All of us in Digital Health understand the need for structure and transparency when dealing with payers. Carme Pratdepàdua Bufill and team at TIC Salut Social Foundation, and Joan Guanyabens Yolanda Portero Elisenda Serra Masip thanks for your leadership in delivering this exhaustive and necessary work. This spirit of ecosystem and partnership is rare in this industry. Can't wait to see the impact this will make in providing equitable access to health and better outcomes for the citizens of Catalunya. #healthequity #accesstohealth #DTX #digitalhealth #publichealth

Developing a DTx or mHealth app? You want to attend this session ?? (sign up link in comments, streaming available) Learn about how the Catalan Public Health Systems is planning to promote digital solutions to provide equitable access to health in a live session with leaders and notable speakers (myself included ?? ) tomorrow, July 3, 10-12.30 pm, at 3 Sala d’Actes de l’Edifici Salvany?(Carrer Roc Boronat 81 de Barcelona). Ping me if you are attending, I will love to say hi! Sistema de Salut de Catalunya Carme Pratdepàdua Bufill María Jesús Salido Rojo Pere Guerrero Obis Meritxell Davins #healthcare #healthequity #femtech #healthtech #DTx

Femtech is mostly bullshit. Bullshit spun by conference organizers, VCs, and corporations jumping on a conversation that is edgy but that is not turning into real-world transactions the hype would make you assume are happening. We have the data. And then there's those that do the work. Like Dr. Sioned F?n Jones at BoobyBiome, Hannah Samano at Unfabled and Alice Pelton at The Lowdown. I had the privilege to moderate the panel Femtech Heroes: Untold Stories at Decoding the Future of Women conference this month. My goal was to energize those in the audience who wanted to start up their own Femtech companies. However, as the session progressed, we, for once, decided to tell real, raw stories instead of "focusing on the positive," as we tend to do in public speaking. Their stories about fundraising, managing real life with modest salaries, and being solo female founders were sobering, and I think some of the aspiring startup founders in the room walked out a bit less energized than when they walked in. And that may be a good thing. Our time, funds, and sanity are valuable. Think twice before you quit your job to become a Femtech founder. Again, data shows that the odds are not on our side. I ask us, Femtech founders and operators, to call on the bullshit we are hearing and getting so we can make real progress. I wish you all a good weekend with restful sleep, you know what I mean ??

The "Scaling Digital Health" white paper written by Founders Intelligence, an Accenture company, is out. We had the privilege to contribute our experience as an #earlystagestartup in #healthcare and #femtech specifically. You can download the report here: https://lnkd.in/dBMCmy2t Alternative financing and reimbursement models are needed to scale up digital health. We shared how insurance reimbursement models are at odds with digital health, forcing complex models that are unjustified from a patient experience or health outcomes point of view. And also how most investors frown upon simpler solutions that don't use complex or expensive tech, even when they have a good product-market fit and can radically increase access because they are affordable. Thanks Dr. Benjamin Jones for the opportunity! #digitalhealth #healthtech #femtech #femalefounder

Summer Intern Announcement! Aisha Tipnis joins us from Brown University with a B.A. in Science, Technology, and Society. Aisha has an expansive background across sexual and reproductive health fields: she conducted policy research with The Reproductive Health Access Project, organized community education initiatives with the Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, and even wrote her bachelor's thesis on the gynecological pelvic exam! For the past two years, Aisha has worked as a Research Assistant at Brown's Sexual Health and Reproductive Experiences Lab. Her project of focus involved interviewing Black and Latina women who use drugs to analyze their access (or lack thereof) to reproductive and sexual healthcare services. In?her free time, you can find Aisha on a mile-long run, listening to live music, or baking without a recipe. We met Aisha through Extern, where we are Design Partners. Thanks Michael Guerrero and Monika Chadda for such a productive company-student relationship! Welcome Aisha! #summerintern #femtech #startupfounder #womenshealth

Hey Decoding crowd! Ready for Day 2? I will be moderating the FemTech Heroes: Untold Stories panel at 9:50am today with brilliant founders Hannah Samano of Unfabled, Dr. Sioned F?n Jones of BoobyBiome, Alice Pelton of The Lowdown, and Camilla Rogers, special counsel at Covington & Burling LLP who is sponsoring the panel (thank you guys!) If you are an early-stage founder or thinking of starting up, you cannot miss this session. We will go raw and real on what it takes to make it and how to keep your sanity and personal life functioning in the meantime. See you in a bit!

HappySneeze has spent the last 2 days in Munich attending the #EssityStartupDays by Essity Ventures. It has been a whirlwind of knowledge, connections, and activism around women's health and well-being. It is such a boost of energy and optimism when you see founders working on pressing issues such as period pain, affordable access to menstrual products, or non-hormonal fertility treatments with ingenuity and grit. The future is bright! #funfact: they have the best stocked-up bathroom on the planet! Thank you Kai Thornagel, Tilda Selemark and everyone at the #EssityVenturesEssityVenturesEssityVentures team for inviting us #essityventures #femalefounder #womenshealth #startup