Femcares mission to digitalize menopause care
We recently sat down with the fabulous Ottilia and Felicia of Femcares to speak about their mission to transform perimenopause and menopause care in Sweden. This is the second piece in our series to share the stories of incredible women in tech, and especially that of those participating in our own WITGBG Venture Studio.
#women’s health #inequality in tech #femtech
WITGBG: Please tell us about yourselves.
Felicia: I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs, where at the family dinner table, all we talked about is business. Both my parents have their own companies, and I have always worked for one of our family’s owned businesses. I like being active and taking on different responsibilities at work. If you are missing something, ask me.
Ottilia: I am a Chalmers graduate with a background in product development & UX design. My goal is to make people’s lives easier or funnier, preferably both. Recently, I started working for MATCHi as a UX designer. It is my first job off school, so I am still learning how to navigate work life.
Felicia invited me to join Femcares last fall.
We have been friends since 10 years back, and happen to be neighbors too. This partnership was appealing from the start because I always wanted to work on my own project. Empowering other women using my skills has always been important to me.
WITGBG: How did it all start? What is the story behind Femcares? Our readers are curious, please share.
Felicia: ‘I wanted to build a femtech solution similar to Kry, and have been thinking about it for a long time. However, treatment & awareness about menopause was not my initial focus. During my participation at Sting’s test drive program, a Stockholm-based incubator, my initial focus was contraceptives and fertility. But everywhere I looked, I saw a clear market gap when it came to the treatment of perimenopause and menopause-related problems. In fact, women have been begging for information & treatment for years.
I saw similar issues while working in my family’s clothing store. Many female customers complained about being warm & sweaty while using the fitting rooms. And I heard many of my mom’s friends talk about menopause symptoms such as fatigue, memory loss, or hot flushes. It seems really hard to get medical help or access the right information.
WITGBG: Why do you think people are not getting help from Vårdcentralen?
Felicia: I think the biggest problem is the lack of knowledge among doctors. Perimenopause and menopause have not an established focus in healthcare yet and there is not much research around menopause either.
Plus, every woman is different, meaning everyone has her own issues. Doctors, for example, often confuse depression with menopause, therefore many women do not get the right help and the most common treatment for menopause is happy pills.
Ottilia: Today women need to do their own research by joining Facebook groups because the information is hard to find. Additionally, when you are suffering from menopause symptoms, you do not have the energy and time to search for help.
Felicia: Basically, you do not have the energy to fight for your rights.
WITGBG: We are both curious & excited about your service.
Ottilia: We would like to raise awareness about an important but forgotten period in every woman's life while providing simple and accessible information & guidance. We are building a digital service that would provide access to information about symptoms, and different phases of menopause. It will be available in multiple languages and will include information about different treatment methods.
Felicia: Gaining awareness is crucial. We strongly believe that knowledge is power; therefore we want to provide them with trusted & verified data, and not just some flashback forum with opinions. Every woman has a right to know what is happening to her body & approach a doctor to get the right medical advice. There is help beyond just happy pills.
WITGBG: What are Femcare’s three values?
Felicia: Awareness, knowledge & equality. If women are heard, it is better for society. We also want to collaborate with companies. After all, women’s health affects their employers too.
Ottilia: We also want to collaborate with medical professionals (i.e. doctors & nurses) who are experts in perimenopause and menopause care. The service will be available for everyone regardless of an individual's social status, nationality. If you live in a suburban or urban area, this digital service can easily help them.
WITGBG: Where do you see Femcares in the future?
Felicia: We would like to start with the launch of an app in order to offer quick access to healthcare services. We wish to become leading advocates of perimenopause and menopause care, to remove the stigma and increase knowledge.
Ottilia: In the long run, we would like to open up niched healthcare centers for women in their perimenopause and menopause, but also cover other problems related to that period, for example, incontinence.
How can the WIT GBG community support you?
Ottilia: Mainly matchmaking. We will need help meeting healthcare specialists who would join our Advisory Board, and support our start-up. Everything from software development to business strategy is going to be needed.
Felicia: We also hope that the WIT GBG community can help us market our service. If you want to get to know Femcares even better, follow us on our Instagram “Femcares'', where we hope to build a digital community with all the amazing women out there.
WITGBG: Thank you ladies for your time and attention. Your future is bright, and we are in great anticipation of Femcares’ service.