Aphrodite 2.0 the new FemTech
In the latest edition, inspired by Aphrodite the Greek Goddess of love and fertility, I explore the hyper growth market for FemTech…
by Kajal Sanghrajka, @kajalnyclon
For new readers, welcome to the 2019 Transatlantic Post a monthly editorial on innovation, startups and culture across cities. With occasional British satire by Kajal
This edition was inspired by a visit to Greece where I read about Aphrodite the Greek Goddess of love, beauty and fertility. She was one of the 12 Olympians and married Hephaestus god of fire and metalworking. In 2019, love and fertility have evolved into multi billion dollar markets of “femtech” where Aphrodite 2.0 is a littler more beast than beauty….
Let me explain…..
Starting briefly with love. The global dating market will be worth $12 billion by 2020. A notable leader being “swipe left and right” Tinder — thank your lucky stars if you don’t know anything about this one.
Suppose, though that the digital mating doesn’t quite work out as planned. Cue the second Goddess quality — the fast growing adjacent market on fertility. Egg freezing, a still nascent technology to help women preserve their fertility grew 1500% between 2009 and 2016 in the US with 88% of women citing lack of a suitable partner as the main reason. Perhaps those dating apps still need some fine tuning….
Although the media tends to focus on women, fertility preservation is also an issue for men as detailed by this GQ piece on the male fertility crisis. One start up Give Legacy incubated at Harvard University’s iLab, wants to be the “Swiss private bank for sperm”. For women, where the process is more invasive, there are startups such as Freeze.health which promote greater education and transparency of fertility clinics in the US.
I wonder how Aphrodite would feel about this version of fertility…
One that entails multiple injections and hormone treatment vs the good old-fashioned way. Few people talk about the emotional and psychological cost of fertility and how men and women process experiences differently. Some of you may remember the Only Fools and Horses episode “Modern Men” a conversation between Del Boy and Rodney which dealt with the topic of miscarriage brilliantly.
In a fertility market which is expected to reach £30bn by 2023, I see two major gaps that require more innovation (1) A more holistic approach to assisted reproduction to tackle the emotional elements (2) Greater education for men to support themselves and their partners through the journey.
The good news is that for those who are already on the journey — there are also many more resources to track maternal health. IoT is driving fetal and maternal health monitoring and Bloomlife is one example. Post Pregnancy, EveryMother is combines science and tech to support women back to full health.
The advent of new Greek Goddesses……
As the market grows, I’d bet on a rapid rise in female founded companies with innovation born from solving the problems they face on the journey of love, fertility and pregnancy. The advent of several female founder focused funds such as Bumble and Goldman Sachs will be a driving force behind these companies.
And also female founded accelerators. I recently joined the Board of London School of Economics Generate Entrepreneurial programme and proud to say that the university will be launching Europe’s first female founders accelerator focused on creating and spinning out socially impactful businesses. See more in our feature below.
Please do write to me with any comments or thoughts on this edition. The Transatlantic Post is currently funded monthly by your feedback to keep writing. Do spread the word and share with a curious mind…
Until next time….
Sincerely yours,
Kajal
Subscribe: @kajalnyclon | w: transatlanticpost.com
BUMBLE ANNOUNCES NEW FEMALE FOUNDERS FUND
This post was written last year by Bumble, a dating company whose workforce is 85% female. They cite the dearth of venture funding for women — female led startups receive just 2% of all venture funding. The company is led by Whitney Wolfe who was formerly a marketing executive at Tinder. Note that Tinder and Bumble are the first and fourth most popular dating apps respectively. The new fund will focus on early stage investments for female underrepresented groups.
LSE GENERATE ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAMME
I’ve written much about university entrepreneurship through each edition of the Post but few on social science institutions. The London School of Economics is doubling down on its efforts to support entrepreneurship. The programme which was launched 3 years ago, started from a small pitching competition and has quickly evolved to an all round series of events and resources for entrepreneurs. Led by LJ Silverman — there is an emphasis on social impact from new ventures and the school will soon launch a new female founders accelerator. If you’d like to learn more — please send me an email.
THE NEW ERA OF FERTILITY TECH
As I wrote this edition of the Post, TechCrunch posted this article on a new era of fertility tech. They focus on startups across the landscape and why its the next big thing. As one journalist eloquently put it “Silicon Valley has a new conquest, your ovaries”. Lovely.
ABOUT THE TRANSATLANTIC POST
A monthly editorial on innovation, startups and culture across cities. With occasional British satire. Written and edited by Kajal Sanghrajka, Churchill Fellow and Founder of Growth Hub Global. For previous editions see the archive.
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