FemTech designates all technologies addressing women’s health — including reproductive health, hormonal health, menopause, and a lot more. Last year, STATION F launched a new startup program to support innovation in this space because FemTech entrepreneurs have to overcome additional challenges on top of the usual founder hurdles: they have to deal with censorship, taboo, and difficulty convincing investors.
In this first episode of Entrepreneur Talks, we interview Alexandra Fine, Founder & CEO of Dame Products, a leading SexTech company that has not only faced these barriers but also built a thriving business. Dame has led and won a three-year legal battle to have the possibility of doing ads in the New York City subway. Dame is also part of the first companies to be featured at Sephora in their new Sexual Wellness selection. It has broken new ground for FemTech startups at large and we are super excited to have Alexandra on the show to tell us about her stories and learnings from building Dame — starting with how to fundraise to market a product surrounded by taboo.
This episode is co-hosted by Elin Øyre and Andrea Olsson, the co-founders of Bumpy, a startup in STATION F’s FemTech Program. Elin and Andrea are building a platform to support people going through infertility by connecting them together and helping them to find the right fertility provider.
Find out what it takes to succeed in the FemTech industry. And, if you are building a FemTech startup, applications for STATION F’s FemTech Program are open until April 24! Learn more here.
Topics
00:10 — Introduction
03:24 — How Alexandra Fine came up with the idea of Dame Products
04:42 — The challenge of fundraising for FemTech companies
08:41 — The problem with the term “FemTech” perceived as a niche rather than an essential
11:09 — Alexandra’s tips for FemTech companies on how to address taboo
14:13 — Elin & Andrea’s personal stories, which led to the creation of Bumpy
20:20 — Alexandra’s three-year legal battle to run ads in the NYC subway
26:33 — How Dame Products arrived in Sephora’s shelves and why it is a turning point
28:17 — Tips on how to approach new partnerships and leverage the power of storytelling
30:10 — Alexandra on making mistakes as a boss
33:10 — The moment when Dame Products really took off: their crowdfunding campaign
This episode is supported by TikTok, hosted by Cindy Yang, and edited by Grégoire Duhourcau. Art is by Gaëtan Lefebvre.
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