The Womens Wellness Show

Marta Ciechonska has a PhD in Microbiology and used that to co-founder her company Salient BioscienceTogether with her team they are combining synthetic biology and robotics to build digital-first laboratories that make diagnostic testing available to all including the oral and vaginal microbiome We go back to the early days of starting the company, fundraising, research and the early barriers.We discuss women’s health as a sector and how did Salient Bioscience position themselves as a company in terms of sector, fundraising narrativeThe importance of a healthy and supportive startup network - balancing time between network and support with building the company Distribution channels - via clinics and clinicians Content, trust, has the word microbiome been butchered ?Our podcast sponsor is Progyny Global. A company that provides best-in-class fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and menopause benefits for the modern global workforce. Progyny Global offers an inclusive platform that connects employees with top experts, clinics, and treatments around the world. To learn more visit: https://progynyglobal.com/#contact or to get in touch with our team directly via email (Sasha.tory@progynyglobal.com)

“Did I miss my moment because I was so obsessed with building a company? Who knows, I’ll grapple with that”Poppy Mason-Watts is a multi round VC backed founder in the impact space. I’m so grateful for her doing this episode because we need to have more of a conversation about how the founder journey overlaps with the fertility journey and egg freezing. I hope this episode is insightful and brings some valuable perspectives for you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or Poppy if you have any questions about your own journey.Poppy works with clients to provide time-bound growth leadership (fractional CMO/CGO) for mission-driven ventures, building and institutionalising the marketing and commercial function at early scale sized startups. Our podcast is sponsored by:Progyny Global. A company that provides best-in-class fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and menopause benefits for the modern global workforce. Progyny Global offers an inclusive platform that connects employees with top experts, clinics, and treatments around the world. To learn more visit: https://progynyglobal.com/#contact or to get in touch with our team directly via email (Sasha.tory@progynyglobal.com)

Jo Dalton is the founder of JD&Co is the go to Global Exec Search & Advisory firm supporting the founders, funders, and leaders of high growth disruptive tech fuelled brandsShe’s also a founding member of Alma Angels, an angel syndicate focused on supporting women’s led companies Jo’s experience and visibility over the landscape make her incredibly well placed to discuss how to start your company as a founder and finding your first angel investors! Just a small handful of the lessons and tips we cover:Don’t quit your job until you have your first 1000 true fans Validate your idea first by getting 150 people on a waitlist for your solution Understand how equity works and don’t be to eager to give it away Don’t give a board set to an early investor Your first angel investors might not identify as traditional angels!Any questions or feedback please don't hesitate to reach out - leo@nexusconnected.co.ukOur podcast is sponsored by:Progyny Global. A company that provides best-in-class fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and menopause benefits for the modern global workforce. Progyny Global offers an inclusive platform that connects employees with top experts, clinics, and treatments around the world. To learn more visit: https://progynyglobal.com/#contact or to get in touch with our team directly via email (Sasha.tory@progynyglobal.com)

Valerie Evans is a principal at Five Seasons Ventures Five Seasons Ventures is the leading pan-European Venture Capital fund investing in iconic and sustainable consumer brands.Whilst not a women’s health specific fund Valerie is very passionate about seeing more consumer women’s health innovation reaching series A and she walks us through the main 2 problems she sees when moving from seed- series AWhat We Cover:The Niche Problem Most early-stage startup advice tells founders to go narrow — solve one problem, find your 1,000 true fans. But VC math demands a big TAM. We unpack how to navigate that tension and how the right answer actually shifts as you move through funding rounds.The Healthtech Identity Trap Are companies hurting themselves by leading with "healthtech" when trying to reach everyday consumers? We explore why leaning too hard into a clinical or tech-forward identity can create distance with the very audience you're trying to reach.GTM as a Consumer Company First How do you build a go-to-market strategy that puts the consumer experience front and centre, without losing sight of longer-term opportunities in medical devices or regulated health? We discuss whether the healthtech path is a form of defensibility, a marketing play, or both.Key Themes:Niche vs. scale in early-stage startupsConsumer brand identity in health and wellnessThe role of medical device / healthtech positioning as a strategic assetHow GTM strategy evolves across funding stagesOur podcast is sponsored by:Progyny Global. A company that provides best-in-class fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and menopause benefits for the modern global workforce. Progyny Global offers an inclusive platform that connects employees with top experts, clinics, and treatments around the world. To learn more visit: https://progynyglobal.com/#contact or to get in touch with our team directly via email (Sasha.tory@progynyglobal.com)

Léa is the CEO and co-founder of Cycalana Bio, she has a PhD from Cambridge in clinical neurosciencesLéa started Cyclana Bio nearly a year ago and announced a £5 million seed round in October co led by NfX and Eka Ventures We talk her personal journey of getting diagnosed with endometriosis, experience with using HBC for endometriosis management as well as how she manages her triathlon training and recovery We then move into the work and research herself and her team are doing in Cambridge to build whole tissue disease models from menstrual fluid and lab work to study tissue mechanisms which will identify early biomarkers and druggable targetsAs well as why and how you should donate your menstrual blood to science! You can donate your period to CyclanaBio hereAs always any questions or feedback, drop me an email - leo@nexusconnected.co.ukShow notes: Our podcast sponsor is Progyny Global. A company that provides best-in-class fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and menopause benefits for the modern global workforce. Progyny Global offers an inclusive platform that connects employees with top experts, clinics, and treatments around the world. To learn more visit: https://progynyglobal.com/#contact or to get in touch with our team directly via email (Sasha.tory@progynyglobal.com)

Luana David is a previous founder now VC at Supernode Global, A venture capital firm investing in early-stage startups that are empowering humans to reach their full potential in the most important aspects of everyday livesMost notable Supernode have backed Hormona in the women’s health space which gives Luana amazing insights to the women’s health landscapeShe’s also someone who’s followed the Nexus journey closely as I’ve been fortunate enough to know Luana for a couple of years so we use this episode to also work through my own start up journey as a case study - hopefully this gives you some very practical insights and takeawaysWe talk about the current landscape regarding consumer women's healthtech, especially finding a balance between deeply solving a problem for your consumers whilst having a narrative in place for future expansion so you have a VC backable TAM Luana talks about the importance of knowing your why as a founder and how you should use the 5 whys framework to have that clarity for your investor conversations Luana also talks about the importance of being your domain expert. "As a VC I want the founder to educate me, I like learning from founders"As always any questions or feedback don't hesitate to drop me an email - leo@nexusconnected.co.uk Our podcast sponsor is Progyny Global. A company that provides best-in-class fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and menopause benefits for the modern global workforce. Progyny Global offers an inclusive platform that connects employees with top experts, clinics, and treatments around the world. To learn more visit: https://progynyglobal.com/#contact or to get in touch with our team directly via email (Sasha.tory@progynyglobal.com)