In this interview, healthcare UX expert Theresa Neil shares strategies for femtech companies design, branding and building trust women's health products. Read the full transcript
The FemTech Focus podcast, hosted by Brittany Barreto, showcases leaders and innovators who are transforming women's health technology. In this episode, Theresa Neil, Founder of Guidea and Femovate shares about the journey and impact of Guidea and the Femovate program, discussing fascinating topics such as:
Listen to the podcast or read the full transcript below.
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Brittany:
Hey, Theresa, welcome to the show.
Theresa:
Hey, Brittany, thanks for having me.
Brittany:
It is a pleasure to have you. You are a total goddess in the design world, and I'm so grateful to have a deep connection with you, both personally and professionally. Folks, Theresa and her team are behind the design of FemHealth Insight software. We’ll get more into that, but I am just a really big, grateful fan of yours. You've done so much for our industry, and I'm delighted to have some spotlight on you and your work today and your important insights. Where are you calling us from today?
Theresa:
I am in Santa Cruz, California.
Brittany:
How is it out there?
Theresa:
It's a little foggy, a little foggy. Yeah.
Brittany:
Yeah. Well, I am. You were headquartered in Austin at one point, right? Is it still there?
Theresa:
The business started in Austin, and I was there for about 20 years, but we moved up to Santa Cruz a while back for the better weather and never looked back.
Brittany:
Yeah, I was talking to my friend yesterday who lives in Houston. She's like, "Yeah, my electric bill's like $200 a month for my little apartment because it's 107 out," and I'm like, "I don't miss that at all." So happy to be in Raleigh. Well, let's actually get into your background a little bit because you've been running this business for so long. Tell us a little bit about your career, the history, and when you found femtech.
Theresa:
Yeah, so we have a design consultancy called Guidea. We started it in 2005, and really it was just me working with a laptop in an old cabin that my husband and I were renovating at the time. Slowly but surely, we built up a client list. My partner Jessica joined me, I think, like three years later. Since then, we've had the opportunity to work with 20 of the Fortune 100 and hundreds of startups. It's been great. We work in complex domains. I have a ton of smart people on the team, and we work with a ton of smart clients.
Last year, we were going to run what we call our Sponsored Startup Program. It’s our way to give back to the startups that helped propel us into having this great portfolio and reputation and all the awards we've won. We can’t take on as many startups as we want to help, so we created this program like 10 years ago called the Sponsored Startup Program. We reach out to folks in our network, let them know we're running the program, and anybody can apply. We take early-stage startups and work with them at a deeply discounted rate to help them launch their MVP or uplevel a product they already have in the market.
Last year, we were getting ready to run the program again. I was like, "You know, we're a woman-owned, woman-led company, predominantly women here, and everyone here is into supporting female founders as well as women's health. We should make the program special this year." This was in 2022, and I thought, "Let's do more for female founders." I was Googling and found femtech. A year ago, in June, I hadn't really heard of femtech. You were actually one of the first people I met in the industry, and we decided to run a new program, Sponsored Startups, but we'd call it Femovate. It’d be specifically for early-stage femtech founders. We had no idea what we were getting into. From this little marketing and support program for entrepreneurs, it became our mission. We've supported about 36 founders so far, and we have our new call for applications.
Brittany:
That’s what femtech does, right? It gets a hold of you and doesn’t let go. You just find peers and positive energy, collaboration, and purpose—really important things people are working on. I know for myself, I was working as a VC in Texas, mentoring hundreds of founders, but my femtech ones were precious. I wanted to focus on them, and that’s what I did. Can you tell our listeners a little bit more about Guidea’s track record and the services you provide? I think it’s just so impressive, and it highlights how important or motivating femtech is that a company like yours would be doing this type of work. So give us a little bit of background into the exact services you're offering and your track record.
Theresa:
That’s super flattering, but we are just a tiny company. There are 20 of us, and we've made it 18 years, but we’re very tiny compared to Ideo, Frog, and the big design agencies in the world. But we've had a really good run. We've worked with some fascinating clients over the years. Typically, if a company is looking for a way to innovate with their product or services, they may call us to do UX research to identify opportunities to drive product innovation. They may have existing products or services that need to be upleveled, maybe a little older, or not competing well against startups in the same space. They’ll call us to do research, identify opportunities for a new experience, or differentiate in the market. We turn that research into design recommendations and, ultimately, the digital designs for the new product. This could be apps, web applications, mobile apps, or companion apps for medical devices. We're all on the digital side; we don't make physical products, but we do partner with companies that make physical products to have that digital companion piece.
"The caliber of the applicants for Femovate last year far exceeded anything I've seen when volunteering with other accelerator programs. Every founder or team had such compelling stories that we ended up taking on more than initially planned—going from two to 30. "
Brittany:
My experience with you is that I had a vision for a landscape tool for Women’s Health Startups. I said, "We have this Airtable; I think it's going to look like a table on a website," and your team came back with the most awesome visualizations that really allowed people to see our data in a way that gave them more information than just lines of information. You gave the visual sense of movement, concentration, and white space in the industry. That was one of my favorite parts because that’s a superpower I don't necessarily have. Your team was able to take my idea and visualize it impactfully. I love what you're doing. So, what exactly is Femovate? You said it started as a yearly give-back to startups, then you decided to focus on femtech, and now you're helping around 36 companies. Tell us about how the program started, what it’s like now, and then we can get into some trends you’ve seen.
Theresa:
Sure. A quick shout-out to Khati, who did the design work for you. She really took all that data and pulled out insights that have served the folks using those tools. So, Femovate is a UX sponsorship program for early-stage femtech founders. The founders do not need to be female; we're looking for founders innovating in women's health. Brittany, we rely heavily on your work to identify and label the verticals and product types within femtech. One of our sweet spots is digital therapeutics, medical devices, and digital health. We're not as savvy in consumer packaged goods, but we focus a lot on designing solutions for patients, providers, payers, and employers to help with women's health.
When we created the program, we thought we’d pick one or two startups and put in $50k of services to help them get their MVP out the door. I knew our existing network in tech might not surface a lot of femtech founders, as many of the folks we work with, especially on the tech side, are men and aren't focused on women's health. So, we advertised with your group, FemTech Insider, Women of Wearables, and a few others. We received 100 applicants from around the globe, far exceeding our expectations of 20 or 30. The stories were so compelling that Karin, who runs our program, and I decided to meet with every single founder. We didn't want to screen folks out because they couldn’t articulate their business strategy perfectly or had an ugly pitch deck. We ended up meeting with every founder, spending an hour or more with each. We got a crash course on our bodies and the state of women's healthcare, which can be depressing, and learned a lot about the people trying to innovate in this space.
The caliber of the applicants for Femovate last year far exceeded anything I've seen when volunteering with other accelerator programs. Every founder or team had such compelling stories that we ended up taking on more than initially planned—going from two to 30. One of the last applications was from Kelsey at Armor Medical. She explained that postpartum hemorrhage impacts 14 million women worldwide annually, with around 800,000 dying from it, even in developed countries. We knew we had to include them.
Brittany:
That’s incredible. So, you decided to expand the program significantly?
Theresa:
Yes, we ended up putting in 10 times the services, about $500k, to support these teams. It was a bumpy year as we navigated this expanded scale, but we’ve supported over 30 teams, helping with product launches, optimizations, and go-to-market strategies. We’ve also conducted nearly 1,000 hours of user research with patients, providers, employers, and end-users. It’s been an amazing run.
Brittany:
What trends did you see in the design for these companies, both positive and things you’d advise against?
"When designing for women’s health, it’s crucial to create a trustworthy brand and dispel myths and misinformation. Women have often been dismissed or disbelieved, so building trust is essential."
Theresa:
We noticed a lot of pitch decks leading with emotional stories, which can be powerful but may not resonate with all VCs, especially those who don’t want to hear about certain health issues. We recommended leading with market size and revenue opportunities instead. Another trend was the humility of founders. Many were highly credentialed but didn’t highlight their qualifications enough. We encouraged them to bring this information to the forefront.
In terms of design, there was a lot of pastel color use, which can sometimes hinder readability. We worked with teams to ensure their designs met accessibility standards, making sure text was readable and the overall design was user-friendly.
Brittany:
Do you think there’s a difference in how male and female designers approach femtech products?
Theresa:
We have fantastic male designers who contribute significantly to our projects. It’s not so much about gender but about understanding and empathy. We focus on unbiased user research and listening carefully to the needs of our users. When designing for women’s health, it’s crucial to create a trustworthy brand and dispel myths and misinformation. Women have often been dismissed or disbelieved, so building trust is essential.
Brittany:
That’s such an insightful finding. It sounds like there’s a specific approach needed for femtech products. Do you have any future plans for Femovate?
Theresa:
We’re in year two and accepting applications through September 18. Our long-term goal is to build a Femovate fund, allowing us to invest in startups financially as well as with services. We hope to continue supporting and championing these incredible founders.
Brittany:
If someone wanted to start a femtech company, what area in women's health do you think still needs innovation?
Theresa:
While I'm deep in the weeds with our current teams, there are always new areas to explore. My advice would be to thoroughly research the market and understand the landscape. Make sure your idea has a unique differentiator. Even if there are competitors, ensure your product or service stands out.
Brittany:
What does the femtech industry need most to be successful right now?
Theresa:
More investment and advocates. The more we frame these issues in terms of market size and potential impact, the more likely we are to attract the necessary funding and support.
Brittany:
Thank you so much, Theresa, for all that you do for our industry and for joining us today.
Theresa:Thanks for having me, Brittany. It’s been a pleasure.
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