Founders Keepers

What: Natural Cycles is the developer of the only digital method of birth control cleared by regulators both in the US and in Europe, based in Stockholm. The company's application uses its own algorithm to predict and detect women's ovulation, allowing them to prevent or plan pregnancies in a non-invasive, hormone and side-effect-free way. 

Who: Elina is a particle physicist and entrepreneur who began her career at CERN before going on to build the Natural Cycles app together with her husband Raoul.

We talk about: Working on the hadron collider (yes, really), making fun of business partners, and using data to drive fertility innovations.

📝 You can also now read the accompanying "podnotes" to the episode on Substack, where key insights from every conversation will be shared for those who prefer short and snappy takeaways: founderskeepers.substack.com 

Find out more:  www.founders-keepers.com 

Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod 

Twitter: @founders.pod 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast 

Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

What: Vively is a software-as-a-service platform supporting people with lifestyle-related diseases: From providing real-time feedback to consumers on diet, exercise, sleep and stress to integrating continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and wearables for real-time data analytics about how users’ lifestyle impacts their health. The organisation collaborates with a team of leading integrative doctors, behavioural scientists and holistic health practitioners to create and combine digital therapeutic programs with on-demand coaching and health analytics, and recently secured AUS$1.5 million in pre-seed funding to support their expansion. 

Who: Tim is a serial entrepreneur with a background in venture capital who prior to co-founding Vively had invested and founded various different startups active across Asia and Australasia. 

We talk about: Tim's obsession with entrepreneurship from a young age; finding a solution to medical conditions brought on by lifestyle choices; and how building his own product at Vively identified a potentially serious health complaint in Tim despite his triathlete background. 

📝 You can also now read the accompanying "podnotes" to the episode on Substack, where key insights from every conversation will be shared for those who prefer short and snappy takeaways: founderskeepers.substack.com Find out more: www.founders-keepers.com Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod Twitter: @founders.pod LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Wasted* is a Burlington-Vermont based start-up building the circular sanitation economy and transforming human waste into effective, safe, and sustainable fertilizers. The company was founded in 2020 and recently raised USD 7.5 million in seed funding from investors including the Collaborative Fund, Divergent Capital, Day One Ventures, Third Sphere, Pure Ventures, and Gratitude Railroad.

Taylor is a social impact entrepreneur passionate about utilizing research, storytelling, and education to redefine waste, and prior to co-founding wasted* was the co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit “Do Good Shit” which sought to implement and maintain improved waste management systems in outdoor recreation areas and their surrounding communities around the globe. 

In this episode we talk about the taboo of sanitising human waste; and instead of moving fast and breaking things, moving intentionally to make things better for public health and the global environment. You can find out more about wasted* in the following ways: Website: https://wasted.earth/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wasted-earth/ Find us on: www.founders-keepers.com and www.founderskeepers.substack.com Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod Twitter: @founders.pod LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

This is a special segment podcast episode with a focus on questions around conferences, given that it’s currently conference season for bio, med and health tech organisations in the US. Blue Water Vaccines showcased at JPM Healthcare in January and is an early-stage biotech company focused on manufacturing a universal influenza vaccine in partnership with the University of Oxford in England. 

Joe is a seasoned health tech entrepreneur, holding multiple degrees in everything from neuroscience to molecular genetics and business. He has a background in company creation, early-stage technology development, and both private and public market financing. Over the course of his career, he has founded or led eight entrepreneurial companies in cutting edge areas of healthcare and pharmaceuticals. 

In this episode, we talk about the post-covid vaccine landscape, the value of human interactions for business, and changing with the markets. 

You can find out more about  Blue Water Vaccines in the following ways: 

Website: https://www.bluewatervaccines.com/ 

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-water-vaccines-inc 

Find us on: www.founders-keepers.com and www.founderskeepers.substack.com

Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod 

Twitter: @founders.pod 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast 

Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Launched in 2017, Mojo is an AI-powered fertility care platform that helps people to understand, test, and improve their fertility in preparation for starting a family. Having raised a total of US$5.5 million over 2 funding rounds, Mojo's main offering is an at-home fertility testing kit that provides detailed results to users within 48h of sampling, alongside on-demand consultations with UK-leading fertility specialists.

The company achieves rapid test turnaround through their WHO-complaint, proprietary, in-house built AI-powered microscope that revolutionises both accessibility to and the level of standard in sperm analysis. , and has been profiled in Wired magazine as well as multiple other media outlets.

Mo has a PhD in materials engineering and nanotechnology, and set up Mojo in 2017 along with three other founders to apply his research skillset to a real-world problem. In this episode we cover his personal health reasons behind starting Mojo, shining the light on male fertility issues, and how “failing a lot” has helped his entrepreneurial journey.

You can find out more about Mojo in the following ways: 

Website: https://mymojo.ai/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mymojo.ai/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyMojoAI

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-mojo/

Find us on: 

www.founders-keepers.com 

Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod 

Twitter: @founders.pod 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast 

Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Apryl is one of the top fertility benefits providers in the UK and Europe, which operates an SaaS model that helps employers to attract & retain talent while tackling diversity & inclusion in family planning. Apryl’s easy-to-use platform enables companies to support employees on their path to parenthood by offering access to a range of reproductive treatments, including egg and sperm freezing-  IVF, adoption and surrogacy.  Jenny has a background in business operations, strategy and venture capital, and set up Apryl in 2019 with her co-founder Tobias Kaufhold. Since then, they have raised over €4 million in funding, count Soundcloud as a client, and are currently rolling out their solution across 14 European countries. In this episode of Founders Keepers, we talk about Jenny’s personal journey with egg freezing that led her to found Apryl, democratising access to fertility treatment, and faking it til you make it. You can find out more about Apryl in the following ways: Website: https://apryl.co/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/apryl/ Find us on: www.founders-keepers.com Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod Twitter: @founders.pod LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Advanced Human Imaging (AHI) uses smartphone-based scanning technology that combines proprietary deep learning models and state of the art processing techniques that return body circumference, body composition, health risks, and risk indicators from photo images taken on your phone. Comprising Body, Face and Dermatological scans, with a diverse range of data-driven applications across multiple industries, they aim to unlock the unique aspects of an individual's health, wellbeing, and chronic disease risk. 

Vlado is a founder, investor, entrepreneur, advisor and business consultant with over 30 years of experience in assisting businesses in healthcare and technology with strategy, structure, and entry to capital markets. He began his career as a co-founder of MyFiziq (now known as Advanced Human Imaging) and is their head of strategy and revenue growth. 

In this episode, we cover his company's "Black Mirror" moments, convincing investors, and how getting out of your own way can be a key to success in business. 

You can find out more about AHI in the following ways:   

Website: https://www.ahi.tech/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/advancedhumanimaging/ 

Find us on:  

www.founders-keepers.com   

Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod   

Twitter: @founders.pod   

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast   

Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Founded in 2020, Béa Fertility is a London-based startup that provides at-home fertility treatment and ovulation tracking services for UK residents. Its aim is to increase access to effective and affordable fertility treatments by offering an alternative to high-cost fertility clinics, and the company has raised nearly £1m in funding for its non-invasive treatment option.

Tess is a serial entrepreneur and marketing executive who has prior experience founding both a successful femtech brand and a B2B marketing agency.

In this week’s episode, Tess shares probably the scrappiest story we’ve heard on the podcast to date; the trials and tribulations of fundraising; and the challenges of getting a new treatment to market (including guinea pig shortages).

You can find out more about Bea Fertlity in the following ways:

Website: https://beafertility.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beafertility/

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/beafertility

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@beafertility

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beafertility/

Find us on:

www.founders-keepers.com

Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod

Twitter: @founders.pod

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast

Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Designed in conjunction with practising physicians, Cinapsis SmartReferrals reduces emergency department attendances in the UK by 83% through providing advice & supportive guidance. Family practitioners, nurses, paramedics and pharmacists can contact specialists directly through the platform for clinical advice on a patient case both quickly and securely. Since Cinapsis launched in 2019, thousands of doctors’ hours have been saved for the NHS, and Cinapsis has made it possible for 70% of non-urgent referrals (such as dermatology) to be managed remotely.

Owain is a former NHS surgeon with almost two decades of experience working in frontline clinical medicine.  He has been awarded a personal Fellowship from the Medical Research Council and has twice received the British Journal of Surgery Prize.

In this short episode, we cover scrappiness in startups; paving the way for surgical care in the healthtech space; and, more philosophically, following your own path in life.

You can find out more about Cinapsis in the following ways:

Website:  https://www.cinapsis.org/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/owainrhyshughes/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/myCinapsis

Find us on:

www.founders-keepers.com

Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod

Twitter: @founders.pod

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast

Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com