Femtech At Work

Maaike Steinebach

Femtech At Work is a new podcast that showcases inspiring femtech founders, corporate champions of women’s health in the workplace, and ecosystem innovators. Starting off in Hong Kong we will travel across Asia and Oceania and the rest of the world to explore the most innovative new women’s health solutions around reproductive health and diseases that disproportionately affect women, talk about the challenges and opportunities of starting a women’s health company and the role of the workplace for impact and change.

  1. From Shame to Science: Rethinking Pelvic Floor Health with PeriCoach

    9 HR AGO

    From Shame to Science: Rethinking Pelvic Floor Health with PeriCoach

    What if treating “just a bit of leakage” early could keep you out of aged care, off pads for life, and back to running, jumping and living freely? In this powerful conversation, we have Chelsea Cornelius, mechanical-turned-biomedical engineer and CEO of Stratos MedTech, the company behind PeriCoach—a clinically-backed pelvic floor training system designed to treat urinary incontinence and mild to moderate pelvic organ prolapse. You’ll hear how PeriCoach was developed in deep collaboration with clinicians, using vaginal sensors, biofeedback and an app to help women finally see and feel whether they’re doing their Kegels correctly. This episode is a must-listen if you care about pelvic health, FemTech, medical devices or simply want to understand how one founder turned an overlooked, stigmatized issue into a global, tech-enabled solution for women. Key Takeaways: Learn how Chelsea went from race-car-obsessed mechanical engineer to biomedical innovator tackling women’s incontinenceDiscover what your pelvic floor actually is, how it functions, and why pregnancy, sport, chronic cough and aging can quietly undermine its strengthUnderstand why up to half of women perform Kegels incorrectly and how biofeedback helps you see in real time whether you’re truly activating the right musclesFind out how PeriCoach’s insertable probe, sensors and app work together to guide at-home pelvic floor training and support remote monitoring by cliniciansLearn how stigma, shame and silence around incontinence shape women’s care-seeking behaviour and what’s starting to shift that narrative.Discover the surprising differences between launching a FemTech device in Australia versus the US and why the US has been more receptive to commercial innovationUnderstand how Pericoach is working with systems like Veterans Affairs, private insurers and future reimbursement pathways to scale access for womenFind out what hard-won advice Chelsea has for today’s FemTech founders about minimum viable products, regulation, fundraising and not over-perfecting before launch Resources: Chelsea Cornelius: LinkedIn PeriCoach: LinkedIn PeriCoach: https://www.pericoach.com/ Maaike Steinebach : LinkedIn Website Femtech Future https://www.femtechfuture.com Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future Ready to move pelvic health out of the shadows and into the spotlight? Hit play now to discover how PeriCoach is helping women swap pads for power, shame for science, and quiet suffering for confident, leak-free lives. This episode pulls back the curtain on a silent epidemic affecting millions of women and spotlights the FemTech innovation daring to change that story. From hidden pelvic floor muscles to breakthrough biofeedback, Chelsea Cornelius shows what’s possible when engineering meets empathy. If this conversation opened your eyes, don’t keep it to yourself; be part of the movement to normalize women’s health. Share this episode with a friend, like it, and leave a review so more listeners can find these stories. And see you next week for another powerful episode of FemTech at Work.

    31 min
  2. How Lacevo Built a Better Wearable Breast Pump for Modern Working Mothers

    5 MAR

    How Lacevo Built a Better Wearable Breast Pump for Modern Working Mothers

    What if the breast pump you rely on at work was finally built around your body, your ambition, and your autonomy, engineered by a mom who refused to let a boardroom of men decide what “good enough” looks like for breastfeeding women? In this episode of FemTech at Work, we sit down with Australian founder and stunt‑performer‑turned‑entrepreneur, Sally Grice, the CEO of Lacevo, the first black wearable breast pump endorsed by the Australian Breastfeeding Association and now stocked in major retailers like Target US and Baby Bunting. We explore how Lacevo is helping women breastfeed longer and on their own terms, why word‑of‑mouth and in‑store retail were strategic growth levers, and how billboards about nipple sizes and public pumping controversies are shifting the conversation on breastfeeding at work and in public. If you care about breastfeeding, FemTech, or simply building products that truly serve women’s lives, this episode is for you! Key Takeaways: Learn from Sally’s journey from professional wakeboarder and stuntwoman to building a global FemTech hardware brand for breastfeeding mothersHow did one painful, failed pumping session in a Zoom meeting become the catalyst for designing a new kind of wearable breast pumpWhy is nipple sizing so misunderstood, and what will you discover about how incorrect sizes drive pain, trauma, and poor pumping outcomesHow did Sally navigate Chinese manufacturing, skeptical engineers, and a male‑dominated supply chain to create a pump truly designed by and for momsFind out about Lacevo’s bold design choices like launching an all‑black wearable and how that ties to empowerment and working motherhoodHow did Lacevo grow from a baby expo in Australia to shelves at Target US and baby bunting, largely through word‑of‑mouth and in‑person retail discoveryHow are public incidents like the Virgin lounge pumping controversy reshaping the debate on breastfeeding and pumping at work and in public spacesUnderstand building an ecosystem around pumping from sizing studios and apps to future products supporting storage, transport, and daily routines Resources: Sally Grice: LinkedIn Lacevo: LinkedIn Lacevo: https://lacevo.com/ Maaike Steinebach : LinkedIn Website Femtech Future https://www.femtechfuture.com Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future If you’ve ever felt forced to choose between your career and breastfeeding, Sally’s story is your reminder that we deserve and can build better. This conversation is part of a much bigger movement to redesign work, products, and policies around women’s real lives. If this episode resonated with you, don’t keep it to yourself. Share it with a friend, colleague, or leader who needs to hear it, hit like, and leave a review so we can amplify the voices of FemTech founders like Sally even further. You are part of this change. See you next week for another episode of FemTech at Work, where we continue to spotlight the people rewriting the future of women’s health.

    31 min
  3. Revolutionizing Labor Induction: Gravida Health’s Clinician-Led Innovation in Women’s Health

    26 FEB

    Revolutionizing Labor Induction: Gravida Health’s Clinician-Led Innovation in Women’s Health

    What if the most transformative innovation in childbirth isn’t an app or an algorithm, but a simple, clinician-led medical device that turns “threading a needle in the dark” into a precise, compassionate experience for every mother? In this episode of FemTech at Work, we sit down with Dr. Densearn Seo, founder and CEO of Gravida Health, to explore how one clinician’s curiosity, frustration and global experience are reshaping labor induction and maternal care. If you’re a clinician, founder, investor or simply someone who cares about safer births and better maternal outcomes, this episode offers a rare, inside look at what it takes to build high-impact MedTech in women’s health without losing sight of the women and families at the center of it all. Let’s get into it! Key Takeaways: Find out how a curious medical student who never stopped asking “why” became a founder transforming labor induction on a global stageDiscover why pregnancy and labor are both over-medicalized and under-innovated and what that really means for mothers and clinicians todayLearn how Gravida Health’s device turns “threading a needle in the dark” into a more precise, comfortable and clinically intuitive labor induction processUnderstand how working across Malaysia, Singapore and Australia shaped Densearn’s view of healthcare equity and women’s health innovationFind out why it can take 17 years for medical research to reach the bedside and how Gravida is challenging that timeline for medical hardwareDiscover how a fully clinician-backed cap table changes the way a women’s health startup is funded, built and judged for successLearn from Densearn’s perspective on male allyship in FemTech and what responsible, merit-based support for women’s health really looks likeUnderstand the biggest funding myths in women’s health, and why simply rebranding “FemTech” as “MedTech” sometimes unlocks investor interestFind out the single most practical step clinicians and aspiring founders can take today to improve maternal and perinatal outcomes in their own ecosystem Resources: Dr. Densearn Seo: LinkedIn Gravida Health: LinkedIn Maaike Steinebach : LinkedIn Website Femtech Future https://www.femtechfuture.com Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future The heart of this conversation is a simple but radical idea: women’s health is not just a niche, and birth should never feel like “threading a needle in the dark.” From med school curiosity to clinician-led innovation, Gravida Health’s story shows what’s possible when we refuse to accept discomfort, delay and underinvestment as the status quo in maternal care. If this episode moved you, be part of the movement. Share it with a friend, colleague or investor who needs to rethink women’s health. Like this episode, leave a review so more people can discover these founders, and help amplify the change they’re fighting for. Thank you and we’ll see you next week for another exciting episode of FemTech at Work.

    38 min
  4. Breaking the Taboo with Menopause Friendly Australia

    19 FEB

    Breaking the Taboo with Menopause Friendly Australia

    What happens when a former accountant, nurse and IVF patient turns her frustration with menopause misinformation into a nationwide movement transforming workplaces across Australia? In this powerful episode, we have Grace Molloy, founder and CEO of Menopause Friendly Australia, to unpack how one “impatient advocate for women” is changing the way organisations talk about and support menopause at work. From the role of leadership and HR to the impact of poor medical training, government policy, AI, and gender pay gaps, this conversation is a masterclass for HR leaders, executives and changemakers who want to retain midlife talent, improve psychosocial safety, and normalise menopause as a core workplace wellbeing issue—not a career-limiting secret. Let’s dive in! Key Takeaways: What did Grace discover when she realised that even a nurse from a “women’s health family” knew almost nothing about perimenopause, and how did that spark Menopause Friendly Australia Understand the five global standards of a menopause friendly workplace and translate them into real policies, training and culture change instead of one-off awareness daysThe impact of menopause support using data like absenteeism, engagement, policy downloads and training outcomesFind out which of the “four compelling reasons” for becoming menopause friendly, gender pay gap, productivity, talent retention, or legal/psychosocial risk matters most in your organisationUnderstand the gaps in GP and medical training, and why that makes workplace education and advocacy so critical for women seeking menopause careDiscover the practical first steps as an HR or DEI leader to build a business case for menopause support, even in the face of DEI backlash or limited budgetsUnderstand the potential risks of AI and job change for women, and how that intersects with existing gender pay and leadership gaps Resources: Grace Molloy: LinkedIn Menopause Friendly Australia: LinkedIn Menopause Friendly Australia: https://menopausefriendly.au/ Free resources on menopause: https://menopausefriendly.au/news/ Dove x Menopause Friendly: https://menopausefriendly.au/dove/#download Maaike Steinebach : LinkedIn Website Femtech Future https://www.femtechfuture.com Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future Menopause doesn’t have to be a silent struggle or a career-limiting secret. As Grace shows, when workplaces choose to listen, learn and lead, they don’t just support women—they unlock wisdom, loyalty and powerhouse performance across their teams. If this episode moved you, be part of the movement, share it with a colleague, like it, leave a review so more people can discover these conversations, and join us next week for another episode of Femtech at Work, where we keep rewriting the rules of what thriving at work really looks like.

    37 min
  5. What a Fair Health System for Women Looks Like: Insights from Women’s Health Victoria

    12 FEB

    What a Fair Health System for Women Looks Like: Insights from Women’s Health Victoria

    What happens when a state decides women’s health is non‑negotiable? Today at FemTech at Work,we have Sally Hasler, CEO of Women’s Health Victoria, to unpack how one Australian state is using policy, research, and partnership to close the gender health gap. From chronic pain and reproductive coercion to AI-driven access and corporate responsibility, this conversation shines a light on what real systems change for women’s health can look like when government, healthcare, femtech, and philanthropy finally pull in the same direction. If you care about women’s health, femtech, policy change, or just want to understand what it takes to redesign an entire system around equity, this episode is a powerful, practical roadmap. Key Takeaways: How did Sally’s journey from government to the Women’s Foundation in Hong Kong to Women’s Health Victoria shape her mission to tackle gender inequity in healthWhat does it really mean in practice when a health system stops treating women as “small men” and starts including sex and gender in every layer of research and careHow is the Victorian government using policy, funding, and mandatory research requirements to close the gender health gap, and what can other countries understand from this approachIn what ways does gender-based violence, including reproductive coercion, quietly shape women’s mental and physical health outcomes and how can systems change disrupt thisHow can corporates and insurers learn to apply a gender lens to products, policies, and workplaces so women aren’t penalised for seeking mental health or reproductive careWhy do women spend up to nine years of their working lives in poor health, and what insights can we gain about the critical role workplaces play in shifting this realityIn what ways could responsible AI help women anonymously access sexual and reproductive health information 24/7, and what safeguards are needed to avoid amplifying bias Resources: Sally Hasler: LinkedIn Women’s Health Victoria: LinkedIn Women’s Health Victoria: https://www.whv.org.au/ Maaike Steinebach: LinkedIn Website Femtech Future https://www.femtechfuture.com Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future In a world where women are still treated as medical afterthoughts, conversations like this are not just interesting. They’re urgent! Sally’s work in Victoria shows that when we centre women’s lived experiences, demand evidence-based change, and embrace responsible femtech, we don’t just tweak the system, we rewrite it. If this episode opened your eyes or gave you language for your own story, don’t let it stop here. Share this conversation with a friend, colleague, or policymaker who needs to hear it. Like the episode, leave a review so more people can discover these voices of change, and help us grow a global community that refuses to accept the gender health gap as inevitable. Thank you for listening! Be part of the movement, keep the conversation going, and I’ll see you next week for another episode spotlighting the people who are reshaping the future of women’s health.

    39 min
  6. The Story Behind the Cycle Guide Fertility Treatment Organizer App

    5 FEB

    The Story Behind the Cycle Guide Fertility Treatment Organizer App

    What if the most stressful part of IVF wasn’t the hormones, the scans, or the emotional rollercoaster, but the chaos of managing it all alone at your kitchen table? In this episode, we meet the doctor-turned-founder who decided that fertility patients deserve better than photocopied instructions and guesswork. Joining us is Dr. Caroline Fiddler, a medical doctor and founder of Cycle Guide, a purpose-built IVF and fertility treatment organizer app. Drawing on her own two-and-a-half-year IVF journey and her career in hospital systems, Caroline shares how witnessing outdated, fragmented processes pushed her to build a simple, intuitive fertility app that helps patients take back control of their treatment. If you’re going through fertility treatment, building in femtech, or working in healthcare and wondering how to improve patient journeys, this conversation will give you practical insight and emotional validation. Key Takeaways: How did Caroline’s own IVF journey as a single woman and years inside hospital systems lead her to create the Cycle Guide fertility organizer appDiscover why “simple, intuitive, and flexible” design can be more powerful than feature-heavy fertility platformsHow does Cycle Guide help patients understand and organise blood tests, ultrasounds, injections, procedures, and trigger shots across an entire IVF cycleLearn from the pre-cycle checklist that prepares you for Day 1, tackles clinic contact issues, manages medication storage, and navigates real-life scheduling clashesHow do Cycle Guide's reminders and colour-coded tasks help patients avoid heartbreaking mistakes, such as missing crucial trigger injectionsUnderstand the emotional and financial decisions around when to stop collecting your own eggs, change clinics, or consider donor eggsHow Caroline’s experience highlights the hidden friction inside fertility clinics and hospital systems, and what does that mean for femtech foundersLearn from Caroline’s honest reflections on rejection, resilience and why she’s still convinced that IVF patients deserve better digital support Resources: Caroline Fiddler: LinkedIn CycleGuide: Instagram Cycle Guide: https://cycleguide.com.au/ Maaike Steinebach : LinkedIn Website Femtech Future https://www.femtechfuture.com Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future In a world where fertility patients still juggle life-changing decisions with paper instructions and fragmented systems, Dr. Caroline Fiddler’s story is a reminder that compassionate innovation can rewrite the experience - one organised, empowered cycle at a time. If you’re navigating IVF yourself, supporting someone who is, or building the next wave of femtech solutions, this episode is your invitation to believe that the process can be clearer, kinder and more in your control. If this conversation moved you, be part of the movement! Share this episode with someone who needs it, hit like, leave a review so more listeners can discover these stories, and subscribe so you don’t miss out. See you next week for another episode of FemTech at Work, where we spotlight the founders reshaping women’s health- one bold idea at a time!

    42 min
  7. Building Asia’s First End-to-End Fertility Ecosystem with Margaret Wang (Rhea Fertility & GenPrime)

    29 JAN

    Building Asia’s First End-to-End Fertility Ecosystem with Margaret Wang (Rhea Fertility & GenPrime)

    What happens when an investor walks away from high finance to rebuild the fertility journey across Asia? In this episode, you’ll step inside the world of Rhea Fertility & GenPrime and see how one woman is redesigning reproductive care for an entire region. Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Margaret Wang, founding CEO of Rhea Fertility and GenPrime, to unpack how she left a global finance career to build one of the Asia’s first truly end-to-end fertility platforms. Margaret shares her deeply personal egg-freezing journey across New York and Singapore, the legal and cultural hurdles unmarried women face in Asia, and how those experiences inspired her to create a more patient-centric, emotionally supportive fertility experience. Key Takeaways: How Margaret's own egg-freezing journey in New York and Singapore inspires her to design a more human and patient-centric fertility experience across AsiaDiscover the end-to-end fertility ecosystem, including consults, labs, and cryopreservation, in five different countriesHow do Asia's diverse fertility laws shape Rhea's strategy, including adding an LA clinic for surrogacy and LGBTQ+ servicesWhat are the often-overlooked emotional challenges of IVF and egg freezing, and how can simple rituals make a big differenceHow does Rhea partner with tech startups, and what hurdles do they face in getting clinicians to adopt innovative toolsWhat's driving investment in women's and reproductive health, and why are global investors betting big on Asia-focused fertility platformsHow do cultural expectations around marriage, motherhood, age, and solo parenting shape fertility choices for Asian womenWhat might you discover about your own fertility, and how could it shift your family planning strategyHow does Rhea envision growing its services beyond fertility to support women's overall reproductive and hormonal well-being across Asia Resources: Margaret Wang: LinkedIn Rhea Fertility: LinkedIn Rhea Fertility: https://www.rheafertility.com/ Maaike Steinebach : LinkedIn Website Femtech Future https://www.femtechfuture.com Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future Fertility isn’t just a medical journey- it’s emotional, cultural, and deeply personal. Margaret’s story shows what’s possible when we redesign care around women’s real lives, not outdated systems. If this conversation helped you feel seen, informed, or inspired, don’t keep it to yourself. Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it, leave a review so more women can discover it, and hit follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode. Be part of the movement to build better, more accessible reproductive care for women everywhere and we’ll see you next week for another powerful episode of FemTech At Work.

    43 min
  8. From Patient to FemTech Founder: How Ovum AI Is Redefining Women’s Health Care

    22 JAN

    From Patient to FemTech Founder: How Ovum AI Is Redefining Women’s Health Care

    What happens when a young doctor, failed by the very system she works in, decides to rebuild women's healthcare from the ground up using AI? Today, we're chatting with Dr. Ariella Heffernan-Marks, founder of Ovum AI, about how her battle with debilitating vestibular migraines exposed the deep biases and data gaps in women's healthcare and sparked a radically different solution. Ariella reveals how Ovum AI works as an AI health partner for women, integrating medical reports, wearables, symptoms, and reproductive health into a longitudinal 'health brain' designed around women's physiology. You'll hear how she moved from medical school to building and funding a FemTech startup, why generic tools like ChatGPT can't safely serve women's health needs, and how a human-first, privacy-obsessed approach to AI is reshaping doctor visits, workplace wellbeing, and women's long-term health. Ariella also lifts the curtain on investor bias, designing for neurodivergent users, and the self-care routines that keep her grounded while she pursues the audacious goal of closing a trillion-dollar gender health gap. Let's dive in! Key Takeaways: How Ariella's "mystery illness" led her to create Ovum AI, a lifetime health record and AI advocate for womenHow Ovum AI connects periods, perimenopause, chronic illness, and mental health into one intelligent systemUnderstand the gender health gap and why women spending 25% more time in poor health, and what does that really cost our economies and careers?Find out how Ariella is tackling AI bias head-onWhat does it take to build a women-specific AI from the ground up, instead of just plugging women’s questions into generic large language models?Learn why data privacy is non‑negotiable and Ovum's approach to consent, de-identification, and face ID for secure health data uploadDiscover Ovum's B2B strategy and how it supports women's health at work without accessing individual dataUnderstand the fundraising journey, what did the right investors see in women's health and AI that skeptics missed? How can founders identify aligned backers?Learn from Ariella's founder routine (treating seasons, self-reflection and coaching) as core parts of building a FemTech company. Resources: Ariella Heffernan - Marks: LinkedIn Ovum AI: LinkedIn Ovum AI: https://www.askovum.com/ Maaike Steinebach : LinkedIn Website Femtech Future https://www.femtechfuture.com Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future Ready to see what women’s healthcare can look like when it’s designed by women, for women, and powered by AI that actually understands us? Tune in now and step inside Ariella’s journey from dismissed patient to doctor-founder, building the “smartest AI woman in the world” with Ovum. If this episode spoke to you, don’t keep it to yourself, be part of the movement to close the gender health gap. Share this conversation with a friend or colleague, hit follow, leave a review, and help us amplify the voices shaping the future of FemTech. See you next week for another episode of Femtec at Work, where we spotlight the founders, builders and believers driving women's health forward!

    39 min
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About

Femtech At Work is a new podcast that showcases inspiring femtech founders, corporate champions of women’s health in the workplace, and ecosystem innovators. Starting off in Hong Kong we will travel across Asia and Oceania and the rest of the world to explore the most innovative new women’s health solutions around reproductive health and diseases that disproportionately affect women, talk about the challenges and opportunities of starting a women’s health company and the role of the workplace for impact and change.

Information

  • Creator
    Maaike Steinebach
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    63
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Femtech At Work