Women Disrupting Tech

Dirkjan Hupkes
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Women Disrupting Tech features female founders, tech leaders, and women in tech building the next generation of technology companies. Each week, host Dirkjan Hupkes talks with a founder about how she's scaling a startup, navigating funding, building resilient teams, and tackling challenges from AI ethics to healthcare innovation to climate tech. Whether you're a female tech entrepreneur, aspiring founder, startup leader, or advocate for more women in technology, this show gives you actionable strategies and proven frameworks from women reshaping tech. New episodes every Thursday.

  1. 21h ago

    Building the AI Flower Framework as the Roadmap for AI Transformation with Juliette van der Laarse

    Juliette is the creator of the AI Flower Framework and founder of the AI Flower Foundation. She spent a year mapping how AI could impact her job as an engineering manager, and discovered why so many AI pilots don’t scale. She turned what she found into an open-source AI framework that maps 152 IT activities against 25 levels of AI capability to show what evolves, fossilizes, or stays human work. Whether you’re a founder, engineering leader, or a woman in tech looking for a concrete way to find out whether AI is actually the right solution to your problem, this episode will give you the three questions you need to ask before you start. What you'll learn in this episode: Why most AI pilots stall before they ever scaleWhy "ten percent wrong" becomes "one hundred percent wrong" once AI touches itThe three questions to ask before reaching for AI: AI, automation, or a system fixHow 152 IT activities map against 25 levels of AI capabilityWhy she kept the framework open source instead of charging for itWhat her own redundancy taught her about staying in control of her careerHer one safeguard for any AI tool that recommends or matches peopleChapters: 00:00 Introducing Juliette van der Laarse and the AI Flower framework 05:19 From childhood programming to AI research and corporate engineering leadership 08:17 Why Juliette started the framework: clarity, career impact, and AI transformation 10:05 Why pilot-first AI strategies often stall at the business case stage 13:35 Why pilots are useful but not enough for enterprise-wide change 16:35 How the framework addresses fear, trust, and job stability 19:11 Juliette's redundancy experience and what it taught her about career resilience 27:33 Will AI take all jobs, and what has to happen before that becomes realistic 29:51 System readiness, regulation, and why some work may stay human 32:06 AI overhype versus useful automation 33:50 Why shallow IT training can lead teams to overuse AI 36:57 How mentoring and senior coaching could scale knowledge better 41:10 The structure of the AI Flower: activities, standards, and excellence 48:02 AI capability as 25 levels of maturity and scope 51:49 Mapping AI capability to IT activities and fossilization of tasks 54:57 How the model shows role evolution across DevOps, test, and infrastructure work 59:27 Capturing undocumented knowledge and local context in companies 1:03:06 Building internal knowledge gathering and documentation workflows with AI 1:09:21 Peer review, critique, and building a board of naysayers 1:15:46 How the framework changes over time while keeping a stable structure 1:18:41 Why the framework is open source instead of monetized 1:25:40 Using the model to map AI risk and suggest controls 1:30:06 Where companies should start, and the biggest mistake to avoid 1:35:23 Why Juliette is setting up a foundation around the framework 1:37:35 Safeguards for an AI funding coach and avoiding self-reinforcing bias 1:41:15 Where to follow Juliette as the foundation and framework grow Show notes: Blog: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/09/10/episode-169/ Substack: https://womendisruptingtech.substack.com/p/episode-169?r=2v0lts&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Connect with Juliette van der Laarse and the AI Flower Foundation Juliette: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliettevanderlaarse/ AI Flower Foundation: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ai-flower-foundation/ Connect with host Dirkjan Hupkes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/ FundingCoach website: https://fundingcoach.ai Substack: https://womendisruptingtech.substack.com/ About Women Disrupting Tech Every week, Women Disrupting Tech covers the decisions, patterns, and structural realities that female founders and investors rarely discuss in public but run into every time they meet. Follow to get it in your feed. 🎧 Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music. 👉 Subscribe for more conversations with women building the future of tech.

    Building the AI Flower Framework as the Roadmap for AI Transformation with Juliette van der Laarse

  2. Sep 3

    How Female Endurance Athletes Keep Performing During the Hormonal Transition with Karianne Kraaijestein

    Karianne Kraaijestein spent years building resilience through sport, from gymnastics to indoor climbing to yoga, before starting triathlons at 47. Now she's the founder of Adaptive, a coaching platform for female endurance athletes navigating a different kind of endurance test: the hormonal transition. In this episode, we talk about her own journey in endurance sports, why she is focusing on women who are in a hormonal transition, and what data is needed to enable peak performance for women at this stage of their lives. If you're an endurance athlete in perimenopause or postmenopause, or you coach one, and training has stopped working for reasons nobody can quite explain, this episode has pointers on where to look for strategies that improve performance. For female founders and women in tech building trust-dependent products in spaces where the data doesn't exist yet, Karianne provides insights that can help you navigate the early stages. What you'll learn in this episode: Why standard training plans, built for a generic body, fail women in the hormonal transitionWhy tracking sleep, heat regulation, and training load matters more than tracking hormones directlyHow Karianne finished part of the S’GRAIL in Girona on a torn ACL, and what that taught her about riskWhy "too much heart and not enough mind" bankrupted her previous yoga studio, and what she's doing differently with AdaptiveWhy she considers a scientific advisory board the biggest de-risking factor for investors in a trust-dependent productHow letting the community "almost be part of the building" shapes Adaptive's product developmentChapters:00:00 Introduction 04:45 About Karianne and Adaptive 07:33 The Journey into Endurance Sports 10:28 Mental Challenges in Endurance Sports 13:29 The Importance of Goal Setting 16:22 Navigating Individuality in Triathlons 19:14 Overcoming Physical Setbacks 22:20 The Recovery Process and Age Factors 25:01 Building Adaptive for Women 28:13 Understanding Hormonal Transitions 31:05 Energy Management and Training Adjustments 34:11 The Role of Data in Training 36:43 Adaptive's Unique Approach 39:49 Integrating Research into Adaptive 41:33 The Power of Athlete Data 42:47 Research Collaborations and Insights 44:17 Understanding Amateur vs. Professional Athletes 45:30 Adaptive vs. Competitors in Women's Fitness 46:38 Building a Community for Endurance Athletes 47:55 Coaching Integration with Adaptive 49:23 Business Model and Pricing Strategy 52:56 Proving the Business Case for Adaptive 55:41 Data Privacy and Trust Issues 1:00:10 The Role of Community in Data Sharing 1:01:34 Building Trust with Scientific Validation 1:03:20 Future Expansion and Market Opportunities 1:04:46 Navigating Burnout and Performance 1:09:22 Lessons from Past Experiences 1:12:50 Design Principles for Personalized Solutions 1:15:01 Connecting with Karianne, Adaptive and Future Plans Show notes Blog: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/09/03/episode-168/ Substack: https://womendisruptingtech.substack.com/p/episode-168 Connect with Karianne Kraaijestein and Adaptive LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kariannekraaijestein/ Connect with host Dirkjan Hupkes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/ FundingCoach.ai: https://fundingcoach.ai Substack: https://womendisruptingtech.substack.com/ About Women Disrupting Tech Every week, Women Disrupting Tech covers the decisions, patterns, and structural realities that female founders and investors rarely discuss in public but run into every time they meet. Follow to get it in your feed. 🎧 Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music. 👉 Subscribe for more conversations with women building the future of health tech.

    How Female Endurance Athletes Keep Performing During the Hormonal Transition with Karianne Kraaijestein

  3. Aug 27

    Turning Early Fans Into a Marketing Engine with Elise Mol

    Only 3% of people who show up to an event went looking for it. The other 97% came because someone they trust was already going. In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Elise Mol, co-founder of Bash, a platform that helps event organizers turn ticket buyers into a community-driven marketing engine. We explore why exclusive early access beats public discounts, why the events industry is under more financial pressure than most people assume, and what it takes to build trust-based growth instead of relying on paid ads. What you’ll learn in this episode Why public “early bird” discounts fail to reward loyal community members, and what exclusive access does instead Why your first ticket buyers act as an organic marketing channel in the months before an event How the “plus-one” system turns a single ticket into a referral loop through WhatsApp and other personal channels Why the post-COVID events industry is under more financial pressure than headlines suggest Why BASH chose to work with organizers who already understood their model, rather than trying to convince skeptics Why proving one local market matters more than international expansion early on A simple practice for turning routine tasks like washing the dishes into space for solving hard problems Chapters 00:00 Introduction 04:50 BASH and Its Origins 07:04 The Impact of COVID-19 on Event Planning 10:05 Transitioning from User to Organizer Focus 12:53 Challenges Faced by Event Organizers Post-COVID 16:08 The Importance of Early Ticket Sales 18:51 Building Community and FOMO in Event Marketing 21:46 BASH’s Role in Supporting Event Organizers 26:43 The Art of Event Organization 32:46 Building Community Through Events 38:39 Scaling and Cultural Considerations 42:38 Goal Setting and Company Growth 46:09 Design Principles for Trust and Belonging More about the episode Blog: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/08/27/episode-167/ Substack: https://womendisruptingtech.substack.com/p/episode-167 Connect with Elise Mol and BASH Elise Mol on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/elisemol BASH: https://bash.social Connect with host Dirkjan Hupkes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/ FundingCoach: https://fundingcoach.ai About Women Disrupting TechEvery week, Women Disrupting Tech covers the decisions, patterns, and structural realities that female founders and investors rarely discuss in public but run into every time they meet. Follow to get it in your feed. 🎧 Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon Music.👉 Subscribe for more conversations with women building the future of tech.

    Turning Early Fans Into a Marketing Engine with Elise Mol

  4. Aug 20

    Using Technology To Bring the Human Side Back To Medicine with Dr. Hannah Allen | Ep. 166

    A third of a GP’s working week goes to admin, and 42% of UK GPs say they want to leave the profession within five years. Dr. Hannah Allen left clinical practice to fix that, and now leads clinical strategy at Heidi, an AI scribe used by clinicians in over 110 countries. In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Dr. Hannah Allen, Chief Medical Officer at Heidi, about what happens when you take the keyboard out of the exam room. Hannah trained as a doctor focused on women’s health before moving into health tech. She’s still a practicing GP, running a women’s health clinic while leading the clinical function at Heidi. She explains why she believes technology’s real job in medicine isn’t replacing clinical judgment; it’s giving doctors their attention back. This episode is for founders building in health tech or other regulated industries, for clinicians curious about how AI actually fits into their day, and for anyone who wants to understand where women’s health data is still missing from medicine. What you’ll learn in this episode: * Why a third of a GP’s week goes to admin, and how that connects to the 42% of UK GPs who say they want to leave the profession within five years * Why over 90% of patients feel more listened to when their doctor uses an AI scribe like Heidi * Why building healthcare AI requires regional, linguistic, and cultural adaptation from day one, not as an afterthought * Why up to 75 to 80% of clinicians already use some form of AI, even as most say they’re skeptical of it * Why how a woman’s body behaves during pregnancy can predict her health decades later, and why that data mostly goes uncaptured * Why female founders get “preventer” questions from VCs while male founders get “promoter” questions, and what Hannah does to counter that * Why Hannah tells founders to obsess over the problem, not the product Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 04:35 Introduction to Dr. Hannah Allen 07:32 Transitioning from Medicine to Tech 10:31 The Role of Technology in Healthcare 13:43 Global Healthcare Challenges 17:15 Predicting Women’s Health Issues 21:20 AI in Healthcare: Opportunities and Concerns 25:18 Heidi: Revolutionizing Clinical Workflows 27:14 The Rise of Heidi: Word of Mouth Success 28:50 Measuring Impact: Time Savings and Burnout Reduction 30:01 Expanding Horizons: Beyond Documentation 32:03 The Role of AI in Clinical Practice 35:18 Transforming Patient Interactions with AI 39:01 Patient Feedback and Trust in AI 43:50 The Human Element in Healthcare 45:04 Future Vision: A Seamless Healthcare Experience 47:18 Advice for Founders: Building for Real Problems 50:44 Closing Thoughts and Resources More about the episode Show Notes: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/08/20/episode-166/ Substack: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/08/20/episode-166/ Connect with Dr. Hannah Allen and Heidi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-hannah-a-a27ba650/ Heidi website: https://www.heidihealth.com/en-ie Heidi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/heidi/ More about the TEDx Coolhaven Women event on 9 October in Rotterdam More about the event: https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/68333 Buy your tickets at: https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/tedx-coolhaven-women-the-new-builders-tickets-1992166654090?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true Use code WDT25 for an exclusive 25% discount. Connect with host Dirkjan Hupkes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/ FundingCoach.ai: https://fundingcoach.ai Substack: https://womendisruptingtech.substack.com/ About Women Disrupting Tech Every week, Women Disrupting Tech covers the decisions, patterns, and structural realities that female founders and investors rarely discuss in public but run into every time they meet. Follow to get it in your feed. 🎧 Listen to Women Disrupting Tech on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. 👉 Subscribe for more conversations with women building tech from the ground up.

    Using Technology To Bring the Human Side Back To Medicine with Dr. Hannah Allen | Ep. 166

  5. Aug 13

    Tackling Menstrual Cup Hygiene and Period Poverty with Sophie Haccou | Ep. 165

    One in eight women in the Netherlands must choose between food and tampons. Sophie Haccou bootstrapped CupHub to close that gap, and is about to launch the crowdfunding campaign that could take her full time. In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Sophie Haccou, co-founder of CupHub, about building a hardware startup from a university design project to a live crowdfunding campaign. Sophie and her co-founder Aart are developing Casey, a portable rinsing device that makes menstrual cups practical to use outside the home, and bootstrapped the company by waitressing at night while building it during the day. What you’ll learn in this episode: - Why one in eight women in the Netherlands have to choose between food and tampons, and how that defines period poverty - Why menstrual cups cost more upfront but save money over time, and why that upfront cost is the real barrier - Why almost no public toilet stall has a sink, and how that drives the design of Casey - Why VCs told Sophie and Aart it was too early for them, and how that pushed them toward crowdfunding instead - What Sophie’s 100,000 euro crowdfunding goal will fund, and what changes at the 200,000 euro stretch goal - How bootstrapping meant working nights as a waitress while building CupHub during the day - Why Sophie’s dream is to tackle period poverty beyond the Netherlands, including an early conversation about testing Casey in Kenya Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 04:50 Introduction to Sophie Haccou and CupHub 08:47 Development of Casey, the portable menstrual cup rinser 12:51 Designing user-friendly and sustainable menstrual products 16:51 Business model: crowdfunding and social impact partnerships 18:50 Material safety and standards for menstrual cups 20:42 Future prospects: diagnostics and FemTech innovations 22:41 Global expansion and impact in developing countries 24:49 The role of community in breaking taboos 26:51 Crowdfunding strategy and investor engagement 28:50 Partnerships with food banks and NGOs 30:58 Access to clean water and sterilization in different regions 32:50 The importance of education in schools about menstruation 34:56 The social and health impact of menstrual products 36:57 The future of FemTech and diagnostics 38:43 Advice for female founders and entrepreneurs 40:49 Building a community and sharing experiences 42:43 Expanding internationally and future goals 44:52 Funding strategies and business sustainability 46:43 The role of men in menstrual health awareness 48:52 Closing thoughts and how to support CupHub More about this episode: Blog: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/08/13/episode-165/ Substack: https://womendisruptingtech.substack.com/p/episode-165 Connect with Sophie Haccou and CupHub: Crowdfunding campaign: crowdaboutnow.nl/campaign/CupHub LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cuphub/ Instagram: @CupHubOfficial Website: CupHub.net More about the TEDx Coolhaven Women event on 9 October in Rotterdam More about the event: https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/68333 Buy your tickets at: https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/tedx-coolhaven-women-the-new-builders-tickets-1992166654090?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true Use code WDT25 for an exclusive 25% discount. Connect with host Dirkjan Hupkes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/ FundingCoach.ai: https://fundingcoach.ai Substack: https://womendisruptingtech.substack.com/ About Women Disrupting TechEvery week, Women Disrupting Tech covers the decisions, patterns, and structural realities that female founders and investors rarely discuss in public but run into every time they meet. Follow to get it in your feed. 🎧 Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or YouTube.👉 Subscribe for more conversations with women building hardware companies from the ground up.

    Tackling Menstrual Cup Hygiene and Period Poverty with Sophie Haccou | Ep. 165

  6. Aug 6

    Building an Adaptable Pessary To Restore Women's Autonomy with Mirjam Weemhoff & Bart van Diepenbeek | Ep 164

    50% of women over 40 will experience some degree of pelvic organ prolapse. Most still manage it with a device that has barely changed in decades. In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Mirjam Weemhoff, urogynecologist and co-founder, and Bart van Diepenbeek, CEO, of Saturn Pelvic Health. Together they built FlexSupp, an adaptable pessary built to replace the one-size-fits-all devices women rely on for prolapse. We get into the clinical problem, the research behind it, and how they built the company. If you're a founder building medtech or health tech products, a woman in tech curious how founding teams get structured, or just someone who is interested in women’s health innovation, this episode is for you. What you’ll learn in this episode: * Why traditional pessaries fail so often, and what actually causes prolapse * How FlexSupp’s adaptable design replaces the one-size-fits-all approach * Why the team deliberately chose a male CEO to normalize investor conversations * Why established pessary producers have little incentive to innovate * What the last ten percent of medical device development looks like, and how a diverse team handles setbacks * Why they chose Europe before the US, against the more common playbook * The prevalence numbers behind prolapse, and why it stays hidden Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 04:30 Introduction to Saturn Pelvic Health and the team 04:54 Mirjam Weemhoff shares her background and motivation 06:30 The clinical problem of pelvic organ prolapse 07:39 The founding story and team formation 09:31 Bart van Diepenbeek joins the team and his motivation 12:33 The importance of team diversity and gender balance 14:11 Prevalence and impact of pelvic prolapse 16:22 How prolapse affects organ function and daily life 18:37 Limitations of current pessaries and surgeries 21:40 Advantages of the new adaptable pessary design 26:26 The development process of FlexSupp and research insights 39:48 Research and MRI studies informing product design 41:52 Current stage and remaining risks in product development 45:18 Lessons learned and unexpected challenges 48:56 Market entry strategy and regulatory considerations 53:57 Convincing stakeholders and overcoming barriers 58:34 Addressing gender and cultural aspects in healthcare 1:03:28 Why start in Europe before expanding globally 1:04:33 Closing thoughts and contact information Connect with Mirjam Weemhoff, Bart van Diepenbeek, and Saturn Pelvic Health Mirjam Weemhoff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirjam-weemhoff-she-her-b343581b9/ Bart van Diepenbeek: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-van-diepenbeek-b771734/ Saturn Pelvic Health: https://www.saturnpelvichealth.com/ FlexSupp product details: https://www.saturnpelvichealth.com/about-our-product/ More about the episode Read more on the blog: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/08/06/episode-164/ More reflections on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/womendisruptingtech/p/episode-164 Connect with the host: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/ More about the TEDx Coolhaven Women event on 9 October in Rotterdam Event website: https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/68333 Buy your tickets at Eventbrite Use code WDT25 for an exclusive 25% discount. About Women Disrupting Tech Every week, Women Disrupting Tech covers the decisions, patterns, and structural realities that female founders and investors rarely discuss in public but run into every time they meet. Follow to get it in your feed. 🎧 Listen to Women Disrupting Tech on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. 👉 Subscribe for more conversations with founders building the future of health tech.

    Building an Adaptable Pessary To Restore Women's Autonomy with Mirjam Weemhoff & Bart van Diepenbeek | Ep 164

  7. Jul 30

    Health 4.0: Transforming Healthcare For Real Health Equity with Robin Blackstone, MD | Ep. 163

    Our healthcare system wasn't designed for the 21st century. It is a century-old model built in an era without AI, designed to rescue sick people instead of keeping people healthy in the first place. In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, host Dirkjan Hupkes talks with Dr. Robin Blackstone about healthcare innovation, AI in medicine, and what real health system reform actually requires. Whether you are following digital health trends or are a founder and investor building in the space, this conversation explores how a reimbursement system built after World War I still rewards treating sickness over prevention, and unpacks her Health 4.0 framework for closing that gap. What you’ll learn in this episode: The true cost: Why healthcare is the second line in the P&L of major US companies and why employees pay up to $6,000 per year for coverage. Health 4.0: How to redefine care around continuous, personalized, AI-enabled health instead of episodic disease treatment. Systemic incentives: What it would actually take for hospital CEOs, insurers, and health ministers to align incentives around wellness. Data and equity: Why social determinants of health and data equity matter for building a system for "the other ninety-nine percent." Technology's role: How AI connects people and systems to combat loneliness and drive decision-making. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 03:45 Introduction to Healthcare Innovation 06:35 The Journey of a Female Surgeon 09:33 Challenges in the U.S. Healthcare System 12:19 The Need for Systemic Change 15:27 Aligning Incentives in Healthcare 18:17 The Role of Technology in Health 21:18 Social Determinants of Health 24:15 The Impact of Environment on Health 27:05 AI’s Role in Personalized Medicine 30:09 Overcoming Barriers to Technology Adoption 33:01 Addressing Loneliness with Technology 35:41 The Role of AI in Human Connection 36:58 Understanding Health 4.0 41:16 Shifting from Crisis Management to Prevention 46:31 Incentive Changes in Healthcare 53:02 The Importance of Data in Healthcare 57:10 Monetizing Data and Equity in Healthcare 1:00:11 AI’s Role in Decision Making 1:02:16 Transforming Healthcare: A Personal Journey 1:05:46 Strategies for Healthcare Leaders 1:08:25 Reimagining Insurance and Payment Systems 1:10:44 Building a New Health System 1:11:50 The Human Element in Healthcare 1:16:18 Introducing Dr. AI: A New Frontier 1:21:23 Empowering Female Founders in Health Tech 1:27:17 How to Learn More and Connect with Dr. Blackstone Links & Resources: Show notes and blog: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/07/30/episode-163/ Women Disrupting Tech on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/womendisruptingtech/p/episode-163?r=2v0lts&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Connect with Dr. Robin Blackstone: Website: https://robinblackstone.com/ Book: https://robinblackstone.com/the-book/ Papers: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=11181028 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinblackstone/ Podcast: https://robinblackstone.com/podcast/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RobinBlackstoneDoctorAI Substack: https://robinblackstone.substack.com/ Connect with host Dirkjan Hupkes: LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/⁠ FundingCoach.ai: ⁠https://fundingcoach.ai Substack: ⁠https://womendisruptingtech.substack.com/⁠ About Women Disrupting Tech: Every week, Women Disrupting Tech covers the decisions, patterns, and structural realities that female founders and investors rarely discuss in public but run into every time they meet. Follow to get it in your feed. 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

    Health 4.0: Transforming Healthcare For Real Health Equity with Robin Blackstone, MD | Ep. 163

  8. Jul 23

    Rethinking Incontinence: Building the Certain Valve with Leonie van de Kamer | Ep. 162

    One in three women will experience incontinence in her life, yet the options have stayed stuck at pads or surgery. Leonie van de Kamer is building the option in between. In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Leonie van de Kamer, CEO and co-founder of Certain, about a patient-controlled device placed in the urethra for female stress urinary incontinence, positioned between disposable pads and invasive surgery. We trace how the valve technology started as a hormone-free contraceptive at Choice, why the team spun Certain out as a separate company, and what it takes to fund a preclinical medtech startup. This episode is for female founders, women in tech, and health tech entrepreneurs, plus investors and women in leadership who want to see how a real medtech company gets built: the market validation, the regulatory strategy, and the funding decisions behind a women's health product. What you'll learn in this episode: Why incontinence ranks as the second most impactful chronic disease on quality of life, and why one in three women is affected by anatomy, not injuryHow the same valve became two companies: adapting contraceptive technology to incontinence, and when to spin out rather than run a platformWhy incontinence is a lower-risk investment case than contraception, in Leonie's own wordsHow a lean medtech team "steers the orchestra" using external specialists instead of hiring every expert in-houseWhy the UK is a strategic first market after its ban on surgical meshes and tapesWhat early market validation with clinicians, patients, and insurers actually looks like before the product existsHow Leonie uses AI to filter investors and cut the time lost to the wrong funding conversationsChapters: 00:00 Introduction 03:20 Introduction and background of Leonie van de Kamer 05:17 Leonie's journey from medicine and entrepreneurship 08:13 Inspiration behind Certain's incontinence device 13:22 Technical challenges and design considerations 18:26 Market strategy and spin-out process 23:15 Societal impact and addressing taboo in women's health 28:20 Regulatory classification and approval pathway 33:21 Funding strategies and investor relations 43:23 Building a lean team and quality management 53:20 Market opportunities in the UK and Europe 1:03:15 Future milestones and strategic partnerships 1:13:10 Closing thoughts and connecting with Leonie van de Kamer Blog and show notes: Show notes: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/07/23/episode-162/ Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/womendisruptingtech/p/episode-162?r=2v0lts&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Connect with Leonie van de Kamer and Certain: Website: https://www.certain.care/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonie-van-de-kamer-2ba79a2b Connect with Dirkjan Hupkes and Fundingcoach.ai LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/ Website: https://fundingcoach.ai/ About Women Disrupting Tech Every week, Women Disrupting Tech covers the decisions, patterns, and structural realities that female founders and investors rarely discuss in public but run into every time they meet. Follow to get it in your feed.

    Rethinking Incontinence: Building the Certain Valve with Leonie van de Kamer | Ep. 162
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Women Disrupting Tech features female founders, tech leaders, and women in tech building the next generation of technology companies. Each week, host Dirkjan Hupkes talks with a founder about how she's scaling a startup, navigating funding, building resilient teams, and tackling challenges from AI ethics to healthcare innovation to climate tech. Whether you're a female tech entrepreneur, aspiring founder, startup leader, or advocate for more women in technology, this show gives you actionable strategies and proven frameworks from women reshaping tech. New episodes every Thursday.

Information

  • Creator
    Dirkjan Hupkes
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    169
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Dirkjan Hupkes
  • Show Website
    Women Disrupting Tech