Backed by $2.5 million, Tia gets one step closer to redesigning women’s health
By Carolyn Witte & Felicity Yost, Co-Founders at Tia
Helping women live healthier, happier, and more confident lives has always been our north star. It’s the reason we get out of bed every morning; the reason we quit our jobs and dove off the cliff head-first into the startup abyss to start Tia. And the reason we are over-the-moon-excited to announce $2.5 million in seed financing from Combine, Homebrew and Compound. This new capital will further our mission of reimagining women’s healthcare with a big, bold, sex-positive brand that celebrates our right as women to own our bodies, and own our choices.
At a time when women’s health is under attack, investment in new interaction models, new business models, and new care models is more important now than ever.
Why Tia? Why now?
Women’s healthcare is broken. As millennial female founders who built Tia in part to solve our own frustrations with the healthcare system, the pain points are personal. To paint a picture of the current state of women’s health in the United States:
One in five millennial women currently do not have health insurance. Only 13 states require medically-accurate sex education. STDs are at an all-time high. And, more women are dying in childbirth than in any other developed nation in the world.
At the highest level, Tia aims to flip healthcare on its head through products and services designed to help women make independent and informed decisions for their own bodies and lives — with confidence. It is this feeling of confidence that we most seek to instill in ourselves, our users and — if we succeed in our effort to change the public conversation — maybe one day, all the women in the world.
As we look to build healthcare products by women for women, this means a shift:
From one-size-fits-all answers → To personalized answers and solutions optimized for you
From “guessing” about your health → To making informed, data-driven decisions
From reacting to health issues → To preventing health issues
From a dozen different tools, trackers, doctors and health records → To a one-stop-shop
From you’re-in-and-you’re-out-type healthcare → To a trusted relationship
From fear, shame, anxiety and confusion → To confidence
Starting with a conversation.
Our first product — a personal, private, digital women’s health advisor — is the first manifestation of our vision. Since launching the Tia app in June, we’ve had over 100,000 conversations with women, answering questions from “how can I get an IUD covered by my insurance?” to “what does an abnormal pap smear mean?” to “how does stress affect my sex drive?”. Through a 1:1 conversation designed to feel more like Snapchat than a traditional healthcare experience, Tia’s equal parts sass and science persona shines when making you feel heard, less judged, and less alone.
Today, Tia’s superpowers lie in helping you choose birth control, track your cycle and symptoms, and answer all those sexual health questions no one wants to say out loud. She’s your go-to for those “ugh!” , “oops…”, and “huh?” moments.
Over time, we aim to make Tia your trusted confidante for all your women’s health questions, and your personal navigator to providers, products, and services digitally and in the real world. A long overdue, one-stop-shop for women’s health.
The next chapter.
As female founders, we are driven by the opportunity to build a company — a product, a brand, and a community — for women, by women. At a time when so many issues divide us, we believe that a desire to have control over and choice in our healthcare is something that can unite us.
Tia, by definition, is the amalgamation of all the women who use her — women who ask questions, share data, and contribute to a pool of health information that improves our collective understanding of female health.
By design, there isn’t one Tia, but many “Tias” — a nod to the diversity of women, of femininity, and of feminism. The aesthetic does not sexualize women, but boldly calls out that yes — we are sexual beings. And that’s something we’re proud of.
To the tens of thousands of women who have helped us reach this important milestone, thank you!
Confidently yours,
Carolyn Witte and Felicity Yost
Co-Founders, Tia
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With more firepower, Tia is hiring! Engineers, writers, content strategists & health educators eager to transform women’s health — check out our open roles here or email jobs@asktia.com for more info.
