Can Partnerships Pave the Way for a FemTech Revolution?
“Leave them in your dust.”
“Beat out the competition.”
“There’s no ‘we’ in win”
For quite some time, these have been the adages used to motivate companies to get ahead. The current model relies on others losing in order to win. It’s predicated on pushing failure on competitors to achieve success at such high levels, no other company can touch that success. But, what if they could? What if the paradigm could shift so that more companies could not only touch success, but share it? It’s a monumental change that’s taking place across the healthcare industry, breathing new energy into areas like accessibility, R&D, and operations. Femtech is uniquely poised to accelerate this trend, capitalizing on the energy around partnerships kicked off last year.
The Partnership Explosion
This past year saw landmark healthcare partnerships with CVS and Aetna joining forces as well as Amazon, J.P. Morgan, and Berkshire Hathaway to change the face of care as we know it. Though it’s not completely clear how these partnerships will play out, the union of these giants demonstrate a key truth: the issues currently plaguing healthcare are a complicated, interwoven, web that will require collaboration by some of the greatest minds of today to detangle. In 2019, this collaboration will expedite solutions for a host of healthcare issues through these landmark partnerships.
Challenges to FemTech Collaboration
While tech and finance giants like Amazon and J.P. Morgan may have the funds to explore partnerships, less well-funded industries may struggle to create the same type of collaborative environment — especially FemTech. FemTech is a wildly competitive market. This year, despite more than $400 million funneled into FemTech businesses, companies are still struggling to stay ahead. In comparison, two male-oriented companies, Ro, an erectile dysfunction company and Hims, a hair loss company, raised $88 million and $90 million respectively in the past year. Less than 2% of investors have invested in female founded companies.
As FemTech founders fight to address the growing needs of 50% of the global population with a fraction of the funding dedicated to male health issues, collaborating is likely the last idea on a founder’s list. But, it could be the one that makes all the difference.
FemTech’s New Partnerships
Organizations are beginning to pop up that challenge the idea that we all can’t have a seat at the table. Portfolia’s FemTech fund, the Women of Silicon Valley conference, and of course our own FemTech Collective are helping founders to get in front of the right investors, attend the right panels, and connect with the right network to find synergies and accelerate change that has true impact.
In the EU, Elvie, a FemTech hardware startup with a smart pelvic floor exerciser has been looking to make their product more accessible to more people across the country. Enter the National Health Service. Elvie signed a strategic deal at the start of this year with the NHS that will make their device available nationwide for free, helping those suffering from urinary incontinence, especially new moms.
This innovative pairing of two companies to address women’s health issues more efficiently and make FemTech services more accessible is being echoed in a multitude of places.
Beyond government, virtual care platform Babyscripts partnered this year with the non-profit Inova Health System to roll out the service to their entire system and Inova also invested in the startup to ensure its success. On the tech front, maternal health company Advantia recently inked a deal with infant video chat platform Pacify, to offer its patients video chats with lactation specialists and registered nurses.
FemTech startups are also finding ways to partner with one another to reach new customers. Collaborating to create unique product giveaways, events, and content, allows for cross promotion to an already engaged audience, and in doing so FemTech startups no longer have to rely solely on social media marketing to reach new customers. This strategy proves extremely valuable given the ongoing censorship that innovative female focused health products and services are facing.
When FemTech startups partner to speak to their combined audience, they create a win-win-win opportunity, where each startup involved connects to new customers, and customers get to learn about products from a source they already trust to deliver thoughtful innovations for their health.
The Future of FemTech Partnerships
As public and private sectors face increasing pressure to address women’s needs with growing energy around female rights and equality, it’s clear that the current clawing up the ladder won’t provide the efficiency or effectiveness needed to solve these issues. A new path must be charted.
Data shows that women succeed best in collaborative and team-based environments. They earn more money and find solutions faster when pooling their expertise. The women of FemTech are poised for these very reasons to lead on forging new partnerships that change women’s health as we know it. They will serve an essential role in carving out partnerships that allow their game-changing companies to offer solutions in increasingly accessible and creative ways.
The key will be to foster a positive, supportive environment where partnerships are a source of collaboration and innovation, rather than cut throat competition. To take a peek into the future, we need to look no further than the recently launched Wingable, a pitch night hosted by women-only co-working club The Wing and Able Partners which followed six weeks in the Able incubator. At the pitch night, the female focused companies in attendance were already funded. Wingable gave them the opportunity to pitch their idea to an incredible packed house of successful female entrepreneurs and investment firms to receive additional funding.
The room was electric. The women convivial and deeply interested in each other’s ventures. The energy alight with possibilities, lit by an audience aligned to the same mission. The event was one that brought funding, new partnerships, and results that truly showcased the magic that occurs when women work together.
This article was written by Sarah Dubow. Sarah is a healthcare strategist, women’s rights activist, and wellness aficionado. She graduated from Bucknell University with a double major in Psychology and English where her passion for women’s health was first ignited. She is extremely passionate about the FemTech space and strongly believes it is a critical component to closing the gender gap in healthcare. She is also a volunteer ambassador for FemTech Collective, the first organization connecting innovators in female health globally. To see more from Sarah, visit her online wellness community The Lemon Tribe.
