Femtech At Work

Millions of women rely on hormone therapy patches to survive menopause, yet Big Pharma has essentially decided that fixing the global patch shortage isn't profitable enough. What happens when the system fails women, and two midlife founders decide to rewrite the rules of healthcare themselves?
In this episode, Maaike sits down with Johanna Wicks, co-founder of Lorai Health, to expose the frustrating reality behind the global patch shortage and the regulatory question marks surrounding decades-old formulas. Johanna shares her own harrowing battle with undiagnosed perimenopause and reveals Lorai's ambitious, unconventional two-patch strategy to disrupt the market, navigate the brutal world of female-founder funding, and secure a shocking quarter-million-dollar lifeline.
If you are ready for a masterclass in science, fury, and pure resilience, this is an episode you cannot afford to miss. Tune in now to find out exactly how Lorai Health plans to get patches back on the shelves in record time.

Key Takeaways:
Find out what two years of unexplained symptoms, repeated doctor visits, and a diagnosis that should have come much sooner taught Johanna and how it completely rewrote the path her career would take
Discover the uncomfortable truth behind why menopause hormone therapy patches are in chronic global shortage and why the pharmaceutical companies that could solve it keep looking the other way
Learn what Laorai Health's two-patch strategy actually involves and why the timeline for getting a better patch into women's hands is shorter than you might expect
Find out why manufacturing a hormone therapy patch is far more complicated than it sounds, and how a surprisingly small number of facilities worldwide are even equipped to do it
Learn what Johanna and her co-founder Raisa experienced when they took their vision to venture capital and why the reality of female founders in the funding world is even more sobering than the statistics suggest
Find out how a GoFundMe, a Channel Nine news story, and a stranger on the Gold Coast set off a chain of events that resulted in a quarter-million-dollar donation and what it signals about where true support for women's health actually comes from
Discover why Australia's sophisticated investor rules may be quietly shutting the very women who believe in Lorai Health out of the opportunity to back it and why Johanna thinks the whole system needs a rethink

What happens when you combine decades of medical sales expertise with a refusal to accept the status quo? You get Amelia Dickinson, the founder of Capture Care.
In this beautifully raw conversation, Amelia opens up about the painful turning points that led her here. From navigating three redundancies and systemic harassment to witnessing the silent health struggles women face in midlife. Together, we will explore why medical data is empty without real empathy, how small daily choices (like a single glass of wine) can dictate the boundary between brain fog and clarity, and why she is fiercely dedicated to funding free legal aid for women falling through the cracks. This is more than a business profile; it’s a vital blueprint for women's survival and success in the modern world.

Key Takeaways:
Find out why a stable career in Big Pharma isn't as secure as it looks, and what specific "accumulation of experiences" forced Amelia to stop playing by the industry's rules?
Learn the secret to slashing patient medication drop-off rates from 50% to just 14% using a model that prioritizes human connection over automated alerts
Understand why monitoring your health through "snapshots" like annual blood tests is failing you, and how continuous data can reveal what’s actually happening to your cortisol and hormones in real-time
Discover how "Preventative Remote Patient Monitoring" is filling the dangerous gap between your annual doctor appointments
Find out why women in midlife are 10x more likely to develop autoimmune issues and how real-time data can stop a crisis before it starts
Learn the specific "Health Summary" strategy that ensures you are never rushed during a 15-minute GP consult again
Discover why Amelia believes that a normal reaction to an abnormal situation is the most important thing a woman in perimenopause needs to hear

Resources:
Amelia Dickison: LinkedIn
CaptureCare Digitals: LinkedIn
CaptureCare Digitals: Instagram
CaptureCare Digitals: https://capturecare.com.au/
Maaike Steinebach: LinkedIn
Website Femtech Future: https://www.femtechfuture.com
Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

Amelia’s story reminds us that the most powerful innovations don't come from a lab, they come from a "lived experience" that says enough is enough. From the trenches of medical sales to the boardrooms of Singapore, she is proving that when women are cared for, the entire economy rises.
If this episode moved you, don't keep it to yourself. Like, share, and leave a review to help us amplify the voices of founders who are literally saving lives. Your engagement is the fuel that keeps this movement growing.
Thank you, and see you next week for another episode of FemTech at Work.

Vaginal health is central to a woman’s life, from her first period to her last hot flush – yet it remains one of the most dismissed, misunderstood and under-researched areas of healthcare. In this powerful conversation, we sit down with Sarah Galloy, founder of Pinc Wellness, to unpack the reality behind recurrent BV, UTIs, thrush and the emotional toll of not being believed.
If you’ve ever been dismissed by a doctor, struggled with recurring infections, or simply felt you “should know more” about your own body, this episode will leave you informed, validated and ready to join a bigger movement for change.

Key Takeaways:
Find out how Sarah’s personal battle with recurrent BV, UTIs and thrush pushed her from repeated medical gaslighting to founding Pinc Wellness in the first place
Discover what bacterial vaginosis (BV) actually is, how the vaginal microbiome and pH shifts trigger it, and why so many women have it without obvious symptoms
Understand how male partners can carry BV-causing bacteria like Gardnerella without symptoms, and why treating only the woman often leads to endless recurrence
Learn why antibiotics alone rarely solve recurrent vaginal infections, and how rebuilding a healthy vaginal microbiome with probiotics and acidity support can change everything
Find out which Pink Wellness products women are turning to most like vaginal probiotics, gentle washes with boric acid and vulva oils and what specific problems they help address
Discover how social media censorship of words like “vagina” and “vulva” shapes what women see and learn online, and why educational femtech content gets punished while pure product posts thrive
Find out what Sarah’s new Pink Bloom platform will offer from vaginal microbiome testing to telehealth with gynecologists, naturopaths and sexologists across every life stage
Discover what needs to change in healthcare, education and at home so that parents can confidently teach their daughters about vaginal microbiome and intimate wellness from day one

Resources:
Sarah Galloy: LinkedIn
Pinc Wellness: LinkedIn | https://www.instagram.com/pincwellness/
Pinc Wellness: https://pincwellness.com/
Maaike Steinebach LinkedIn
Website Femtech Future: https://www.femtechfuture.com
Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

In a world where vaginal health is still treated as niche, shameful or “too much for the workplace,” conversations like this one are how change begins. Sarah’s journey from gaslighting to founding Pink Wellness and now building Pink Bloom proves that women’s intimate health is not a side topic; it is central to our physical, mental and sexual wellbeing.
If this episode resonated with you, don’t keep it to yourself. Share it with a friend who needs to hear she’s not alone. Like this episode, leave a review so more listeners can find these stories, and help us push vaginal health and femtech into the mainstream. See you on our next episode

What happens when two female founders decide that women’s pleasure deserves the same love and design as kincare and refuse to let stigma or shadow bans stop them?
Today, we have Viv Conway, co‑founder of the sexual wellness brand Girls Get Off, to unpack how a “taboo” idea became a fast‑growing, community‑driven business across New Zealand and Australia.
This is a candid, funny, and deeply empowering conversation about sex, leadership, entrepreneurship, and why sexual wellbeing is health, not a guilty secret. Let’s dive in!

Key Takeaways:
Find out how two founders turned a lockdown idea for a sex toy brand into a fast‑growing sexual wellness business without relying on paid ads
Discover why Girls Get Off’s most devoted customers weren’t the 20‑somethings they first imagined, but time‑poor women juggling kids, careers, and long‑term relationships
Learn how Viv used organic Instagram content, Sunday Confessions, and community‑driven storytelling to normalize sex toys on people’s feeds
Find out how they navigate digital censorship, code words, and shadow bans while still growing a vibrant, engaged online community
Find out what really happens behind the scenes when you try to source sex toys from overseas manufacturers and the expensive mistakes Viv would never repeat
Discover the shocking gap between how terrified most women feel asking for what they want in bed and how enthusiastic most men are to be “given the answers to the test”
Learn how stigma shows up in unexpected places—from influencers afraid to work with sexual wellness brands to banks refusing to open accounts and how Girls Get Off turned that into media wins
Find out why Viv believes we stand on the shoulders of generations of women who fought for our rights and why it’s an embarrassment not to use that freedom boldly

Resources:
Viv Conway: LinkedIn
Girls Get Off: Facebook Group | Facebook
Girls Get Off: Instagram
Girls Get Off: https://girlsgetoff.com/
Maaike Steinebach LinkedIn
Website Femtech Future: https://www.femtechfuture.com
Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

This episode is more than a founder story, it’s a lens into how changing the conversation about pleasure can change women’s lives, relationships, and even how we see our own power. Together, we can move sexual wellness out of the shadows and into everyday self‑care.
If this conversation made you laugh, think, or feel just a little bit braver about your own pleasure and power, don’t let it stop at your earbuds. Like it and leave a review, so more listeners can discover these powerful stories. See you next week for another episode of FemTech at Work, where we keep amplifying the voices reshaping women’s health and wellbeing.

Infertility affects 1 in 6 adults, but what if hundreds of IVF injections could be replaced by a non-invasive, connected drug delivery platform, designed by a daughter who became a “human pin cushion” and the father who spent 50+ years in non‑invasive drug delivery?
Today, we chatted with Ellen Gonda, co‑founder of GonGlobal, a pioneering Femtech startup on a mission to radically transform the IVF journey. After enduring cycle after cycle of injections and describing herself as a “human pin cushion,” Ellen turned to her father, a leading expert in non‑invasive drug delivery, and asked a simple but life‑changing question: “Is there a better way?
Tune in because she’ll take us behind the scenes of preclinical R&D, IP strategy, fundraising with doctors and pharmaceutical executives, and navigating the “Valley of Death” between preclinical work and commercialization.
If you’re interested in IVF, femtech, non‑invasive drug delivery, or the realities of building a mission‑driven women’s health company from the ground up, this conversation will give you both a deeply human story and a front‑row seat to a game‑changing innovation.

Key Takeaways:
How Ellen’s personal IVF journey and “human pin cushion” experience sparked the idea for a non‑invasive alternative to hundreds of injections
Why infertility isn’t just a woman’s issue and how male‑factor infertility contributes to around half of all cases
Learn how GonGlobal’s connected, non‑invasive drug delivery platform could transform the IVF patient experience and improve treatment outcomes
Understand why Australia—especially Victoria—has become a powerhouse hub for women’s health, IVF innovation, and early clinical research
Find out how Ellen leveraged accelerators and pre‑accelerators to transition from corporate communications into a biotech founder role
Learn how IP strategy, licensing, and preclinical R&D shape the future of a femtech startup like GonGlobal
Understand why doctors, pharma executives, and IVF patients themselves are backing this innovation with capital and conviction
Find out what stigma and silence still surround infertility and how Ellen’s candour is changing the conversation

Resources:
Ellen Gonda: LinkedIn
GonGlobal: LinkedIn
GonGlobal: https://gonglobal.com/
Maaike Steinebach LinkedIn
Website Femtech Future: https://www.femtechfuture.com
Instagram Femtech Future: @femtech_future

This conversation is more than a founder story—it’s a glimpse into a future where IVF is less painful, more personalised, and truly centred on the patient. Ellen Gonda and Gon Global are showing what’s possible when lived experience, world‑class science, and a relentless mission to serve women come together.
If this episode moved you, be part of the movement: share it with someone on a fertility journey, like it, and leave a review so we can keep amplifying the voices of the builders changing women’s health. And see you next week for another episode of Femcheck at Work, where we spotlight the founders reshaping the future of care.