How can thoughtful design and innovative products address women’s health? In this podcast, Willow Innovations Product CXO Melissa Pickering meets with Herself Health CPO Nicole Lyon to discuss the challenges, opportunities, and inspiring companies that are revolutionizing women’s health and the FemTech industry. Gain insights into user-centric design, the motherhood journey, and the importance of inclusive design. Uncover the potential for transformative solutions and the impact of addressing real needs in women’s health and FemTech.
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Show Notes
- Melissa Pickering, CXO at Willow Innovations, interviews Nicole Lyon, a design and product leader with experience at Tesla, eBay, and a health tech startup called Herself Health.
- Furthermore, Nicole recognized an opportunity at Tesla to redesign the website and create an immersive car design experience. She pitched this to Elon Musk and developed it over several years.
- At eBay, Nicole worked on strategic initiatives to reinvent the business and improve the user experience. This included the scaling of initiatives like eBay Authenticate.
- Nicole worked on the startup HomeX during COVID, focusing on solving people’s home problems remotely.
- Nicole found her passion in health tech and realized the fulfillment of solving real problems for people, including friends and family.
- Challenges in the industry include limited research, stigmas, and taboos surrounding women’s health. In addition, difficulties in obtaining funding, particularly in the male-dominated STEM tech space.
- Moreover, opportunities for growth and progress exist in the FemTech industry. There is an increase in awareness and companies addressing these issues.
- The importance of addressing women’s needs through product design and the challenges and opportunities in this emerging field is emphasized.
- The FemTech industry’s intersection of problem-solving and financial success is discussed. They highlight increasing activity with new startups receiving funding and making acquisitions.
- Maven Clinic provides personalized care plans for women across various stages of fertility, pregnancy, adoption, and parenting.
- What’s more, Electrica Health offers a platform to help women navigate menopause through education, telemedicine, and personalized wellness plans.
- Additionally, Mira is a fertility-focused startup that uses lab-grade technology and AI to identify fertile days. They also contribute to research on women’s bodies.
- Gabbi aims to eradicate late-stage breast cancer through early detection and prevention tools.
- The conversation discusses the pain points experienced by mothers during the motherhood journey.
- In addition, product leaders should focus on users. They should prioritize gathering feedback and iterating.
- This episode encourages the product community to focus on difficult problems in women’s health and FemTech.
- Furthermore, creating solutions in women’s health and FemTech can spark a potential revolution.
- Inclusive design and the book “Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men” are relevant to creating great products.
- Lastly, the podcast concludes by emphasizing the importance of creating products that are proud to be shared with others.
About the speaker
About the host
I'm a purpose-driven change agent with a track record of building & leading cross-functional teams to develop & launch products for kids. From Disney Imagineering, to EdTech startup founder, to product innovation at The LEGO Group, I have spent over a decade building and leading product teams to innovate kids' play and learning experiences. Most recently, I have joined another purpose-driven mission at Willow Innovations to bring more joy to motherhood, building products to make moms' lives easier.