Jon Fortt’s Post

And, the winner is....drum roll please...Momease Solutions! Momease Solutions is the winner of the $50,000 grand prize in the MN Cup competition! Momease Solutions is a start up company reimagining the breast-pump bra.. You know how I always say, differentiate or die! Well, here is their differentiation.. -Women-owned -Science-backed -Mother-designed Their story: Their story begins with a mother seeking a simple solution to make pumping comfortable and convenient. Momease Solutions was founded in 2021 after Ashley Mooneyham, Ph.D gave birth to her first baby. Dissatisfied with her breast pump experience, Ashley sought a solution on the market, grounded in science, to aid her milk collection. With no luck finding an existing product, Ashley sketched the first concept of the Momease pump-enhancing bra. Ashley recruited co-founder Jennie Lynch —a nonprofit founder with a career centered around child development and family well-being. Together, Jennie and Ashley encompass the founding team at Momease Solutions. They are proud to be a woman owned company designing products and solutions for women. They have gotten lots of publicity. Check their website for a video on the home page. And what is MN Cup? MN Cup is a community-led, public-private partnership supporting Minnesota's entrepreneurs. This annual competition is for emerging entrepreneurs in MN. It is a community-led, public-private partnership that brings together corporations, VCs, foundations, government and skilled volunteers to support Minnesota’s entrepreneurs. The core of the programming is an annual competition that reaches emerging entrepreneurs from across the state and connects them with tools, resources and support to launch and accelerate the development of their new ventures. The competition inspires entrepreneurs to begin their startup journey, supports them as they develop a solid business plan, provides exposure for their ideas and offers numerous opportunities to expand their networks. MN Cup is the largest state-wide program of its kind in the United States. The program has been in existence for 20 years and check out the impressive results: 1. $5 million in cash prizes awarded 2. Over 20,000 entrepreneurs served across the state of Minnesota 3. $1 billion capital raised by top MN Cup Founders I am so happy that I get to be a mentor in this program! Let's raise a cup to Momease Solutions and their founders as well as the MN Cup program! Add any comments or congrats below! #MNCup #MomeaseSolutions #Mentors #BeckyAmble #FutureFocus Future Focus

🎙️ New Episode Alert! 🎙️ Offering comprehensive fertility services across multiple countries is no small feat. Discover the operational complexities and technological hurdles involved, from understanding diverse healthcare regulations to ensuring the privacy of sensitive data. What frameworks are essential for scaling such services, and how do you maintain quality and compliance in a fragmented market? In this episode you’ll hear about: 👉🏻 Inclusivity in Fertility and Family Planning 👉🏻 Business Models and Market Strategy 👉🏻 How to offer fertility services across various countries 👉🏻 Challenges in raising funds for FemTech startups 👉🏻 Jenny’s experience as both a founder and an angel investor Our guest is Jenny Saft, CEO & co-founder of apryl. Prior to starting Apryl, Jenny worked in project management and Business Development at several big companies, including Fyber in San Francisco and Dutch fintech Adyen. She was inspired to start Apryl following her own experience of freezing her eggs. Don’t miss this powerful discussion—listen now and stay inspired! 💡💬 #KeepITHealthy #FemTech #HealthTech #Fertility

It's great to see Midi Health tackle menopause care, a topic often overlooked, even amidst the AI boom. In India, companies like Pee Safe, which focuses on menstrual hygiene and intimate care, and The Womans Company, promoting eco-friendly menstrual products, are leading the way. It’s time for more founders to step up and innovate in these vital areas for women’s well-being. #WomenHealth #Startups #Innovation #TabooTopics #Entrepreneurship https://lnkd.in/gWWj_34y

We always enjoy hearing about the origin stories behind startups! This thought-provoking Sifted article highlights founders who launched companies based on their personal experiences and challenges 🚀 What are your thoughts on this approach? 🤔 https://lnkd.in/dcj4pURN

We always enjoy hearing about the origin stories behind startups! This thought-provoking Sifted article highlights founders who launched companies based on their personal experiences and challenges 🚀 What are your thoughts on this approach? 🤔 https://lnkd.in/dcj4pURN

This week on Found, our podcast where we get the stories behind the startups, we're talking to Kevin Eisenfrats, the co-founder and CEO of Contraline. Contraline’s first product, ADAM, is what some are calling the first male IUD. The company will begin clinical trials in the U.S. very soon. In this conversation they cover: 💰The process of fundraising when you’re creating a completely new category 🧬 Why the overturning of Roe V. Wade has led to increased interest in ADAM by men in the US 🔬 The future of Contraline and other innovations that use hydrogels https://tcrn.ch/4a9HZ9t

Startup's succeed because of one key factor... the founder(s) and founding team 👩💼 👨💼 Angela Rastegar is a perfect example of what it means to have "founder-market-fit" with the impactful work she's doing with Sunfish. It's also a great example of a company that can "do good" and "do well." Sunfish provides better financial resources for families seeking fertility treatments. The company is also the first to offer a “refund” of up to 90% for aspiring families so that they’re able to recoup some of their finances if treatments aren’t successful. Read more about the team, the market and the great work they're doing via the link below 👇 https://lnkd.in/gEu_Mi9K Grateful to have invested with Fiat Ventures and to advise from Fiat Growth and Fiat Advisors. Drew Glover Alex Harris Caitlin Keep Maria Alejandra Horta Ochoa Adrian Hunter

If you've ever tried to get pregnant and not succeeded right away, your mind will immediately jump to conclusions: I'm infertile or my partner is infertile. Then, you move on to acceptance: I'm not meant to be a parent. Some people in this situation seek a doctor's opinion. But the easier thing to do--particularly these days, as venture capitalists are only too glad to throw money at fertility-focused startups--is to seek answers online. A new investigation by my colleague Inc. Senior Writer Sam Blum showcases just how wrong this search for answers can go. Give it a read, here: https://lnkd.in/e3D_ZZ7E

How to grow a startup to €2m ARR in a year with 3 kids, little time, and a terrible company name (plus 4 startup lessons learned): My latest health-tech startup, originally named XYZ Health (I know, what was I thinking), was incorporated just a few days before my wife gave birth to our third child. I’ll admit — this kind of situation forces you to think differently with the scarce hours available. Nicholas and I would literally work from my kitchen table, with kids and Hama bead’s everywhere. 90% of our work went into building the product and clinic. The rest would have to solve itself somehow. A tip came from an investor Simon who understood what we had envisioned. We showed what we had done in just weeks - that closed our first investment. We did get some feedback on our name, though. ”You provide holistic obesity care, but you sound like a nerdy data platform for men.” He wasn’t wrong — so we changed the company name to Embla, the “Eve” or Mother of All in Norse mythology. Today 75% of our member base are women, we do a lot of work with menopause, help with pregnancy etc. Good call. A month later we had our first paying customer. A couple of months after that, we released our weight loss app and grew to €2m ARR in a year. Each of our following investment rounds took ~3 months to raise. Are there faster growing companies out there? Sure. But what’s been our priority since day 1 is to keep our clinical ethics high in a world of quick fixes. This means that we’re now sitting with the leading clinical evidence that we apply to offer a truly personalised treatment. We have proven 65% lower medication usage, stellar retention, and that our members experience best-in-class weight loss results and actually keep it off. I would trade that any day for a quick bump in revenue. We are in this for the long run. Now, this experience has taught me a lot so far. Here are my top 4 startup lessons learned: (1) 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵, 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗮𝘁. We knew how to build software and run a clinic. We are not marketing, network or slideshow aficionado’s. (2) 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆. Invest it ridiculous precise in what you believe will have the biggest impact. Spend the rest recharging your batteries with the family. (3) 𝗩𝗖’𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆. They are also very different, so find the ones aligned with your vision as you would a co-founder. Skip the rest if you have the luxury. (4) 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁. It’s a series of marathons, triathlons and sports you’ve never even heard off. Ensure that you pace yourself accordingly, refuel when needed, push when you can, stay in the game. Consistency and patience will take you there. — What’s your experience building a company while raising kids?

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻 „𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻“ 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 Yair'𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝟴𝟬𝟬 𝗠𝗶𝗼. 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 Did you know, that 50% of women will suffer from pelvic floor dysfunctions? Mainly postpartum or at menopause – mostly resulting in uncontrolled bladder, pain, sexual dysfunction – and shame. 💡𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮:   “After a surprising conversation with my mother about this topic, while I was working as a designer for a research project with the Charité hospital, we decided to develop ‘𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿’ to solve these problems", says Yair Kira, co-founder of Yeda (former YoniCore).   🚀 With their 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟭𝟱𝗞 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗱𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻, they joined the BRYCK Booster program sponsored by EWG - Essener Wirtschaftsförderung . 🦄 Their BRYCK mentor Philippa Köhnk about their progress during the 8-week program: “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲." The team has developed a clear product roadmap & value proposition and is ready for their go-to market.  ➡️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 - 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 #femtech 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝘁! 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺: Anna Maria Ullmann Kaven Baessler Yair Kira 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁: Öskan Demirdere  𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿: Philippa Köhnk Larissa Gajewski Jacqueline K. Kai Bonnen Mike Bierwas