When 23andMe veteran Linda Avey pitched her new startup, We Are Curious (which focuses on integrating patient-reported symptoms and experiences) she thought she’d emphasize a condition that seemed like an easy win: menopause-associated symptoms.
VCs, she reasoned, would be immediately grasp the size and associated economics of this market, the need to better understand the experience of these patients. Avey was wrong. The response to her presentation was generally crickets. (Presumably, this was a condition unfamiliar to VCs – and yet to be experienced by their second wives.)
Ultimately, after adjusting her presentation to focus on other conditions, Avey received strong investor support – but the initial reaction has stuck with her.
On the latest episode of Tech Tonics, Avey shares her experiences as a cutting-edge entrepreneur, dealing with challenges from regulators (like the FDA) and investors (like VCs not familiar with menopause), while creating new companies that challenge and reinvent healthcare’s status quo, and usher in a new era of participant-focused science and medicine.
We are delighted to welcome Linda Avey to our podcast!
