Exit corporate, enter startup: a femhealth founder’s how-to guide

At 9:00 a.m. on an ordinary morning, I quietly kissed my sleeping husband and son goodbye as I left for yet another flight, another high-stakes meeting.

I was exhausted – I had just returned from a work trip the night before. Still, I was someone who thrived in high-pressure environments and spent years building a fast-track career. Within just two years, I was leading marketing for Asia Pacific at Heineken, one of the world’s most iconic brands.

Image credit: Made by Tech in Asia using Midjourney

Then I got offered my dream job at the company. On paper, it was the ultimate career milestone, and I’d have everything I wished for before even turning 40.

A no-brainer, right?

Not quite. I realized what I really wanted was to do something that felt more aligned with my life purpose. So I ended up walking away from it all to launch my startup instead.

Understanding the why

My health struggles were a huge part of why I wanted my own company. These had built up amid my increasingly hectic schedule.

My energy had vanished. My daily runs, once my sanctuary, drained me. I was constantly on edge and battling migraines, eczema flares, and an overwhelming sense of discontent. My periods were irregular, and the weeks leading up to them were a storm of fatigue, anxiety, and frustration.

My issues were a puzzle to the GP doctor. When I went to the gynecologist, the recommendation I got was to have a second child or to take birth control pills. They didn’t even pause before telling me these were just the usual health problems women have to deal with.

I decided to take charge of my own well-being. And the more I read about women’s health, the more I saw how my situation was so common.

Women face an epidemic of silent suffering, intensified by a lack of knowledge due to underrepresentation in medical research. Out of the 8.06 billion people on Earth in 2023, 4.01 billion were women. Yet there’s still so much we don’t know about how drugs and medical devices work on women.

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Stigmatization is also a factor. Studies show that compared to men, women are more likely to experience discrimination during a healthcare visit.

Making the leap

Saying yes to yourself