"Trish Costello, Portfolia, Making A Bet On Women’s Health The Portfolia FemTech Fund focuses on emerging technologies, products and services improving women’s health throughout their lives. Portfolia is making strategic investments in high-potential opportunities that are both profitable and increase women’s wellbeing.
Trish Costello, CEO of Portfolia, is incredibly motivated to make a difference in this field: “It’s a huge market (50B dollar) with many gaps and unmet needs. It’s a great opportunity to make money, and very few VCs are investing. Also, I want to invest in what I understand from my experience and that I know will improve my life and that of other women.”
Costello finds the menopause, pregnancy and childbirth spaces very interesting, as well as specific healthcare areas where women are impacted differently such as heart disease or pain management, and tends to stay away from the heavily invested areas, such as period tracking apps, most of which originally were founded and run by men.
Women are dying during labor, we have incredibly high C-section rates. There are huge opportunities for innovation addressing early detection of pre-clampsia, avoiding stress and postpartum depression, among other issues. In menopause, I’m excited about companies tackling everything from bladder issues to vaginal rejuvenation,” says Costello.
Costello insists that the biggest problem for femtech founders is that 94% of active capital is controlled by men: “They don’t always connect to the issues, and knowing the field is key as an investor. We need more women investors. As a founder, you should know the financial model behind your solution, find the right advisors, and approach investors with a track record in the space -don’t waste time with those that never invested in women or the space.”
The modern VC industry was developed at a time when women couldn’t even take out loans on their own. Portfolia is deconstructing how it works and defining what it could look like if it was designed today."
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