As a way to celebrate International Women’s Day, we wanted to recognize a sampling of women-led AgeTech startups that are dedicated to building solutions centered on women’s health and personal care. Here’s a look at five AgeTech solutions that are making a difference for women in the 50+ demographic.
Incontinence
Half of women 50+ deal with incontinence, yet there is still a deep stigma and lack of education on it. Here are a couple startups that are addressing that stigma and building solutions to support women that may be dealing with this issue.
Mia Abbruzzese & Alexandra Fennell of Attn: Grace
Attn: Grace is committed to a world in which women are seen and celebrated as they age. One collection at a time, Attn: Grace is bringing that vision to life with sustainably designed personal care products that are thoughtfully tailored to their changing needs — modern solutions for age-old problems.
Co-founding team, Mia Abbruzzese & Alexandra Fennell, are partners in both business and life — co-founders, co-CEOs, and married with four children. Attn: Grace was born from a very personal place, as they watched Mia’s 85-year-old mother struggle to manage her incontinence with unevolved, utilitarian incontinence products.
Gloria Kolb with the Elitone
Another startup tackling incontinence is Elidah. Their solution, ELITONE®, tones weakened pelvic floor muscles externally to stop bladder leaks. The tiny device is discreet, comfortable, and used at home. ELITONE® is FDA-cleared and clinically proven to reduce stress and urge incontinence.
After delivering a 9.5 lb baby and 13 lb twins, Founder & CEO, Gloria Kolb, was looking for a solution to treat her bladder leaks. There was nothing available between doing Kegel exercises and the risky pelvic mesh surgery. Everything else required procedures that were time-consuming and invasive. She knew she could create something better.
Adaptive Apparel
As we age, maintaining a sense of independence is essential. Individuals who experience limited mobility deserve products that are designed to support them and make them feel great.
Nicole Cuervo with the Easy-On Mobility Bra
Springrose designs adaptive intimate apparel that improves quality of life for women with limited mobility. They serve health conditions for women 50+, both temporary and permanent, including arthritis, MS, cerebral palsy, shoulder injuries, etc. Their innovative adaptive bra can be put on multiple ways — including with one hand, limited dexterity, or limited shoulder mobility — so women can get dressed painlessly and independently.
Nicole Cuervo founded Springrose in 2020 in honor of her grandmother, Rose, who had chronic pain and arthritis. She noticed how her bras exacerbated her pain and made it challenging to get dressed. When shopping for an adaptive bra, she became frustrated by the options which were unattractive, size limited and not functional. She began her journey to create a bra that wouldn’t compromise fashion or function, so women everywhere could live life to their fullest.
Menopause
Recently, AARP released research that revealed 90% of women ages 35-plus experience one or more menopause symptoms. Here are two of our startups in the menopause space.
Laura Okafer Crain of perry
perry is a menopause platform that provides a safe space to connect, support and learn during the menopause transition. Laura Okafer Crain is the founder and CEO of perry. Having experienced her mother struggling in silence during the menopause transition and being a millennial who approaches perimenopause herself, she was shocked by how little the support system around fertility and pregnancy matches the support women get when approaching perimenopause - which is close to none. It is her mission to equip the upcoming generation entering the menopause transition with community and education, allowing ultimate self-advocacy.
Colette Courtion of Joylux
Joylux’s mission is to help women find delight in their lives, through all phases of menopause. They offer a platform of high-tech devices, digital tools and products that are rooted in science. With access to menopausal education, health data, community, and proven products, they strive to empower women to live life confidently.
After becoming a mother, Colette Courtion (Founder & CEO), experienced everything that women deal with childbirth and age, in particular the changes that occur with women's intimate health. Frustrated by the lack of effective and affordable solutions, she took her experience as a medical aesthetic entrepreneur and partnered with a leading OB-GYN to create products that improve all aspects of women’s intimate health.
Stay tuned for more stories on women leading AgeTech in our community.
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