When Tania Boler fell pregnant, she discovered the surplus unique health issues women had been battling with for centuries. From a weak pelvic floor to the complications of breast pumps, Tania decided to tackle taboo health topics for women head on and find a game-changing solution. The result? Elvie, a revolutionary FemTech company founded in 2013 by Tania and her co-founder Alexander Asseily.
Here, Tania opens up about how she managed to raise $42 million, the largest single raise ever made in FemTech, and her top five tips for aspiring female entrepreneurs.
I’ve always been passionate about women’s issues. After I got my PhD in HIV prevention, I worked on various “hidden” conditions affecting women’s health. I never planned to start a company but when I got pregnant, I realised women have so many unique health requirements which nobody talks about and were, at the time, completely neglected by technology.
That’s when I started Elvie, launching two revolutionary products for women. We completely redesigned the existing unattractive and outdated devices into elegant products that women love using! The Elvie Trainer is an easy and fun way for women to do their pelvic floor exercises – something incredibly important for all women to do, not just mums. Last year, Elvie launched the world’s first silent wearable breast pump which women can slip into their bra and nobody will even know they are pumping. Women deserve and want smarter technology!
The process of fundraising was a huge learning curve. To begin with, I didn’t know anything about business or the world of tech. I threw myself into making connections, going out and learning from people who had done it before. I learned how to pitch a business idea and my contacts helped introduce me to angel investors. I also read a lot of business books, for example, the book Lean Start-up was really a game changer, helping me work out how to design a product based on what women wanted.
Raising money is a bit like dating: You need to be confident, in control and, to a certain extent, let them come to you. I would contact investors when we were NOT raising money to get their general business advice, and if they asked about investing, I would explain that we were not investing but I would put them on a list for when we were ready to do so. There is a strong psychological aspect to raising money, in that you need to create the right amount of momentum and excitement for people to want to get involved.
So many people thought I was crazy as there had never been a start-up focused on women’s issues, but I just ignored them and focused on making sure our products really solve a problem for women. You have to learn not to care too much about rejection and keep going.
Luckily, we have some great female investors including the Allbright Fund, led by Debbie Wosskow and Anna Jones, which brings together female angel investors. I’ve found that as women are a minority in tech, there is a lot of solidarity and support between women in the space.
Tania’s top five tips for budding entrepreneurs
- Know your numbers – investors will be expecting you to know the details of your business proposition and how you will grow the business
- Have skin like a rhino – you will get rejected, don’t take it personally and just get up and try again
- Enjoy it – If you can relax, or even enjoy the pitch, then you will come across and confident and personable
- Be honest – there will be lots you don’t know, which is fine as long as you have a plan instead
- Switch the pitch – let the investor pitch to you. Don’t accept any money, make sure that the investor has a similar vision and values as you
