Good morning! A haka in New Zealand’s parliament goes viral, General Motors cuts jobs, and Menopause uses capital to move from profitability to growth.
– Money for Menopause. Monica Molinar and Anne Follenwider founded menopause care startup Alloy four years ago. When they first talked to investors, the response they often heard was, “It’s kind of niche, isn’t it?” Fallen Wider remembers.
Recently, the co-founder and co-CEO returned to the investor circuit and raised $16 million in a Series A round. good luck Be the first to report. This time—despite a tough fundraising landscape—the responses they heard varied, from enthusiasm about the category estimated at $17 billion in the U.S. to acknowledgment of the alloy’s competitors. “The conversation had changed a lot,” says Follenwider. Kairos HQ led the Series A round, which also included PACE Healthcare Capital, Emmeline Ventures, and Amboy Street Ventures.
Thanks Alay
Fulenwider and Molenaar were inspired to found their company by Molenaar’s experience of entering surgical menopause at age 40 when her ovaries were removed after being diagnosed with the BRCA gene. Molinar had previously tried his hand at entrepreneurship, while Follenwider began his career as editor-in-chief. Marie Claire. He tapped Aloy’s chief medical adviser, Sharon Malone, a women’s health expert and friend of Michelle Obama’s whom she had heard on the former first lady’s podcast.
They’ve taken a slow and steady approach to growth, are profitable, and have raised a total of $20 million so far, including this round. “It was really cool to build such an efficient business model and know that we could do this and be profitable without raising money,” says Fulenwider. The Alloy platform offers asynchronous treatments by doctors, with an annual fee of $50 and prescriptions starting at $40 a month. The founders decided not to accept insurance, aiming for ease of access and price transparency.
Some other menopause startups have taken a brighter approach. Joanna Strober’s Midi, for example, recently enlisted a group of celebrities including Amy Schumer and Connie Britton and raised $103 million.
While Alloy has had a sound strategy so far, the founders are interested in entering a bit more of a growth mode with this capital, from treatments for severe menopausal symptoms to hair, skin for women in midlife. and expand to offering products in the sexual wellness category. The startup currently has 28 full-time employees and about two dozen doctors on its platform.
The menopause category often lumps together everything from science-driven companies to digital health businesses to beauty and wellness brands. “There are always people who try to sell people expensive things that don’t work,” Follenwider says. “All of the new menopause companies that are doing the same things that we’re doing, if we counted all of our customers — we still haven’t even reached the women who are looking for help.”
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily Newsletter good luckA daily briefing for and about women leading the business world. Today’s edition was prepared by Nina Ajimin. Subscribe here.
Even in the headlines
– Haka for a reason. Hana-Rauhiti Mapi-Clark, a New Zealand MP, led the haka in parliament in opposition to a controversial bill that would reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty with the Maori people. The moment the 22-year-old MP led the traditional dance by tearing a copy of the bill went viral. The Guardian
– Cost reduction. Mary Barra’s General Motors cut 1,000 jobs in another round of layoffs. The company’s cost-cutting efforts coincide with its push into EVs. Other automakers have also been letting go as they try to cut costs. The Wall Street Journal
– Hair care. Meghan Markle Investment At Highbrow Hippie, a hair wellness line founded by her hair colorists Cady Lee and Micah Harris. The Duchess of Sussex said, “I am very proud to invest in her as a friend and as a female founder. In style
– Sophomore signing. Adidas has signed a name, image and likeness deal with high school sophomore Kalina Smith, the top women’s basketball recruiting class of 2027. This is the brand’s first deal with a female high school basketball player and the first signing under Adidas President of Women’s Basketball Candace Parker. CNBC
Movers and shakers
Appointed A+ Federal Credit Union Julie Bowring As Senior Vice President of Lending. Most recently, she was SVP of residential lending at Elements Financial Federal Credit Union.
Communify Fincentric, a market and client data platform for financial services, named Nicole Nachiyan Chief Operating Officer Most recently, she was COO of InvestCloud.
Rhone, a performance apparel brand, named after Bethany Evans Chief Marketing Officer Most recently, she was VP of Americas Marketing at The North Face.
Sharon Williams was named president and CEO. Heidi Petz Chairmanship of the Board of Directors
Melmark, a special education nonprofit, speaker Maureen McMahon As Chairman of the Board of Directors. Most recently, she served as Vice Chair of the Board. She is a medical director/medical consult and review physician for infectious disease and vaccines at Merck.
Patrice & Associates, a hospitality and franchise recruiting firm and a portfolio company of Conscious Capital Growth, appointed Deidreya Ryan to its Board of Directors. She is the SVP of Integration and Growth Acceleration at Conscious Capital Growth.
Jamieson Valens, owner of natural health brands, was appointed. Diane Neisseter to its Board of Directors. Previously, she served as SVP and CHRO at Cogeco.
On my radar
Inside a Goldman Sachs marketing push that has some executives worried. Business Insider
News, now in neon The Washington Post
Women exercise less than men. This is a problem. The New York Times
Parting words
“It was a really amazing experience to be able to step into that role, out of my own skin, and into the role of someone else, who has also been ‘other’. It’s important to know what that feels like.”
— Cynthia Ario on playing Alphabet in the new movie The wicked
