In 2024, investors drove a record-breaking $2.5 billion into the women’s health sector across 172 deals, according to Silicon Valley Bank. This financing signals the growing recognition of this market’s vast opportunity, fueled by science, data, and a broader definition of women’s health.
However, hurdles remain. At SiS New York, a two-day conference held at Cure in May 2025, entrepreneurs who’ve found success in the women’s health space offered insights on how to dismantle the stubborn barriers continuing to impede a women’s health heyday.
Insight #1: Create solutions that transform the patient experience.
Women are becoming increasingly vocal about their health needs, often paying out-of-pocket for solutions that work. This consumer demand is forcing industry to think beyond fertility to other conditions that affect women disproportionately or differently, such as cardiovascular disease, migraine, and autoimmune disorders.
Juan-Camilo Arjona Ferreira, MD, Head of R&D and CMO of Organon, a pharmaceutical company that advances innovative medicines and solutions to improve women’s health, noted that the traditional methods of product development have failed women for decades.
“We're coming from behind in understanding women’s physiology. We need real innovation and to leverage technology to bring these solutions to market as fast as we can,” he said. So to be truly successful, entrepreneurs must go beyond incremental improvements to current solutions and develop ones that are more effective and easier to use.
Insight #2: Make it easy for healthcare providers to be your champion.
To increase the chances for profitability, a new product or service for women must be designed with healthcare providers — especially OBGYNs — in mind. These clinicians have become primary care providers for many women, seeing 30 patients a day with limited staff to keep them on track. To gain traction, new solutions must be able to be easily integrated into the provider’s office workflow.
Insight #3: Use data to find the gaps in service and fill them.
The women’s health sector has potential gems hidden in places where traditional healthcare has failed. To unlock real potential, companies must stop relying solely on existing market data to inform their product development and start looking at where needs are unmet. Take postpartum: insurance only covers one OB visit per year during the first year after giving birth. It’s a massive care gap and a business opportunity.
Insight #4: Leave old definitions behind to allow innovation to flourish.
Real innovation in women’s health comes from breaking down the silos that separate categories like “consumer” and “healthcare,” or “medical device” and “retail product.” The success stories today don’t fit into just one box — such as Willow, the series of high-end FDA-cleared wearable breast pumps that are medical devices as well as a consumer products. Women can get it partially paid through insurance, but many are willing to paying for it out of pocket at Target.
Sarah O’Leary, CEO of Willow Innovations, Inc., noted that people are “pent up with problems and issues they want solved.” She suggested also looking to examples outside of healthcare to broaden the mindset.
The iPhone is a case in point. “People called Steve Jobs crazy for thinking anyone would want to use the same device to take pictures and to talk on the phone.” O’Leary said. Women’s health is at that same tipping point. Entrepreneurs need to be creative and look where others have not looked before.
Insight #5: Stay focused on building a sustainable business, no matter the investor climate.
Because the investment landscape can shift seemingly overnight, from expectations of growth to demands for profitability, women’s health companies should keep their focus on building a sustainable business model. That solid vision will help them weather the storms of changing investor expectations.
Sabrina Johnson, President and CEO of Daré Biosciences, which focuses on reproductive health as well as menopause, also noted the importance for startups to be disciplined: making go/no-go decisions and killing underperforming programs so they can reallocate resources.
“Every day is a new day to look at data you have and pivot if you need to,” she said.
Insight #6: Don’t forget to keep equity in mind.
Innovative solutions in women’s health must ensure that access isn’t limited only to those who can afford to pay out of pocket. While consumer-driven momentum can shore up a startup especially in its early stages, forgetting to include those in other socioeconomic brackets runs the risk of deepening current healthcare disparities.
It’s not enough to create products for the self-pay mom. Solutions must also be available to women on Medicaid. That means entrepreneurs who are willing to do the hard work of advocating for better reimbursement and working through coverage barriers will be the winners in the end.