In conversation with Marina Gerner
Interview with the Author of "The Vagina Business"
Marina Gerner is the author of The Vagina Business: The Innovative Breakthroughs That Could Change Everything in Women's Health. She is an award-winning journalist, an adjunct professor at the NYU Stern School of Business, and her new book has already been touted as a “What to read this month” by The Financial Times.
We are thrilled to host her US book launch party as part of the ADLabs Pop-Up!
In anticipation of the event, and for those who cannot be there with us, we sat down with Marina to ask her some of our pressing questions:
What inspired you to write The Vagina Business, and what key messages do you hope readers will take away from it?
I’m a journalist and when I first tried to write about innovation focused on female bodies, I was told it’s too “niche”. But I kept pitching and pitching until I wrote an article in 2020 that went viral. It was called ‘We need to talk about investors’ problem with vaginas’ and it addressed the reluctance summarized by one venture capitalist who said: ‘I don’t want to talk about vaginas in my Monday morning partner meeting.’
I was angry to learn that the reason we don’t get the innovation we need and deserve is because a bunch of investors are too embarrassed by the topic. So, I decided to focus all of my energy on writing a book to bring femtech to the mainstream.
I want to convey that the societal attitude of “Welcome to being a woman, this is going to hurt” is not acceptable. We have to find better ways. That’s why The Vagina Business is a book of solutions. I’ve interviewed 100 people across 15 countries who are founders, researchers and investors to highlight the most inspiring innovation for women across all stages of life.
Can you share what your favorite or most exciting of the cutting-edge technologies featured in The Vagina Business is, such as the smart bra or fertility gadgets? How do you think these innovations will reshape women’s healthcare?
Absolutely! Let me tell you about the smart bra that could save your life. When picturing a person who is having a heart attack, most of us think of an old man who feels pressure on the chest and pain radiating down the left-hand side. But those symptoms are typical for men, not for women.
Women are more likely to feel extreme and prolonged fatigue, for example, and jaw pain as a potential symptom. Unfortunately, female symptoms are seen as “atypical,” because our understanding of heart health is based on the male default. As a result, women are 50% more likely than men to be given a wrong diagnosis after a heart attack.
So, I am super excited about the smart bra created by Bloomer Tech. It’s a wearable electrocardiogram device that can be attached to any bra, it has textile-based sensors that enables women at risk to track their heart health. I think innovations like this one can help us close the gender gap in cardiovascular research! It can help with early detection and monitoring, ultimately bettering heart health for women.
You interviewed 100 entrepreneurs across 15 countries for this book. Were there any common challenges or recurring themes that these innovators faced in developing female-focused health technologies?
Definitely! Funding is the biggest challenge across the board. There’s still a lot of shame and stigma around vagina-centric ventures and female health more broadly. People don’t want to talk about it, or post about it online. I have faced some of these challenges too, because I chose to put “vagina” on the cover of my book, and some people are not comfortable with that.
Funding and stigma are the most fundamental issues. Without funding, you can’t do any research and as we know, female health continues to be under-researched. I’m glad that AthenaDAO is looking to address that!
With the growing attention on femtech and women's health innovations, do you think we are on the brink of a revolution in how society approaches female health issues?
I do! I think the femtech movement is the start of a revolution, but we’re only at the beginning. There are so many unmet needs and many challenges ahead. It takes a concerted effort - from researchers, the media, policy-makers, entrepreneurs, investors, and everybody else - to truly change the status quo in women’s health.
I hope the book inspires people to do research in the space, to invest in femtech, to start their own company, or to have a conversation with a friend!
If you’re interested in staying up to date with what Marina is working on, join her Newsletter or follow her on Instagram.
In San Francisco and into Femtech and Women’s Health?!
Join us for the Book Launch Party. 💁♀️
Date: Saturday, October 12th, 2024
Time: 6:00 - 9:00 PM PT
Location: San Francisco, CA.
RSVP for details. Space is limited.
The Who is Who of Menopause Research ✨
Join us for our star-studded panel on Ovarian Aging. Are you interested in menopause, fertility decline, or fertility maxxing? Join us for a cocktail and panel with the leaders in the space.
Date: Saturday, October 12th, 2024
Time: 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM PT
Location: San Francisco, CA. RSVP to see details! Space is limited
Our amazing panel lineup:
Dr. Bérénice Benayoun: Assistant Professor, Gerontology and Biological Sciences, University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Ph.D.
Dr. Jennifer Garrison: Assistant Professor, Buck Institute for Research on Aging. Co-Founder and Executive Director, ProductiveHealth. Ph.D.
Dr. Lizellen La Follette: OB/GYN, La Follette OB-GYN & Aesthetics. MD.
Don’t miss out on this incredible chance to ask all your burning questions!
We are Fertility Accelerating F/ACC
We have exciting news!
Our first IP-NFT from Dr. Mario Cordero’s project: “Understanding the role of the cGAS-STING pathway and senescence in ovarian aging” has come back with positive results ahead of schedule so we are minting our first-ever IPT!
What the heck is an IPT? It is a tool used in blockchain for successful research projects that gives the contract holders a way to get more funding.
This IPT will also be the first DeSci project with in-vivo data!
IPTs enable individuals to hold governance over scientific IP, meaning that it’s not just pharmaceutical companies that are making these decisions.
If you want to learn everything about the science and how we are going to F/ACC (Fertility Accelerate) with this please read this amazing article AthenaDAO’s First IP-NFT Bears Fruit: Results Have Arrived, Paving the Way for Future Fundraising written by Sakina Amin, Amine Chaherli, Aidin Kazemizadeh at Molecule.
Announcing the speakers for our Fertility 101 Course
AthenaDAO’s inaugural Fertility 101 Course is designed to give women - at any age- the tools to best advocate for themselves when at their doctor’s office.
Running for 6 weeks, we’ll be covering everything from the fundamentals of women’s health to emerging technologies in fertility, guided by experts in the field. You’ll get access to:
✅ Weekly live sessions
✅ Exclusive resources
✅ Access to a network of experts
✅ Membership to an exclusive and gated community for women
✅ Digital certificate of completion
✅ Some surprises throughout the course!
Empower yourself on your reproductive journey and discover the incredible world of fertility with amazing resources.
Payment available through Stripe and Coinbase!