Ovy

Two founders, two women, two sisters. The Hamburg-based Femtech start-up for natural contraception and women's health was founded by two sisters, Eva and Lina Wüller. We spoke to founder Lina Wüller about the pill, equality in the start-up world and women as a target group.

Dear Lina, we are delighted that you answered all our questions about Ovy. First of all, we would like to know: How did you come up with the idea of founding Ovy?

After almost ten years, I stopped taking the pill because I no longer wanted to burden my body with artificial hormones. My sister Eva, with whom I founded the company, couldn't tolerate them either and had been looking into alternative options for some time. Recording my cycle with a piece of paper and pen was too cumbersome for me and no longer in keeping with the times - especially as we have so many technical options these days with smartphones. So we asked ourselves: why is there still no connected device that transmits the basal body temperature, the crucial data point for calculating the fertile days in the cycle, to an app that then takes over the evaluation? A reliable medical app in which you can easily enter other data points to calculate your cycle. We saw a huge amount of potential in Femtech.

What problem do you want to address with your idea and how do you solve it?

There has been far too little innovation in the entire women's health market to date. The fact that we took on the evaluation of the female cycle was the first step towards where we want to go with this company in the long term: developing smart and effective products to improve women's health worldwide. With our device and our app, we help women who are looking for a hormone-free alternative to birth control and women who want to have children to determine their fertile and non-fertile days in their cycle.

Amorelie, Femtasy, Female Company: Startups by women for women are just taking off and are becoming increasingly important, how did you manage to establish yourselves in the femtech market?

We have developed an innovative technology with our own hardware and medical app. We have recognized a problem that half of the world's population is facing, namely women. The demand for such products is rising sharply among women. As a result, we attracted a lot of attention right from the start. A big advantage is that, as female founders, we can develop close to the needs of our target group, as we naturally know them ourselves

Do you believe that female founders make a contribution to equality? And if so, how do you contribute to this with your startup?

Female founders should make it their mission to continuously challenge the status quo. It is obvious that there is still no equality. This can be seen in the number of start-ups alone and in the investments that flow into companies founded by women. I firmly believe that we need to talk more about this topic and share our own experiences.

Two women, two founders, two sisters: What is it like to start up together as siblings, what problems have accompanied you or does it also have advantages?

You never know anyone as well as your own sister. In meetings, we know after the first five seconds what the other thinks and how the meeting will probably turn out - without having to talk to each other. That's definitely an advantage. On the other hand, you are very honest and give your unfiltered opinion. In the beginning, we had a coach with whom we developed appropriate processes that made us extremely strong as a founding team. Interestingly, the sister constellation is particularly attractive for investors. They usually know that siblings cannot simply separate. Incidentally, this is one of the most common reasons why companies fail: because the founding teams don't see eye to eye and therefore break up.

What was the most valuable tip someone gave you during your start-up phase?

I was 25 when I founded my first company. Back then, my grandmother, who was an entrepreneur, said to me: If you make a plan B, plan A won't work. And that's true! If you have a plan B and you know you're going to fall soft if plan A doesn't work, then you don't run far enough and you don't jump high enough. My sister and I don't have a plan B with Ovy. We do everything we can to ensure that this one company is successful.

What was it like for you to attract investors with a technical product in a predominantly male-dominated industry?

98% of our discussions were with male investors. It happened that they didn't understand the problem we wanted to solve with our products, as it is of course a female problem. However, we were quickly able to attract very good investors, such as the medical device manufacturer Beurer, which participated as a strategist at an early stage. Incidentally, hardware is generally a red flag for many investors. This is because it takes a lot of capital and time to develop and approve such products - and then investors don't care whether the company was founded by men or women.

What tips would you give other female founders?

Firstly: If you are founding a company, start with an acute problem that your target group is facing and solve it. Secondly, shout out your idea and get feedback. Thirdly: Prepare for the (very) long run! And most importantly: Start in pairs, then the initial night shifts will be more fun.

Where do you see your start-up in three years' time?

In the future, we want to develop more medical products in both the software and hardware areas in order to improve women's health in the long term. In three years' time, we want to have new hardware in our hands that will make the method even simpler and safer.

Which woman is your biggest role model?

I am inspired by many women from the German start-up scene who develop products for us women and who stand up for issues that concern us women.

If you were mayor of Hamburg for a day, what would you change?

I would stand up for female founders who become mothers at the same time as starting a business. I would ensure that financial support is made available so that mothers can return to work early after giving birth and that adequate childcare is subsidized.