👩🏽⚕️ Peppy's Co-CEO and Co-founder, Dr. Mridula Pore on Her Entrepreneurial Journey, Raising a Series B Round & Expanding to the US
Founder's Story
In the first edition of FemWealth Founder’s Stories, meet Dr. Mridula Pore, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Peppy, a London-based company providing digital healthcare solutions. Under Dr. Pore’s leadership, Peppy has secured its series B and is now expanding into the US market - a rare feat for Europe-based women founders!
Dr. Pore is one of the entrepreneurs I admire most, and it’s been a pleasure to learn more about her entrepreneurial journey, Peppy’s mission, and her advice for entrepreneurs currently raising.
Read all about these in our Q&A:
How did your entrepreneurial journey start?
MP: It started quite young. I took part in a scheme at school called ‘Young Enterprise’. We sold hand-painted picture frames, and I took on the role of CFO and got completely hooked. At University, I was involved in the Cambridge Entrepreneurship centre and was a finalist in the £50k competition (based on the prestigious MIT award). This led me to go to MIT for my PhD, where tech and entrepreneurship are just in the air. Once I’d spent some time getting experience at McKinsey and Novartis, I knew I was ready to take the leap into founding/co-founding a business. I was already committed and deeply passionate about healthcare and knew it was the space for me. When Max, Evan, and I met, it took us just a few months to come together and start Peppy.
What was your motivation behind founding Peppy?
MP: Peppy addresses issues that affect us all, and our loved ones. It is not about where you live, what your job is, or how much money you have. It’s fundamentally about navigating our lives in a human body with human relationships, either at home, with a family, or at work. Going through fertility challenges, becoming a new parent, going through the menopause, or living with a common gynaecological condition are very personal journeys, whoever you are. One of the huge privileges of being a founder at Peppy is hearing the personal stories about the transformational impact Peppy has had on them.
What is your role and mission at Peppy?
MP: There’s a gap in traditional healthcare that tech can enable us to fill. Many of us will take weeks, months, even years to show up at a doctor’s office with our health questions and concerns. Especially for things that are considered ‘normal’ like becoming a parent or going through the menopause. Most of us only go to the doctor when we have a ‘big enough’ problem. Peppy uses technology to provide expert, caring support to people throughout their journey. This is especially important at key life stages or with certain health issues that can be hugely disruptive to us, to our work, and to our relationships. If unsupported, these health challenges can lead to people stepping back or even dropping out of work. It's a huge cost both to employers and to all of us as a society. Our mission is to make this support as widely available as possible.
What makes being a founder special?
MP: The most special thing of all is when you know you’ve made an impact. Peppy has now grown to a stage where many of my friends and family have Peppy available at their workplace. The personal stories are always powerful, but it’s extra special when you feel you've helped someone you know.
Why is it essential to provide gender-based healthcare?
MP: We didn’t set out to offer gender-based healthcare in the first instance. We simply looked for those stages in life that are highly disruptive to your health, to work and workplaces, and are underserved by traditional healthcare. It turned out that reproductive life stages like fertility, baby, and menopause were massively underserved. As we started to serve these populations, we uncovered other issues, many of which were gender-based, that were worrying for our members. That’s when we decided to also launch Men’s and Women’s Health services.
What is Peppy’s offering specifically for women’s health?
MP: Our women’s health service is for those who identify as female, were assigned female at birth, have female biological and physiological anatomy, or who have an interest in female health conditions and wellbeing. Some of the topics we cover include advice and support on topics including living with common gynaecology conditions, breast and chest care, urological conditions, sexual health, support with skincare, as well as wellbeing tips, including sleep, exercise, and nutrition and support with emotional wellbeing. Of course, more specifically, we also offer services, including Peppy Menopause, to support women’s health during the menopause, as well as Peppy Fertility and Peppy Baby (for early parenthood), which support both men and women.
How did you determine it is a good time for Peppy to expand to the US?
MP: It was really simple - our clients asked us to come to the USA. We had started to see the same signs in the US that we’d seen in the UK a few years earlier. The press were starting to pick up on the topic of menopause. When HR teams asked us about what we've done in the UK, it was a no-brainer. The market was ready!
What advice do you have for founders raising under the current market conditions?
MP: Be really thoughtful about your plans and make sure your team is fully behind them. Discuss the tradeoffs that you're willing to make when it comes to cash burn vs. growth vs. R&D. The market is evolving, so keep your ears to the ground - talk to other founders, cultivate relationships with investors and bring them along on the journey with you. Find out what they’re thinking and what they want to invest in right now.