publive-imageThroughout their lives, women's bodies go through significant shifts, leading to variations in health issues for different age groups. This includes a number of gender-specific problems, such as pregnancy, menopause and female organ diseases. It is therefore necessary to identify the fundamental problems and take steps to avoid them.

A company that has revolutionized health solutions through the concept of quality innovation for women’s health is FemTech Collective.

In an interview with IndustryWired, Co-Founder of FemTech Collective, Megan Capriccio shares her inspiration behind developing innovative solutions helpingentrepreneurs, innovators, and professionals to connect, collaborate, and up-skill.

Kindly brief us about the company, its specialization and the services that your company offers. 

FemTech Collective is the world’s largest network for entrepreneurs, innovators, and professionals in women’s health technology. Our mission is to catalyze quality innovation by providing strategic opportunities for the FemTech ecosystem and amplifying the acceleration of products and services for women’s health.

 Our pilot service is ourmembership program. As a member of FemTech Collective, you can gain access to our global community, discounted tickets to events, and specialized services such as coaching, PR & marketing, concierge services, and priority access to our other programs. We also offer a corporate membership for those companies interested in contributing more to the FemTech ecosystem and interested in progressing innovation for women’s health.

We are very excited to launch ourmentorship program in mid-2021!  The program is for emerging or aspiring FemTech founders, healthtech professionals, women's health providers and researchers who are interested in expert guidance through a FemTech career.

Give a brief overview of your background and your role in the company.

I am the Co-Founder for the FemTech Collective. As an entrepreneur, product manager, and business strategist, I have dedicated my career to ensure that women have more control over their realities i.e. health, education, and career.

My various roles have helped gain my recognition as a champion for positive change for women. After the success of my first company that supports women’s careers and education in the wine and spirits industry, I wanted to dive further into researching women’s roles on the international horizon. I went on to complete Masters of International Relations with a focus in Feminist Theory from the University of Sydney where I became frustrated with the conclusion that women’s health can never be a substantial priority in a world where most countries and companies are led by men. Despite the shortcomings of healthcare systems and governments, I turned to technology as a solution for women’s empowerment and equity.

In 2020, Nicole Dahlstrom brought me as a Co-Founder of FemTech Collective to commercialize the business and develop the FemTech industry on a global scale. Through FemTech Collective, I am currently working with and consulting for FemTech companies, investors, and partners to grow the global ecosystem, offer additional support for women to manage their health with the help of technology, and re-educate the public on how healthy women create a healthy society.

What were the past experiences, achievements or lessons that shaped your journey as a successful women leader?

I don’t see myself as a female leader but I do identify myself as a woman. Also, a large number of women are interested in my services rather than other genders, enablingme to grow into a successful leader. 

My achievements and experiences have shaped my leadership style just as much as my failures have; it’s important to recognize this in your team as well. I think the most important thing a leader can do is take the time to understand how their team ticks and to learn what a priority is for them. This has become an easier skill for me to develop; the more I understand myself and my own priorities.

The more I took the time to reflect on myself, the more enthusiastic I became for the things I decided to devote my time to. Great leaders are able to do this for themselves and also take the time to understand it in others. It allows you to see your team or community for the humans they are while allowing them to bring their full selves and potential to work.

Thus from there, it’s just finding a team that shares your enthusiasm and motivation for the work ahead.

Kindly mention some of the primal challenges that you faced during the initial phase of your journey.

My greatest lessons came out of failures by learning to continually persist forward despite my shortcomings. I have wanted to be a champion for women for a long time, but I kept finding myself in roles or industries that didn’t quite spark joy (thanks to Marie Kondo). So I kept pivoting and each time felt like I was giving up or not reaching the goal I set out to. I thought maybe I’d work in academia, the UN, or even in government. But I was raised in a family of entrepreneurs and I thought that certainlythere was a way to use my business skills to provide roles for women, to accelerate their careers, and create better solutions for their day-to-day realities.

After the hardships with fundraising and sustainability in my first business, I was a bit disheartened to take on another Founder role so quickly. But when FemTech Collective came into my life, the joy was definitely sparked. It was as if all the trials in other roles helped weed out what wasn’t for me and cleared a path towards FemTech.

Describe some of the vital attributes that every transformational leader should possess.

As I mentioned before, getting to know the motivation and priorities of your team is truly vital. But I also think that comes with calling upon the individual expertise of your team members and acknowledging that you aren’t always the smartest person in the room. If you’re leading a great, highly skilled team, you’ll want these moments more often.

I would argue that the most influential leaders are able to admit when they are wrong or don’t know a solution for the problem. But having formed a dynamic, informed, and diverse team allows for that leader to learn from the individuals around them and to create an environment of strategic problem solving and quality solutions. 

How do you innovate your solutions/services that appeal to your target audience?

At FemTech Collective, we take our cues from our users and trends in the market. We are continually asking users about their experiences with our services and reiterating on our services with this feedback and the market in mind.

We found that the best innovation comes from a diverse team with varying backgrounds and perspectives. If we want to claim thatFemTech Collective is the go-to space for the FemTech ecosystem, where we need our team to reflect the users of those FemTech products and services. 

How do you see the company and the industry in the future ahead?

In the future, I see FemTech Collective as the leading business support service and strategic global network for entrepreneurs, innovators, and professionals in female health. There’s so much room for new technologies, and we’re still highlighting the gaps where innovation is lacking to support women’s health journeys. FemTech Collective is creating the foundation for the next generation of entrepreneurs in this space, and catalyzing innovation to ensure personalization and further accessibility in women’s health tech products. 

What is your advice for budding or emerging women leaders?

Don’t be afraid to fail. You wouldn’t want to read a story about someone who always wins. Twists and turns in your journey make up for a good story to tell, lessons to learn, and gives you the opportunity to be better next time.