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I am so flattered and thrilled that one of my Booth students, Uma Veerappan, felt that our class on Women as CEOs, Entrepreneurs, Investors, Directors, and Executives was her favorite during her first year of business school.
Uma has a strong interest in healthcare venture capital, and she has been focusing her investment thesis on virtual care solutions in the Menopause Care Market. As a Flare Capital Scholar, she has spent the past several months connecting with industry experts, physicians, and entrepreneurs around the world regarding this space.
Uma and Margaret Malone, a Booth alumna and an investor at Flare Capital Partners, discuss their thesis on this market in their latest article, published by Mobihealthnews.
Thought you would enjoy this quick Q&A I did with Uma on why women’s health is exciting to her—and why the menopause market in particular:
Alyaa J. Rapp: Why focus on menopause?
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Uma Veerappan: While women’s health is receiving greater attention from investors, the focus has been on reproductive health & fertility. Women experiencing menopause are eager for better care, but their options are limited. Ample white space exists for entrepreneurs to disrupt existing models of care, making this a particularly exciting time to tackle this $600B market opportunity. Looking forward, I anticipate that companies in this market will have highly impactful opportunities for growth including integration of mental health services and expansion into the employer-sponsored market.
AJR: What were your key takeaways from your market research with Margaret—and how will they inform you as an investment professional in women’s health?
UV: Through conversations with industry experts, physicians, and entrepreneurs, Margaret and I uncovered several complexities within the menopause care market. These included social taboos influencing discourse regarding care options and confusing messaging regarding appropriate treatment recommendations. I quickly realized that the investors (and entrepreneurs) best positioned for success are those who exhibit a careful understanding of the markets they focus on!
AJR: If you had one lightning bolt insight about menopause based upon your work so far, what would it be?
UV: We talk about periods and pregnancy. Why not menopause? Let’s normalize this universal experience so that menopause is discussed as casually as any other life transition.
