Femtech Studios launches in Norway
Designed to create, scale and support start-ups in women’s health
Femtech Studios has announced its launch as a new European-based venture studio designed to create, scale and support start-ups in women’s health.
With headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and additional bases in Denmark and Italy, the team comprises experienced entrepreneurs, industry experts, and thought leaders.
Femtech Studios takes a design-driven approach, with three of the five founders members of the Danish Design Council. Using the ‘Designing for Meaningfulness’ methodology and focusing on empathy-led innovation, Femtech Studios is already working with startups like Induvita, which is innovating in gynecological care, Caramma, which is rethinking infant feeding, and Meno Clinic, a full-service menopause clinic.
The femtech market is projected to surpass $60 billion globally by 2027, yet it still remains underfunded and overlooked. Femtech Studios is tackling this head-on, combining startup creation with strategic consultancy to ensure femtech founders get the backing, mentorship, and resources they need to succeed.
Dr. Vanessa Julia Carpenter, Founding Partner at Femtech Studios said:
"We’ve launched this because we see a need for it. Women need it, we need it, and the world needs it.”
"Femtech is (to those in the industry) obviously a place where there is significant innovation and growth, but to those outside this industry, even the word femtech is still foreign to them. Therefore, one of our aims is to unite stakeholders and introduce investors to this historically underserved sector and another is to build our own femtech startups and bring in femtech startups to grow, scale and exit."
Venture studios a popular model in femtech
The venture studio model in Femtech is growing in popularity with several new studios launching in the past year including Sweden’s Daya, Fierce Foundry based in the US, and Astrawell Venture Studio operating in the UK/US. The model allows the venture studio (and its experts) to be actively involved in both the creation and the building of start-ups over an extended period of time - ultimately in the hope of giving them a greater chance of success.
Femtech Studios’ hybrid model
Femtech Studios operates with a hybrid model that includes both startup incubation and industry consultancy. It is now hitting the ground running with a three-pronged approach of strategic angel investment (which is often paired with hands-on mentorship), femtech specific incubator programs and industry education such as talks and workshops.
"Our ambition for the year ahead is to dive into the deep end, and help as many startups as we can, gaining more experience and traction in this area, and expanding our list of advisors, partners and investors to ensure we have the critical mass necessary to make significant impact for startups who aim to grow and scale within femtech.
“We need more exited femtech founders to enrich and empower the ecosystem. And we want to help make that happen."
The Femtech Studios founding team includes Ulla Sommerfelt - an exited founder of a global design firm called EGGS Design and is also a board member, an angel investor and a mentor to many startups as well as author of “Firesoul Leadership.” Chair Linda Christin Hoff is a finance expert, CFO and strategic advisor. Marie Moxnes Harfjeld specializes in strategic marketing, PR and social media and is a fractional CMO to a variety of companies. Thit Juul, is a serial community builder with extensive C-level experience in design, brand building and leadership. And finally Dr Vanessa Julia Carpenter, is a speaker and Interaction Designer who has 8 years experience in designing and developing femtech and holds a PhD in Designing for Meaningfulness in Future Smart Products.
Backing the team is a team of expert advisors including Dr Brittany Barreto (FemHealth Insights and Femtech Focus podcast), menopause expert Sanne Gottlieb, and angel investor Torsten Kolind.
Vanessa continued:
"We have a unique combination of designers, entrepreneurs, investors, and strategic business developers on our core team and an incredible team of advisors.
“I'm so excited to learn from all of these people and our startups as we intertwine our expertise to help small and large companies and investors to immerse themselves in this area and help build, grow and scale femtech startups with a lens of Designing for Meaningfulness."