Portrait No. 001
Sophia Yen
Co-Founder & CEO
Pandia Health
We co-founded the company to make sure that \"no one runs out of birth control on our watch,\" to make women's lives easier, no more worrying about running to the pharmacy each month or getting into your doctor's office to get the refill,. Then when I hit menopause, I said, \"I'll find out what the best menopause treatment is for myself and share it with all of my friends.\" I realized that our doctors who wrote birth control (estrogen and progesterone) would be very comfortable writing HRT (estrogen and progesterone but 1/10th the strength of birth control. We are the ONLY women founded and led, academic doctor founded and led asynchronous telemedicine and pharmacy service.
Chapter I
The toughest challenges you've faced as a founder.
As an “older” woman, mother, and academic doctor, I’m different from your usual startup founder. I’ve found it difficult to get funding from the traditional older, male VCs, who don’t understand the stress of worrying about running out of birth control each month, having to run to the pharmacy to get your meds each month, the toll that peri/menopause can have on women’s work and mental health. But thanks to those that believe in Female Founders, we received: • a 0% interest loan from Coralus (formerly SheEO) which groups 500 women investors in each country to invest in women founded/led companies, • free PR from women and progressive groups sharing our services, as the ONLY Women Founded/Led Doctor Founded/Led birth control and peri/menopause asynchronous telemedicine and pharmacy service, • Investment from smart younger VC (Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures, Allectus Capital, Arlan Hamilton and Backstage Crowd), Social impact investors (Scott Saslow of One World Investments, Jennifer Risher of #HalfmyDAF, and Ken Kurtig with Catacap.org) and friends/family who recognized that women’s health is not niche and that there’s a huge market here, • Support and mentorship through Springboard Enterprises and Stanford StartX.
Chapter II
Your vision.
Our company brings expert women’s hormonal healthcare from birth control to peri/menopause and beyond to wherever you have internet and a mailbox. We’d like to bring this to all 50 states and worldwide. Our services make women’s lives better: allowing them to plan their families and work and function at the top of their game. Painful, heavy periods are the #1 cause of missed school and work for someone with a uterus under the age of 25 years old. Pandia Health can treat that and allow women to go to school and work without pain. So many women are gaslit about peri/menopause and turn to untested, possibly unsafe supplements, pellets and inferior treatment for peri/menopause. We are here to provide 100% doctor evidence-based FDA tested medical treatment for peri/menopause. Some companies are selling fear; We’re not. Instead, Pandia Health provides free women’s health education and care.
Chapter III
The impact you want to leave behind — for your industry, your community, and the women who come next.
What I aim for: No one runs out of birth control on our watch. No one with a uterus bleeds monthly, unless they really enjoy that or they’re trying to catch an embryo that month. Everyone knows about peri/menopause including doctors, providers, and even men! Anyone who wants evidence-based expert peri/menopause care, gets it and not gas-lit. Equality for all genders, races/ethnicity in the C suite, VC, Board rooms, elected officials. I’m here to leave the world better than I found it and Pandia Health is my team’s and my contribution!