Health Tech to LV’s Growth and Success
Since health tech launching its innovative smart pelvic floor trainer in 2015, Alvey had secured contracts with health services around the world and expanded into other areas of women’s health. The company’s best-selling product, the LV pump, is said to have revolutionized pumping, offering moms the chance to do so silently and on the go. And since launching in 2018, it has become one of Amazon’s best-selling breastfeeding products. Now, with new additions to its portfolio, LV has secured almost 100 million dollars in Series C funding, with which the business plans to expand geographically, diversify its product portfolio into other key life stages, and become a global platform for women’s health needs.
- Research and Development Hub in Bristol
I’ve come to Bristol, England, home to LV’s research and development hub, and as a mother of a toddler with another on the way, I’m particularly interested in seeing what the team is working on right now. Almost half of LV’s workforce is based at this site, developing and testing the products of the future under the guidance of founder and CEO Tanya Bowler. - Disruption of Women’s Health by Technology
For so many years, we’ve seen tech disrupt many different sectors out there, but only recently has it started to disrupt women’s health. Why do you think it’s taken so long?
At the most basic level, it is because the tech sector is led by men, and though obviously, men do create great health tech companies and can focus on women’s health, women’s health issues are intimate and quite hidden. So I think it’s taken a new generation of female founders to start highlighting these are real issues that can be solved through technology. But I think right now is such an exciting time for femtech, right? Because I think for big change to happen, you need lots of macro factors and changes to collide. - Factors Leading to the Growth of Femtech
So what we’re seeing really now is, first of all, the whole social context has changed. We’re seeing a huge undergoing of womanhood, particularly Gen Z, and on social, young women are saying, “Look, I’m menstruating, and I’m proud, I’m not embarrassed,” and that creates the right context to be talking about some of these issues. And second, obviously, the huge technology disruption we’ve seen through, particularly, smartphones. So having the ability to have data in real time about your body and health. - Challenges Faced in the Femtech Industry
And third, I think within health care systems, they are disrupting at quite a slow rate, but they need to, right? The old-fashioned doctor-patient paradigm no longer holds. The health systems are not able to focus so much on prevention and wellness, so naturally, individuals are taking more control of their own health. So, you bring those three big factors together—this third wave of feminism, smartphone technology, and health system change—and really, it’s creating an environment where companies like LV are able to thrive. - Early Struggles of LV in the Femtech Industry
That said, it’s been a really uphill battle. You know, when we started, there wasn’t even the term “femtech.” We were constantly being accused of being niche, and I think we’ve had to, you know, where maybe a bar for another tech company might be, we’ve had to go above and beyond to prove ourselves.