An increasing number of tech founders are producing apps or wearables to assist women through one of the most challenging transitions of their lives. Menopause is becoming more widely spoken about as workplaces globally recognise the need to provide support for employees in the midst of it. According to The National Institute of Health, around 25 million women pass through menopause each year. In addition, Grand View Research figures show the global menopause market size is expected to reach 15 billion euros in 2023. One female executive who is using tech to provide help and guidance to women going through this important life stage is Gaele Lalahy, COO of Femtech Start-up balance-app.com.

We spoke to Gaele about the app, the medical expertise involved in its operation, challenges, key learnings and more.

Gaele, can you please tell us a bit about balance? What exactly is it, and how does it work?

Balance is a support app for anyone experiencing menopause and perimenopause symptoms. It was founded by leading GP and menopause specialist Dr Louise Newson. To date, the app has been downloaded over one million times in more than 200 territories.

Balance was created with a single mission in mind – to make menopause support inclusive and accessible to all by providing evidence-based information to help users become better informed, prepared, and empowered. The balance app allows users to explore a vast collection of expert articles, keep track of symptoms and periods. It generates a health report to take to healthcare appointments. It also enables them to be part of a supportive community, keep an eye on their mental health, mood and monitor sleep quality!

Where did the idea to establish a menopause-focused app come from? 

There are huge gender inequalities in healthcare provision. Menopause is a life event and affects more than half the population. For too long, women and trans and non-binary people have endured debilitating symptoms with little support or effective treatment from healthcare services.

When working as a GP, word got out that our founder, Dr Louise Newson, was different in that she knew exactly how to help people affected by their menopause symptoms, and she quickly became inundated. She then realised she could open a specialist menopause clinic in every city in the UK, which still wouldn’t meet demand. Something had to change about the way help was being offered. With that, Dr Louise Newson decided to flip the balance of power and place the knowledge and expertise in the hands of the people that needed it the most! 

Can you tell us a bit about the technology involved?

Balance is a ground-breaking app that allows people across every corner of the globe to educate themselves with evidence-based information. It enables them to join a community of like-minded individuals and, ultimately, feel empowered to get the proper treatment for their bodies and future health.

My team have spent a lot of time thinking about accessibility features in line with Apple and Google. Balance has screen reader compatibility, voice control, subtitles on video content and font scaling capabilities from users’ native device settings. It also collects user information to provide them with evidence-based information relating to their input. This helps users avail of relevant support within the app. Another piece of tech involved is Balance’s live-streaming sessions. Regularly, the balance app invites users to join our doctors and menopause experts in real time, where users can ask questions throughout.

What were the biggest challenges your team faced in establishing the app?

Once the app was launched, it was really about acquiring credibility to ensure that we would get a regular rate of downloads to secure wide adoption. The reputation of our founder is second to none, and he has really supported adoption. In addition to this, word of mouth from our users was huge. Our challenge was to get the app adopted and recommended by healthcare professionals. This way women would be empowered with information at the very moment that they were seeking advice for their symptoms. Seventy-seven per cent of women do not realise that their symptoms are due to menopause. 

We have worked tirelessly to ensure that our app would get the appropriate accreditation, and we became the first menopause app to be certified by ORCHA (the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps). That was a turning point for us, although there is still a long road ahead to ensure that digital technologies are more widely adopted in primary care.

The app is based on medicine and research; can you provide more details on the experts involved in running Balance?

We are extremely lucky to have Dr Louise Newson, and Dr Rebecca Lewis, who are both leading GP and menopause specialists onboard, as both our founder and co-founder. Through their expertise, we have been able to set the vision for the app and establish a non-negotiable approach to delivering evidence-based medical information in everything that we do. Balance is also part of the Newson Health Group. They have clinics around the UK dedicated to perimenopause and menopause, so we have access to over 100 menopause specialist doctors, nurses and pharmacists.

What is the overall ambition for Balance?

Menopause represents such an unmet need. I believe many women are still suffering needlessly because of a lack of education, difficulty getting access to a diagnosis and the right treatment. 

Our mission as a group is to improve the health, lives and well-being of women around the world. We are doing this by making evidence-based information and support accessible and inclusive to all. We now have resources in 15 languages and are honing in on enabling anyone, anywhere, to avail of it by introducing new features.

What has the feedback been like from users so far?

Absolutely incredible! The app has grown organically to 1 million downloads, and this is from word of mouth and doctor’s recommendations. GPs suggest the app to their patients because having them arrive with information about their symptoms and knowledge of the different options available helps with the quality of their consultations.

Many women are telling us how the app has been instrumental to them in reaching a diagnosis and that the appropriate treatment literally ‘saved their lives’.

If you could change anything about your career and journey to being COO of Balance, what would you and why?

I don’t think I would change a single thing, actually. When I looked for my first job, I looked at the nuggets of joy I wanted to have in my working life. At the time, they were a big brand, a multicultural environment, and a way to fulfil my passion for Japan and sports marketing! I joined Panasonic as a graduate, and the first part of my career offered me all these elements, so it’s no wonder I stayed there for 20 years. Following that, I felt the need to prove myself again and see what I was capable of in a small structure without safety nets.

So, with innovation and purpose at the heart of what I wanted to do next, I left a multinational to join a startup as employee number one, and that’s when I met Balance. I am so glad that Balance came to find me. With our mission to improve the health of women around the world and the opportunity to use technology to meet an unmet need, it felt right.

What advice would you give to other female executives when looking to grow tech startups?

My top three tips would be picking up a product, sector or brand you love and believe in. Number two would be to remain focused but don’t be scared to pivot and adapt. And finally, three to learn, listen and open your eyes so you are always one or two ideas ahead of the curve.