Startup behind smart breast pump: Mothers love it, VCs don’t

BEFORE her first meetings with venture capitalists, Janica Alvarez thought she could have a professional discussion about breasts.

Alvarez was trying to raise money for her startup Naya Health Inc., which makes a smart breast pump. Naya has secured approval from the Food and Drug Administration, achieving that milestone much earlier than most young companies.

But the conversations weren’t what she expected. Investors wanted to know how she’d be able to run a startup while also raising her children. Another commented on her body and asked how a mother of three stays in such good shape. Others said they were too grossed out to touch her product or pleaded ignorance about how a breast pump works. “Investors would say, ‘ Let me go talk to my sister; let me go talk to my wife,’” Alvarez said.

She and her husband, Jeffrey Alvarez, managed to raise US$ 6.5 million ( RM30 million) from investors after starting the business together in 2013. But they’ve recently hit a wall. With few VCs willing to fund the product, they’re turning to Kickstarter in the hopes of keeping their company running. The campaign, with an initial goal of US$ 100,000, started Thursday. “If VCs don’t want this, then we know parents and mothers do,” Alvarez said.

The US venture capital industry is 93 per cent male and facing heightened scrutiny for the sometimes-fraught relations with Silicon Valley’s few female entrepreneurs. Alvarez’s experience illustrates how getting venture funding can be even harder when your product isn’t one men use.

The breast pump market is dominated by Swiss manufacturer Medela, which got a boost in the US from an Obamacare mandate that insurance companies must cover the cost of pumps for new moms. Most devices use hard plastic cups and an air suction system. They’re often loud and sometimes painful.

The Naya’s soft suction cup mimics the feel of a baby’s mouth and distributes the suction over a broader area of a woman’s breast. Alvarez said the Naya delivers 30 per cent more breast milk and is 20 per cent faster than alternatives, thanks to a unique water-based system. The company is also planning to sell a smart bottle that will be able to track the volume, calorie count and fat content of breast milk and inputs them into an app. Mothers would be able to use the software to monitor how much they’re pumping, how much the baby is eating and how much milk is left in storage. — WPBloomberg