Gennev, StartUp Health Portfolio Company and Trailblazer in Menopause Telehealth, Acquired by Unified Women’s Healthcare
The acquisition comes after nearly five years of partnership between Gennev and StartUp Health, who share a passion for advancing the Women’s Health Moonshot. “StartUp Health has been a game-changer for Gennev as we continue to evolve,” says CEO and Founder, Jill Angelo.
As autumn began, Gennev, an innovative women’s wellness platform and member of the StartUp Health portfolio, experienced industry-changing growth. On October 19, Unified Women’s Health announced the acquisition of the first-of-its-kind menopause telehealth platform. The purchase expands the woman-focused health-management company’s goal to “deliver better outcomes and an enhanced patient experience throughout all moments and milestones in a woman’s healthcare journey,” Bob LaGalia, President and CEO of Unified Women’s Healthcare shared in a statement.
Twelve days later, Gennev declared it was joining progressive healthcare marketplace Buoy Health. With more than 2.5 million users per month, linking with the network ensures what Gennev CEO and Founder Jill Angelo continues striving for: “Expanding access for women to receive specialized menopause care, enabling them to thrive through their post-reproductive years.”
There is no surprise at the growth Jill Angelo and her company have shown since first joining the StartUp Health portfolio in 2018. The partnership bloomed at one of our StartUp Health Festivals.
“I was amazed at the energy and what you were doing across the entire healthcare space, and how all these unique companies fit in,” Angelo shared. “Gennev was pre-seed. We didn’t have the telemedicine aspect of our offering at all, and I thought, ‘This is an organization that truly believes in emerging healthcare and how we can actually make a difference.’ It inspired me.”
This inspiration grew into a valuable partnership that proved to be a catalyst for bringing more attention to women’s health, a category already treated with indifference and in which menopause and women’s overall post-reproductive wellness bear the weight of unique stigma. Not only do they suffer from ageism — while each woman goes through this transition differently, the average age for menopause to begin in the United States is 51 — but when symptoms are brought to the attention of a physician, they are often met with skepticism or severely minimized.
Per Angelo, 85% of women in the throes of menopause never seek relief, and with that in mind, Gennev’s CEO and Founder sought to establish a platform that not only provides medical assistance to the physical symptoms women face when going through this time in their lives (vaginal dryness, low sex drive, difficulty sleeping, hot flashes, and more), but emotional and nutritional options to balance out the sometimes very long road ahead. Angelo, however, faced her own hurdles during her early quest for support.
“Trying to raise capital in the traditional space, I had to work so hard to educate them on the importance of this aspect of women’s health,” Angelo says.
With StartUp Health, Angelo saw an opportunity to bring her dream to life and a like-mindedness that devoting wellness solutions to support not only women’s health in general but those experiencing menopause — something 100% of women go through but only 7% receive care for — was and still is a journey StartUp Health appreciates as much as she does.
“In the StartUp Health family, I felt an immediate connection and joined as a Health Transformer shortly after the StartUp Health Festival. Since then, it’s been a game changer for Gennev as we continue to evolve.”
Developing a sustainable, expansive pathway to complete wellness for women of all ages began for Angelo back in 2016 after 15 years at Microsoft. While passionate about helping women deal with menopause, she had never run a business, let alone owned it. Since first joining the StartUp Health portfolio, Jill has come into her own. What started as a simple wish to help women get through menopause with the support and care they need and deserve, has grown into a 50-state solution that is now part of Unified Women’s Health and available through the Buoy Health network.
Before joining the StartUp Health portfolio, the company had no digital presence and was seeking its place. After the 2018 StartUp Health Festival, and through the hands-on immersive entrepreneurial coaching and connection StartUp Health provides, Gennev launched its telemedicine solution in 2019. By embracing the possibilities and potential reach of what digital innovation provides for women seeking physical, mental, and spiritual assistance through this phase of their lives, the Seattle-based Gennev became the first menopause specific telehealth solution for those four out of five women who never receive the focused wellness support needed to better navigate this inevitable transition.
As far as Angelo is concerned, it is “the biggest aspect of our business now. We’ve pulled in new funding — it’s been dynamically different since that moment.”
To further understand Gennev and the importance StartUp Health initially saw and always will see as its role on the broader health and wellness stage, visit their website, which features an array of approaches to help women make a positive, healthy transition into the second phase of their life, and read through the Gennev company profile. You will see how far the company has come since that 2018 StartUp Health Festival and what prompted Unified Women’s Healthcare to acquire it this past October, share the opportunities StartUp Health always envisioned for this innovative platform, and discover how the insight and support offered through this partnership continues to empower and embolden Jill Angelo.
Per Angelo, “StartUp Health is an organization that really believes in emerging healthcare and how we can make a difference. It is an incredible platform for education and amplification, and we [Gennev] have grown and benefited from their ongoing opportunities. I’m so grateful for their partnership!”
StartUp Health’s commitment to and support of Jill Angelo and Gennev is unwavering. We have been inspired by their vision since the beginning of our partnership, and continue to support, mentor, and encourage them as they expand their reach beyond menopause into general physical, emotional, and mental support and wellness for women in their post-reproductive years. The Unified Women’s Healthcare acquisition and joining with Buoy Health signal a move to more fully embracing the wellness needs of women, positioning Gennev as one of the most expansive and inclusive direct-to-consumer digital women’s health brands in the world today.
Passionate about breaking down health barriers? If you’re an entrepreneur or investor, contact us to learn how you can join our Health Equity Moonshot.
Investors: Contact us to learn how you can invest in Health Transformers and Health Moonshots.
Digital health entrepreneur? Don’t make the journey alone. Learn more about the StartUp Health Community and how StartUp Health invests.
Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.
Follow us on social media for daily updates on Health Transformers: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
