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Women make up 50% of the population, yet the world around them is often designed for men. Whether it’s medical technology, transportation or consumer gadgets, women are too frequently an afterthought. But with femtech – or female technology – the focus is 100% on creating tech-enabled products and services designed specifically for women.
Femtech startups in the UK and across the world are developing innovative ways to improve women’s health in areas such as the menopause, biometric tracking, IVF, breastfeeding and mental wellbeing.
Investors are increasingly backing femtech startups, too. According to Dealroom data, UK based femtech startups raised $125m (£101m) in 2019, rising to $121m (£97.9m) in 2021 – albeit with a sharp drop to $29.3m (£23.7m) in 2020.
While the US accounts for the lion’s share of femtech startups, the UK comes second in a market predicted to be worth in excess of $75.1bn (£60.7bn) by 2025.
With all that in mind, here are five UK femtech startups to keep an eye on.
Vira Health
Founders: Andrea Berchowitz and Dr Rebecca Love
Year founded: 2020
Total funding: $14m (£11.2m)
London-based Vira Health focuses on women’s healthcare and improving the gathering and use of female data in healthcare.
Its first product is a menopause subscription app called Stella, which guides women through menopause with tailored treatments based on the user’s symptoms.
Last month Vira Health raised £9m in a funding round to add new features to its menopause app, including telehealth and prescriptions.
Forth
Founders: Sarah Bolt and Chris Baines
Year founded: 2014
Total funding: $2.3m (£1.8m)
Located in Chepstow, Wales, Forth is a biometric tracking platform that enables people to live healthier. It tracks over 50 internal biomarkers, this data is then transformed into graphics and shown to the user through an online dashboard
In November last year Forth had an investment of £1.6m, to launch its Female Hormone Mapping product, giving women more insight into their hormone fluctuations.
Gaia
Founder: Nader AlSalim
Year founded: 2019
Total funding: $23m (£18.5m)
Insurance company Gaia offers financing on IVF treatments. The startup uses technology to guess the probability of success with IVF.
If the IVF treatment does not work, then the person only has to pay a percentage of the total costs. When the treatment works it can be paid for in monthly instalments. Gaia also provides counsellor sessions, medical embryologist access and member support.
Based in London, Gaia recently closed $20m in a Series A round led by Atomico and will use the capital to expand its operations.
Elvie
Founder: Tania Boler
Year founded: 2013
Total funding: $144m (£116m)
Elvie is a London-headquartered firm that manufacturers technology hardware for women. The first product by the company was the Elvie Trainer, an app-connected Kegal trainer. Followed by the Elvie Pump a quiet, wireless electric pump.
Last September it closed £70m in its Series C funding round to continue diversifying its product range.
Clementine
Founder: Kim Palmer
Year founded: 2017
Total funding: $1.3m (£1m)
Clementine is a mental health app for women that uses hypnotherapy to lower stress levels and build confidence. In the subscription-based app there are sleep sessions, confidence courses, anti-anxiety courses and mantras.
The app was created after founder Kim Palmer suffered with panic attacks during pregnancy.
Earlier in the year, Clementine partnered with singer and songwriter Becky Hill to encourage young people on a journey to self-care.
Headquartered in London, Clementine raised $1.3m (£1m) in its seed funding round in October 2020.
Manchester-based beauty platform Beauty Bay has appointed bankers from Threadstone Capital to look at its options and could choose to put itself up for sale, a report said on Tuesday. That would be a big strategy change for the 20-year-old business that only last year had been planning an IPO instead.
Founded by brothers Arron and David Grabbie, Sky News cited City sources saying Beauty Bay was “examining a full or partial sale to new investors”, although the option of it expanding by acquisition is also on the table.
An insider also said current trading was better than in the immediate pre-pandemic period but that it hasn’t been immune to inflationary headwinds.
The company is believed to be debt-free and is likely to have fully ruled out plans for a stock exchange listing.
It’s not known how much it would be valued at but it clearly has advisors who know how to get maximum value for a business. The news report also said it has taken on Threadstone because of the work it did in the same advisory role for Cult Beauty last year wen it was sold to THG.
Beauty Bay — which is known for selling sometimes-hard-to-find brands — hasn’t commented on the report.
Payments provider Paddle has raised $200m (£162.2m) in a Series D funding round at a valuation of $1.4bn, making it the UK’s latest fintech unicorn.
The London-headquartered company will use the extra capital to continue the growth of the platform, which provides payment infrastructure for software as a service (SaaS) businesses.
Its services include payment routing, tax collection, compliance, invoicing, subscription management, renewals, reporting, and fraud protection.
“Unfortunately, many SaaS companies still find their growth hindered by the operational challenges that arise when scaling; from handling subscriptions management or tax compliance to localising payment options in every market,” said Christian Owens, CEO and co-founder, Paddle
According to Gartner the SaaS market is expected to be worth $692bn (£561bn) in 2025.
Paddle’s Series D round was led by KKR, with the addition of previous investors FTV Capital, 83North, Notion Capital, Kindred Capital. Debt financing came from Silicon Valley Bank.
Founded in 2012, Paddle is used by over 3,000 software companies and has a total investment to date of $293m (£237m).
Paddle has worked with SaaS companies such as Resume.io, MtionVFX and Tailwind Labs.
The investment follows on from its Series C round in November 2020, which raised £52m and was led by FTV Capital.
Recently Paddle has increased its headcount from 140 to 275 in its London and New York offices.
KKR made its investment through its growth equity fund, Next Generation Technology Growth Fund II.
“By simplifying the payments stack, Paddle enables faster, more sustainable growth for SaaS businesses. Christian and the team have done a phenomenal job building a category-defining business in this space, and we are excited to be supporting them as they embark on the next phase of growth,” said Patrick Devine, director, KKR.
Paddle follows in the footsteps of GoCardless in becoming a UK fintech unicorn and follows a record year for UK fintech investment.
Competitors to Paddle include embedded finance platform Weavr, whose co-founder and CEO recently spoke to UKTN about not competing directly with banking as a service firms.
In the fast-paced tech startup world, burnout is a pernicious problem. Demanding hours and workload can have damaging effects on employees’ mental health, making them feel emotionally and physically drained. Often, employees aren’t aware of the early signs that burnout is taking a toll on their mental health.
Burnout was recently recognised by the World Health Organisation as “a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”.
A study from Asana found that in the UK, 81% of tech workers said they experience burnout at least once a month.
An unmotivated and drained workforce is a big problem for companies trying to scale up.
It’s also a problem for companies that want to retain their best employees. For some workers, burnout has been a contributing factor in leaving their job as part of the ‘Great Resignation’.
For Mental Health Awareness Week 2022, UKTN spoke to tech leaders to find out what’s causing burnout – and what companies can do to prevent staff from burning out.
Balancing work and life can be a difficult task in an industry that requires rapid innovation so constantly.
The ability to balance one’s personal and professional life is itself a vital career skill, but it can’t just be the responsibility of employees to work out how to do it.
Hugh Scantlebury, founder and CEO of cloud-based accounting software firm Aqilla, tells UKTN that even “small actions” such as ensuring employees take breaks throughout the day can make a difference.
Team leaders can also conduct “regular and informal check-ins to give employees an opportunity to address any concerns” before they morph into something more serious.
“All these things can play a part in reducing stress and avoiding burnout,” Scantlebury says.
Managers should monitor their team’s workload, and make it clear they are not expected to work over their allocated hours.
While small, everyday actions such as check-ins can establish a more motivated and less stressed workforce, sometimes staff will be going through something bigger.
It’s here that having specialised mental health initiatives can make all the difference.
“Therapy can be expensive and inaccessible, meaning many people choose to avoid working on their mental wellbeing,” says Ashley Lourens, head of wellbeing at mental health startup Plumm.
“If you offer support through work, however, employees will be much more likely to engage with the full range of wellbeing services on offer.”
Lourens suggests making the use of an “accredited expert” available to employees who would otherwise either not be able to, or not have the motivation to.
“If an employee does develop burnout or another mental health condition, having a therapist available means they can immediately speak to someone they are comfortable with, working to combat symptoms before they spiral into something more,” Laurens says.
While the pandemic contributed to the high levels of stress felt by employees, it also gave employees greater flexibility for working arrangements.
The hybrid work from home (WFH) system for most companies was first put in place out of necessity. As the stay-at-home orders started to lift, some firms lifted the work from home policy, while many others kept it as part of a hybrid model.
WFH services have advanced significantly since the pandemic, and while some workers prefer working in an office, plenty prefer the chance to do their job at home. Adopting a flexible hybrid model can allow firms to play to the strengths and preferences of staff.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all option that is guaranteed to suit all of a company’s workforce. But by providing a choice and being flexible to employee needs, companies can ensure staff are working in the way that best suits them.
One of the most common contributing factors to mental health problems is loneliness – so much so that it is the theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week.
Promoting a sense of team and taking steps to make sure everyone feels involved can help prevent this.
Inclusive team-building events and socials can create a sense of belonging. This can be trickier to do among distributed workforces, which is why some companies have regular drop-in days.
“Tech companies now have a duty of care in helping to reduce loneliness and mental ill-health,” said Anna Rasmussen, founder and CEO of management software company OpenBlend.
“Central to success is instilling a team culture whereby the members of that team feel supported by one another. Doing so gives people a much-needed community to bounce ideas off, celebrate highs with, and solve problems with.”
Estée Lauder, the cosmetics brand owned by the eponymous American group, is launching the Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders (ELEL) fund. This charitable fund aims to challenge gender stereotypes and empower women in the workplace by helping them develop and strengthen their leadership skills.
"The 75-year legacy of the Estée Lauder brand shows what one visionary woman can achieve. Through the work of the Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Fund and its program partners, we will champion women to contribute and lead in their workplaces and communities," said Stéphane de La Faverie, president of The Estée Lauder Companies.
Estée Lauder has made an initial investment of $1 million in ELEL to support international organizations that strive to bolster these emerging leaders. Its first partner is Vital Voices, a global nonprofit organization that helps women accomplish their dreams for social change.
"At Vital Voices, we recognize that women lead differently, and that distinction is exactly what our world needs. Our partnership with the Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Fund will identify emerging leaders with a bold vision for positive change and provide them with the skills, network and resources they need to make that vision a reality," said Alyse Nelson, president and CEO of Vital Voices.
Vital Voices and ELEL will co-launch a seven-week long online and offline customized leadership development program in July. Applications for the first and second cohorts are now open on the Vital Voices website.
In the third quarter of its 2022 fiscal year closed on March 31, the Estée Lauder Group, who additionally owns cosmetics brands such as M.A.C and Clinique, recorded sales of $4.25 billion (4.02 billion euros), up 10% from the previous year
With UK interest rates having risen again on Thursday in response to surging inflation, the release of the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker (HSST) could be evidence of the last gasp of a shopping frenzy ahead of consumers tightening their belts.
The HSST said that April was “a month of two halves as retail sales growth starts to slow”.
The headline figures showed the 14th month of consecutive retail sales growth, with total like-for-like sales up by 44.9% compared to April 2021.
But growth began to slow in second half of month and online sales also recorded a disappointing growth. Total non-store like-for-like sales rose 6.4%. That may have been the first positive result this year, but it was only a modest rise from a relatively low base of +28.2% in April 2021.
And BDO said that while fashion and lifestyle categories saw increases in their total like-for-like sales compared to 2021, the homewares sector saw almost no change, growing only 1.1%.
In fact, fashion saw the biggest growth, with total like-for-like sales increasing by 58.7% for the month, from a base of +84.2% for the same time last year.
But what evidence is there for BDO’s view that 2022 retail might have started to falter? Well, the first week of the month saw growth of 81.96% compared to the same week the previous year, followed by an increase of 86.7% in the second week.
Yet the final two weeks saw much lower rates of growth. In the third week like-for-like sales grew 18.41% compared to the same week in 2021 last year. Sales then grew by 14.4% in the final week of April 2022.
Those figures may be partially expected given that for the first two weeks last year, the UK was still under lockdown and the second two weeks reflect the reopening period in April 2021.
But the fact is that the reopening last year didn’t exactly see shoppers surging back to stores in ‘normal’ numbers as many people remained nervous about shopping physically. So with shoppers theoretically almost back to normal now, the relatively small double-digit rises this time aren’t that impressive. The jury’s still out on what this means for the next few months.
BDO’s Sophie Michael, Head of Retail and Wholesale, said: “We continue to see retail like-for-like sales outperform expectations, as April saw yet another month of positive headline numbers. However, a closer look at the data reveals a distinct shift in the middle of the month, with growth across all categories falling substantially in the final two weeks of April. There are a number of factors behind this. Stores reopening in the latter half of April 2021 resulted in a higher base with which to compare this month’s results. We also saw the traditional slowdown in discretionary spending over the Easter bank holiday weekend between the third and fourth weeks of April.”
But she added: “The cost-of-living crisis has also undoubtedly contributed to the slowing in growth, as consumers reduce their discretionary spending. Consumer confidence is lower than at any point since the financial crash in 2008 so, when combined with high inflation, it’s no surprise to see growth trending downwards. The barely noticeable growth in online sales is another indicator that discretionary spending is slowing down.
“This volatility in consumer demand comes at a time when retailers’ supply chains are more stretched and difficult to manage than ever. They will need to maintain the flexibility and resilience they demonstrated throughout the pandemic if they are to meet customer expectations and maximise their sales.”
There was good news and bad in Boohoo’s final results for the year to February, but much of the bad news had been flagged in advance and the firm said the pain it's feeling now should be balanced by future growth.
On the plus side, the results report showed it enjoying a “significantly increased market share in the UK and US” compared to two years ago with total sales up 61% in that period.
It also said it has extended its target addressable market through acquisitions, with up to 500 million potential customers, and now has increased warehousing and distribution capacity, capable of supporting over £4 billion of net sales.
The headline figures for the year saw the Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing, Nasty Gal and Karen Millen owner achieving revenue of £1.982 billion in FY22, up 14% from FY21 and 61% higher than FY20.
Gross profit rose 10% year-on-year to £1.041 billion and rose 56% on a two-year basis. But the gross margin was down 170 bps over one year and 150 bps over two.
Adjusted EBITDA was £125.1 million, down 28% against FY21 and down 1% against FY20, while statutory pre-tax profit was down 94% on the year at £7.8 million and 92% lower than two years ago. That was due to “significant” freight and logistics cost inflation and “record investments across [the] multi-brand platform”. Boohoo said it saw “£60 million of pandemic-related shipping cost headwinds and investment in launching our new brands”.
That investment has included important developments for the future such as the relaunch of Debenhams, “adding a new dimension of a digital department store to the group's portfolio and extending the group's target addressable market”. Plus there was the integration and relaunch of the newly acquired Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton brands, and the purchase of new offices in London's West End, for its London-based brands and staff.
CEO John Lyttle said: “Over the past two years, we have significantly increased market share in our core geographies and we have grown active customer numbers by 43% to 20 million. Our focus has been on investing to build a strong platform. In the year ahead we are focused on optimising our operations through increasing flexibility within our supply chain, landing key efficiency projects and progressing strategic initiatives such as wholesale and our US distribution centre. This will ensure that the group is well-positioned to rebound strongly as pandemic-related headwinds ease.”
With that in mind, its plans are on track for automation of its Sheffield warehouse going live in FY23, “driving material efficiencies”, and the opening of a new distribution centre in the US in FY24, “transforming [the] delivery proposition”.
Looking back at the latest year, growth remained strong in the company's largest market, the UK, at 27%.
But overall growth was still hurt by three factors: returns rates that increased significantly in H2, “ahead of both expectations and pre-pandemic levels”; consumer demand that was “subdued” as a result of lockdowns in key markets throughout the year; and its international business being dented by extended delivery times.
That meant international sales fell by 3% with international revenue now representing 39% of its total, compared to 46% a year earlier. That fall in the percentage wasn't only down to lower global sales, but was also affected by that particularly strong growth in the UK and the mix impact from brands acquired in the last two years.
And heading into the new financial year, the group is planning the business on the basis that the pandemic-related external factors impacting performance in FY22 will continue for the period.
Its priorities therefore are focusing on optimising its operations. This will include “targeting increased sourcing from near-shore markets, leveraging the flexibility that exists in the group's diverse supplier base to reduce lead times that have been negatively impacted through global supply chain challenges in FY22 and exposure to fluctuating inbound freight costs that remain elevated”.
It will also operate with lower levels of inventory “through tighter stock management and increased levels of open-to-buy, giving greater flexibility to react to changes in demand midseason”.
And the group has launched a cost efficiency programme too.
But while headwinds are expected to continue and be a major problem in H1 (albeit with Q2 showing an improvement on Q1), the second half should be much better. It said the performance is expected to improve in H2 “with sales growth accelerating as the group annualises high returns rates and normalising consumer demand, with profitability improving as it benefits from key strategic initiatives and leveraging of overheads”.
With all that in mind, it “expects to emerge from the pandemic in a far stronger position compared to two years ago. Reflecting significant and ongoing investments in its platform, brands, distribution and people”.
Matchesfashion has named a new Chief Financial Officer with Dave Murray set to join the luxury retailer and e-tailer from its peer Farfetch, where he was Senior VP of Finance.
Murray will start his new role this autumn, replacing Sean Glithero who’s leaving to take a career break.
He has 20 years of experience in the luxury and retail sectors, including three years at Farfetch, where he worked alongside that company’s CFO, with operational responsibility for all areas of finance.
Before that, he was in senior finance positions at Amazon in the UK from 2014, which followed a decade at Sainsbury’s where his final post was Head of Retail Finance in 2014.
CEO Paolo De Cesare called him “one of the luxury industry’s most respected finance professionals” and said he’ll “provide us with invaluable e-commerce expertise. We expect the next $100 billion of luxury market growth will come from further digital penetration and Dave’s vast experience in this area will be immensely valuable”.
His appointment also follows the arrival of Prenisha Harry as HR Director, who joined from Pandora. She has also worked at Inditex.
And at the same time as it shared news of its two new senior hires, Matchesfashion also announced its Grand Tour Italy Part II.
Working in partnership with Marie-Louise Sciò, founder of Issimo (a new e-commerce and lifestyle platform directly inspired by Italy’s rich heritage of style, design and culture) and the CEO and Creative Director of the Pellicano Hotels Group, it’s a three-part tour of Rome, Florence, and Naples/Ischia. We’re told it “will celebrate the return of global travel and showcase Matchesfashion’s exclusive vacation capsules through a series of unforgettable events”.
The journey will also be captured in a cinematic mini-series, shared with the retailer’s audiences worldwide.
The first stop is being marked by the launch of Marie-Louise Scio and Robert Rabensteiner’s vacation edits online via a pop-up in Rome until 8 May. This will be followed by an event and installation at the firm’s 5 Carlos Place townhouse in London, before heading to Florence (10-12 June) and Naples/ischia (19-22 July).
The Grand Tour is meant to be all about the experience for its high-spending guests and includes cocktail parties, special dinners, shopping, dancing, private art tours, and relaxing by the sea.
Retail destinations “fared well” over the early May bank holiday with a strong uplift in footfall from the week before, according to footfall expert Springboard. The rise averaged 8% over the three days from Saturday to Monday.
This strong footfall performance also narrowed the gap from 2019 considerably, to an average of just -8.3% between Saturday and Monday across all retail destinations, it noted.
Footfall last week (24-30 April) rose 3.1% across UK retail destinations although this was heavily influenced by a significant uplift of 77.9% on Sunday, due to the low comparable of Easter Sunday in the week before.
On Monday (26 April), footfall declined by just 0.4% driven by a drop of 11.9% in retail parks. This was due to a strong comparable in this destination type on Easter Monday in the week before, said Springboard.
Saturday and Sunday were the strongest trading days, with rises in footfall of 9.5% and 11.3% respectively. There was less of an uplift in consumer activity overall on Monday (+3.3% from the week before), but retail parks performed strongly with a rise in footfall of 12%.
High streets and retail parks recorded particularly strong improvements versus 2019, to -8.5% below 2019 in high streets over the three days and -5% from 2019 on Monday, and -2.6% below 2019 in retail parks over the three days with footfall 1.2% higher than 2019 on Sunday.
Footfall was 22.5% higher than last year in all UK retail destinations over the three days, and 36.8% higher in high streets rising to 52.1% higher than 2021 on Monday.
The lead-up to the bank holiday weekend saw noticeably lower footfall than the week before across all three destination types. Over the three days between Tuesday and Thursday, footfall declined from the week before by an average of 7.3%.
In city centres around the UK, activity also increased over the three days by an average of 8% in Central London and by 15.9% in regional cities outside of the capital.
It also appears that Easter trips had ended last week, with declines in footfall in coastal and historic towns over the seven days up to Saturday (-8.8% in coastal towns, -1.8% in historic towns). However, footfall in both of these town types bounced by over the bank holiday weekend, with rises that averaged +8% and +14.7% over the three days from Saturday to Monday.
A new premium footwear brand is debuting in the UK with Lerins — launched by Dune founder Daniel Rubin and "Inspired by the unspoilt Lérins Islands off the French Riviera” — unveiled on Tuesday.
The new label for both women and men focuses on “sustainable trainers”, all designed in London and made in Portugal from materials sourced in Europe.
It avoids claiming to be fully sustainable but said it’s “busy working on that” and is “committed to making every effort to become as sustainable as possible”, as well as being as transparent as it can.
Launching this month, the shoes retail at £130 via www.lerinslondon.com.
The company said it “puts a directional and sustainable twist on the retro-inspired court trainer. Combining optimal comfort with trend-led style credentials, Lerins is introduced with 10 options and in a palette of in-style shades including muted camel and vibrant green”.
It added that the label “joins the dots between modern styling and socially- and environmentally-conscious crafting techniques, without compromising comfort or quality”.
Rubin, the fourth generation of his family to be involved in manufacturing footwear, founded Dune 30 years ago and said of his new venture: “One thing my experience has shown me is making shoes is a complex business — there are well over one hundred processes in the manufacture of footwear.”
He added that his mission is “to make shoes in a more sustainable way”. Leather, although a bi-product of the food industry, “requires the use of lots of water and chemicals to be produced. I was determined, with Lerins, to address these challenges and make my shoes in a more environmentally and socially responsible way”.
The leather used in the new products is produced “to a gold standard” in certified ‘Leather Working Group’ tanneries where the provenance of the raw material is known and approved, and the use of water and chemicals tightly controlled.
It’s also using vegan leather supplied by Italian partner Vegea that’s made from the grape skins left over from wine-making. This is combined with vegetal oils and natural fibres to make a durable and leather-like product.
The line-up comes with a leather and canvas option too and the the canvas used is created from recycled sea plastic. Meanwhile, shoelaces are made of organic cotton and soles from recycled and virgin rubber.
The sustainability element extends to the packaging that’s fully recyclable, compostable or biodegradable and and has featured energy efficient processes in its logistics and operations “wherever possible”.