Founder of the month: femfeel
Where do you see the hurdles on the way to a successful company? Where did you get support?
There is no one right way to start up – no one can tell you how to do it right. At the beginning, we thought there was someone who could tell us what exactly the most sensible next step is now. From the very beginning, we have been in close contact with experienced founders and experts in individual fields. Learning from experience inspires us and often makes us faster. But in the end, it is we who decide and know what is right for femfeel. We have learned to rely on our gut feeling.
What was your biggest challenge during the start-up phase?
There is no one challenge. There are new ones every day, which makes it incredibly exciting, but often also very demanding. We now know what it means when people always say “founding is an emotional roller coaster”. To deal with this, we started investing in our personal development early on. Personal coaching, we call it “couples therapy”, helps us to proactively prepare ourselves personally for upcoming challenges.
Has Corona had an impact on your startup/industry so far, and if so, what?
Without the Lockdown, I don’t think we would have ever started founding while in college. At the beginning of the first Corona Lockdown in March 2020, our exams were cancelled – which meant freed up time for us. The topic of menopause had been floating in the back of our minds for a long time, so we jumped at the chance and started reading up on the topic of menopause on the first day of the lockdown.
What qualities do you think a founder should have?
Curiosity!
The desire to get to grips with new tasks, areas and problems, to understand users and to learn constantly. Curiosity helps us to be incredibly excited every day about what new tasks and challenges are coming our way.
What qualities do you think a founder should have?
Start before you think you are ready!
This applies to the start with the foundation as well as to small daily tasks. We prioritize speed over perfectionism – which is not always easy.
It’s easy to see what doesn’t fit yet in current prototypes, newsletters, articles, Instagram posts (…). We wanted to do things “right” for a long time. A crucial mindset shift for us, was to not think if it’s the right thing to do. So with new ideas, we ask ourselves “Is is safe enough to try” – and very many things are “safe enough to try”.
What are your plans for the future? What are your next big milestones?
We are striving for a world where menopause is a woman’s second flowering. We will play a significant role in making menopause an issue, overcoming the negative stigma of this phase of life, and ensuring that every woman goes through her menopause empowered and informed.
Our next milestone is the first round of funding, which we hope to close in the middle of the year, in order to continue growing with femfeel.
Thank you for answering the questions!
You can also listen to the conversation with Marie and Janna in the KIT-Gründerschmiede podcast on Spotify.
