It’s all about “smashing taboos,” as Elektra Health CEO Alessandra Henderson puts it on this episode of the Busine$$ of the V. Together with Dr. Dweck and Rachel, she explains how the market for menopausal education and treatment is burgeoning and what it means from a start-up perspective.

Co-founded by Alessandra just two years ago, Elektra Health is a unique online platform built on three pillars: Education, Expertise and Community. Millions of women have been underserved in their often decade-long journey through menopause, so Alessandra and her team have stepped up with a telehealth alternative within the women’s health space. And companies are jumping on board. Why? Because the market is enormous.

HOT FLASH: Perimenopause/menopause, which includes a constellation of 34 different symptoms, constitutes a $10 million market opportunity. Some 6,000 women a day enter this phase of life and can be affected over more than 15 years – which translates into big business!

This conversation also highlights an exciting implicit recognition that women are valued team members whose health and wellness needs matter – and that their employees know it. With a constellation of some 34 symptoms – ranging from the traditional hot flash to impacts on mental acuity and vision – menopause is a phase of life that merits serious corporate and entrepreneurial attention. Elektra has taken this as a challenge to get rid of stigma and silence by connecting women with carefully vetted providers, quality education and a powerful network – each other.

Learn how Elektra is meeting a need by meeting women where they are. Corporate America is recognizing the power of menopause – both as a market opportunity and for the freedom, wisdom and confidence associated with well-supported women in the workplace. World-class, evidence-based care, education and community are long overdue! Find out what’s on the horizon in this episode of Busine$$ of the V.

Watch How Menopause is Being Transformed by Elektra Health

About Alessandra Henderson, Elektra Health’s CEO

Alessandra Henderson is the Co-Founder & CEO of Elektra Health, a next-gen healthcare platform on a mission to smash the menopause taboo. Alessandra started her career in technology as the sixth employee at Artsy, where she built the content partner business from the ground up. From there, she went on to found and serve as Executive Director of the MIT NYC Startup Studio, and VP of Network at Human Ventures. She holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt University (2007) and MBA from Sloan MIT (2016), where she received the Martin Trust Community Fellow Award ’16 and the Patrick J. McGovern, Jr Entrepreneurship Award ’16. Beyond the office, Alessandra is passionate about taboo-smashing, all things art, and supporting & elevating women.

Contacts Alessandra Henderson

Website: www.elektrahealth.com

@LinkedIn

@Twitter

Topics Covered with Elektra Health’s CEO Alessandra Henderson

• How Alessandra migrated from her early start-up work with a successful arts-oriented venture and other pioneering online businesses to working in the women’s health care space.
• As Dr. Dweck and Rachel have found repeatedly with women-owned health care businesses, Elektra grew out of an entrepreneurial woman’s personal exposure         to an overlooked or under-served market need.
• Alessandra shares what it is that sets Elektra’s platform apart:
  • Education orientation and resources.
  • Access to care – both through online forums or telemedicine appointments.
  • Community support and resource sharing.
• Menopause can occur over 10+ years and Elektra aims to act as a supportive companion and source of wisdom throughout the journey.
• A bit about Elektra’s founding team and the humor they incorporate as part of a health tech platform that is otherwise rooted in serious research and data.
• What distinguishes Elektra: Beyond simply acting as a marketplace for women’s health care providers, they deploy a team of distinguished experts to assess and vet all their recommended providers.
• Alessandra explains the standards and experts that determine which health care professionals meet the mark to become approved providers.
• Elektra’s business model offers telemedicine care (eligible for out-of-network reimbursement) and will be expanding its offering with a membership element that will further unlock education, expertise and community.
• Smashing the Taboo: Elektra is targeting businesses with the proposition that menopause is a workplace issue and looking to forerunners in the UK.
• Elektra is part of a trend towards creating a menopausal specialty that specifically addresses women managing related symptoms.
• Employers are jumping in – a clear sign that women are being recognized as valuable team members whose ability to perform is mission critical.
• Competition: When it comes to the rapid growth of startups in the menopausal space, Alessandra says, “The more the merrier.” It’s a sign that women’s health is being taken more seriously.
• What’s on the horizon for Elektra: A new membership product that will stitch together an array of offerings to help women progress through their educational and treatment journey.

Quotes from Elektra Heath’s CEO

(05:15) – “Founding Elektra health was an opportunity to smash one of the final taboos in the women’s health care space.”

(08:35) – “Community support, resource and knowledge sharing are  incredibly important to help women feel supported.”

(10:30) – “Everything is rooted in science and evidence-based clinical data that is the gold standard. It’s not the blind leading the blind.”

(11:51) – “We’ve spent the time to find people who are really aligned with an integrative and holistic approach and whom we feel can meet women where they are.”

(15:08) – “ We are going where we see the highest need, which is directly to women who are actively seeking solutions.”

(18:35) – “There is this lost 15-year window as far as what it means to receive great care and Elektra is helping to define that category.”

(20:39) – “This is a topic that has been filled with shame and stigma and taboo, shoved under the rug for far too long.”

(21:48) – “The money is there. The market is huge. There is no one-size-fits-all for every woman, be it a product, a telemedicine brand or voice.”

(24:43) – “Menopause is multifaceted … whether its products, support, community. There’s a lot to bite off and service – and we know women are hungry for support.”