#StartupsEverywhere Profile: Christy Fernandez-Cull, PhD, Founder & CEO, Davinci Wearables
This profile is part of #StartupsEverywhere, an ongoing series highlighting startup leaders in ecosystems across the country. This interview has been edited for length, content, and clarity.
Empowering women to become CEOs of their own health
Davinci Wearables is on a mission to provide personalized health insights and empower active lifestyles for women. We talked to Founder and CEO Christy Fernandez-Cull about actionable health insights, raising capital for a female-focused company, and normalizing women's health.
Can you share a bit about your background and what led you to create DaVinci Wearables?
My journey began deeply involved in sports, particularly basketball. However, a career in professional sports wasn't the conventional path for me–due to a significant injury. This led me to pursue my interests in physics and practical applications, ultimately culminating in a PhD in electrical and computer engineering. Shortly thereafter I was recruited by Apple and worked in consumer electronics and machine learning and sensing applications across robotics and physiological monitoring. I also delved into science and policy, gaining experience at institutions like the National Press Club, NIH-NHLBI, and MIT Lincoln Lab. My first inflection was getting injured as an athlete and having to make a decision about the sport that I love. My second inflection was when I experienced a miscarriage and contemplated what was happening with my body. With all of the technologies that exist, why am I not able to track and measure what is going on in my body to get actionable insights before an injury or challenge with female physiology? That second inflection led me into health and wellness and physiological monitoring and sensors and algorithms and laid the foundation for DaVinci Wearables. During my MBA at MIT, I conducted research to understand female physiology across various life stages, which combined with my time at Apple ultimately led to the inception of DaVinci Wearables.
Could you describe what DaVinci does and how it works?
DaVinci Wearables is a wearable health and wellness platform aimed at empowering women to take control of their health. We are asking the question of how we make females the CEOs of their health and what form factor people typically wear every day. We've developed AI-powered hardware embedded in everyday garments like underwear, spandex shorts, and yoga pants. These smart garments collect data on vital signs, hormone levels, and other health indicators, seamlessly interfacing with popular wearables such as Apple Watch and Garmin. Our mobile app provides personalized insights and guidance based on this data, effectively serving as an "AI coach in your pants." Our mission is to normalize conversations around female health, provide actionable insights, and democratize access to health and wellness information, particularly for girls and women navigating puberty, fertility, and menopause.
Have you faced challenges in securing investment, particularly in a male-dominated investor space, given that your product primarily targets women?
Securing investment as a woman in a male-dominated space has presented its challenges. While we haven't encountered overt discrimination based on gender, we've noticed a disparity in investor interest and focus. Some investors have questioned our decision to focus on women's health, suggesting a broader market approach. However, we've also received support from investors committed to funding female-founded ventures. Our approach has been to focus on product development, patents, and building a strong network to navigate these challenges effectively.
Mckinsey's women's health focus which highlights a women's health gap and 1 trillion dollar opportunity further spotlights the misconception that women's health is too small of a market—a market that many VCs have undervalued. Change is upon us but so much more can be done and we are excited about the recent commitment of $100M by ARPA-H to accelerate women's health research. This number, however, begs the question, is this enough capital?
How does DaVinci approach data security and privacy, especially considering the sensitive health data collected by your devices?
Data security and privacy are paramount for us at DaVinci, and we've implemented established security measures to safeguard user data, including encryption, anonymization, and on-device data storage. These approaches are particularly important as we prepare for the future inclusion of sensitive health data such as vital signs and hormone levels. We are also currently in the process of obtaining both HIPAA and SOC 2 compliance certifications. While the compliance process entails significant cost and complexity, we work with an external firm that has previous experience navigating these regulations, along with advisors who provide invaluable insights into the process. While there's always room for improvement in terms of the cost and time associated with compliance standards, we are fortunate to have a knowledgeable team guiding us through this undertaking.
What is your vision for DaVinci in the coming years?
Our vision for DaVinci is to revolutionize how women engage with their health and wellness. We aim to make DaVinci Wearables a household name, synonymous with accessible, actionable health insights for women of all ages and backgrounds. By democratizing access to health information and normalizing conversations around female physiology, we strive to empower women to become CEOs of their own health. Our goal is to create a future where every woman feels informed, supported, and in control of her well-being.
All of the information in this profile was accurate at the date and time of publication.
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