When Joanna Strober was around 47 years old she stopped sleeping. While losing sleep is a common symptom of perimenopause, she first had to go to several providers, including driving 45 minutes from San Francisco to pay $750 out of pocket, to get the proper diagnosis and treatment.
“That feeling of shock, I've really been suffering unnecessarily for the last year really stuck with me,” Strober said on a recent episode of TechCrunch Found Podcast. “I started talking to all my friends and trying to understand what was happening to them and what became clear is that perimenopause and menopause are something very important. He hits women like a ton of bricks. It presents with many different symptoms and there are very few providers trained to care for this population.”
That understanding is what inspired Strober to launch Midi Health, a telehealth platform designed to serve midlife women by connecting them with providers trained in perimenopause and menopause symptoms and treatments.
Despite his “aha” moment, Strober explained why he couldn't launch the startup right away. He said Midi could not have existed if the US government had not changed its rules on telehealth and where people could access care during the pandemic. Because of the changes surrounding digital health, Strober said the company was able to launch its platform that provided care to women instead of women having to seek care in person.
“Understanding that this problem that had been around for a long time could finally be addressed through telehealth was a very exciting revelation,” Strober said. “And that's why I wanted to start this company.”
Midi operates a little differently than many of the other digital health companies that started in the post-pandemic wave, Strober said. She said Midi is not created to be a digital avenue for users to get one-time care or treatment as quickly as possible like many other companies of the same era, but rather to be a platform where women build long-term relationships with providers. that make them feel seen.
This approach is also why Strober believes Midi has been able to continue growing and raising venture capital funding as venture capitalists have become less interested in the category. The company recently raised a $60 million Series B round led by Emerson Collective with participation from Google Ventures, SteelSky Ventures, and Muse Capital, among others. This round brings the company's total funding to $99 million.
The digital health startup raised $13.2 billion globally in 2023, according to CB Insights Data. This represents a 48% decrease compared to 2022, $25.5 billion, and a 75% decrease compared to 2021, when a record amount of $52.7 billion was invested.
“I think very few telehealth companies didn't think about that long-term relationship with the customer,” Strober said. “We consider ourselves creators of a trusted brand in the healthcare sector. That's why our brand is an expert in women's care. We need to give you that incredible care so that you come back to us again and again. “That’s what women are doing.”
Midi is not Strober's first digital health startup and he talked about how his past experience creating Kurbo Health, a startup focused on childhood obesity before digital health was a thing, influenced his decisions when creating Midi. He also talked about how his past life as a venture capitalist also influenced his approach to the business.
With this latest round of funding, Midi hopes to expand care in areas that fall under perimenopause and menopause, including things like sexual wellness, hair and skin care, and access to testosterone.
“People keep asking, you know, when are you going to get out of perimenopause and menopause?” Strober said. “But perimenopause and menopause are a big market. “That's why we're working hard to understand what women's health needs are during this period of their lives and how we can appropriately respond to those concerns.”
