- SearchVentures
- Posts
- Women are taking over startups
Women are taking over startups
Year of female entrepreneurs, Flo Health is the new startup unicorn in Europe, and more...
SearchVentures
November 13, 2024
In partnership with
Year of female entrepreneurs
European femtech startups received the highest amount of venture capital funding ever for the sector in 2024 despite a downturn in European startup funding.
What's driving this startup trend for Europe?
This Week’s Trends
Femtech beating the odds
The Startup Unicorn For Women
Klarna finally files for IPO
Read Time 4 minutes
The Startup Trend
Growth in Femtech Funding
Female health and wellness startups have raised €340 million across 47 deals so far in 2024, surpassing 2021’s previous peak of €325 million with nearly two months to go.
> At the current pace, funding in this space across Europe is expected to reach €436.7 million for the year—more than double the amount raised last year.
> Startups developing app-based solutions for women’s health, typically have a broader addressable market than biotech or medical device companies.
💡Faster development timelines and lower R&D expenses allow VCs to tap into consumers’ demand for female-focused products while minimizing the risks.
Startup Feature
The Startup Unicorn For Women
Flo Health, the London-based femtech startup, has become Europe’s newest unicorn despite a challenging year for startup funding. Launched in 2015 by Dmitry and Yuri Gurski as a period tracker, it’s now a global health platform with 70 million users. A $200 million Series C round in July 2024, led by General Atlantic, has sent the valuation of Flo past $1 billion.
“Becoming a unicorn is a milestone, not a destination. Our goal is to make women’s health a global priority.”
With nearly 5 million premium subscribers and an estimated annual revenue of over $200 million, Flo is already demonstrating a clear path to profitability—something rare among startups of its scale.
Investors Bet Big on FemTech
Flo Health’s ability to turn a single-use app into a digital ecosystem for women’s health has made it a darling of European venture capital. The $200 million Series C led by General Atlantic is Europe’s only €100 million+ deal in women’s healthcare space in the past decade. With this investors are increasingly recognizing the untapped potential of this $50 billion industry.
“Flo’s vision for the future is deeply aligned with our belief in investing in meaningful and category-defining startup.”
Flo Health’s expansion has been strategic, driven by community forums, AI-powered insights, a loyal user base, and collaborations with over 120 medical professionals. This user-first approach has helped Flo achieve traction across 195 countries.
“Flo is about breaking taboos and giving women the tools to take control of their health.”
The Surprising Founders Behind Flo
The fact that Flo Health was founded by two men has drawn attention, but the Gurski brothers have always framed their involvement as a commitment to solving an overlooked problem rather than a limitation.
“Women’s health is one of the most underserved areas in digital innovation.”
The founders attribute much of their success to assembling a diverse team of female leaders and health experts who ensure the platform’s accuracy and relevance.
“When we started Flo, we identified a huge gap in women's health services. That gap is even larger than we thought.”
Flo’s unicorn status is not the finish line. The startup is eyeing growth in underserved markets, including Latin America and parts of Asia, where access to women’s health resources is limited. With a long-term vision of becoming a one-stop destination for women’s health needs.
Sponsored by Notion
Free Notion and Unlimited AI
Thousands of startups use Notion as a connected workspace to create and share docs, take notes, manage projects, and organize knowledge—all in one place. We’re offering 3 months of new Plus plans + unlimited AI (worth up to $3,000)! To redeem the Notion for Startups offer:
Submit an application using our custom link and select Beehiiv on the partner list.
Include our partner key, STARTUP4110P67801.
Headline News
This Week In Startups ✍️
Founders
> Klarna has officially filed for an IPO in the US, finally drawing close to long-running speculation around when and when the Swedish startup would go public.
> Fleek, a second-hand fashion marketplace, raises $20.4 million for upcycled fashion, enabling it to bring in new global suppliers.
> big xyt, a leading data analytics platform for financial markets, has raised a €10 million round led by European growth investment firm Finch Capital.
Investors & VCs
> Maki VC, a Finnish VC firm closed its third fund of €100 million to support deep tech or “brand-driven” startups across the Nordics and Northern Europe.
> Emerge, a London-based VC, has raised £56 million for its second fund to invest in 25 to 27 startups working on learning and the future of work.
> Axeleo Capital, a French VC, launches a €125 million fund for climate tech, aimed to finance innovative and resilient green technologies in Europe.
SearchVentures Premium
Access insights on over 41,000 European startups
Here are the latest startups open for investors
How Was Today's Newsletter?If this issue was a startup, how would you rate it? |
Cheers,
Odin Lund & Hari Mohandas
Reply