Meet the Founders of FemTech Focus

Dr. Brittany Barreto and Dr. Julie Hakim are FemTech experts on a mission to accelerate the trajectory and impact of the FemTech space by providing much-needed resources to FemTech founders.

These innovative women came together to create FemTech Focus based on their common belief that FemTech represents a much-needed departure from a mainstream male-centric market that has long overshadowed and underserved women’s health issues. Women represent over half of the world’s population and drive the world economy – a reality that makes the lack of focus on women’s health technology uncomfortably ironic, outdated, and overdue for disruption.

Dr. Barreto and Dr. Hakim are not only part of this disruption, they are passionate about amplifying the impact of disruptors in the healthcare industry that are diligently working to better serve women. They also share a passion in championing the efforts of women in FemTech that much like themselves, face unmerited challenges and stigmas while striving to succeed in the male-centric industries of healthcare and technology.

More About Dr. Brittany Barreto

While pursuing her Ph.D. in Molecular and Human Genetics Brittany ambitiously became a young CEO and Co-Founder of her first company – the revolutionary dating app Pheramor. The ambitious venture was the first nationwide DNA-based dating app to hit the market to an enthusiastic audience.

After exiting the company, Brittany embarked on a new path as the Senior Venture Associate at Capital Factory, a notable innovation player in Texas. She was tasked with launching their Houston branch. She helped lead 7 investments and grew their accelerator portfolio by 190%.

Dr. Brittany Barreto’s expansive work and career have been featured in numerous publications such as Wired, Thrive Global, and Houston Business Journal. Today Brittany is frequently requested to consult with startups and deliver keynotes on her topics of expertise such as:

Barriers in the FemTech Industry
The Current State of FemTech
The Role of Scientists in FemTech Funding
The Fundamentals of Fundraising
Womens Healthcare & Wellness
A Guide to FemTech for Investors

Request Dr. Brittany Barreto as a Speaker

More About Dr. Julie Hakim

Dr. Julie Hakim is a board-certified OB/GYN with a subspecialty in pediatric gynecology and an advanced degree in vaginal wound healing. Dr. Hakim is part of a new wave of FemTech innovators disrupting the market through technologies in the field of women’s health and wellness. She is the inventor ofr the world’s first vaginal stent designed specifically for pediatric and adolescent gynecology and women after cancer radiation therapies. The invention was notably developed in her all-women research lab.

Dr. Hakim is also on a mission to empower young girls to better understand their reproductive health, especially teens in the Latina community. Her expertise in pediatric gynecology passion for empowering young women to trust and believe in themselves is powerfully evident in her speaking topics which include:

The impact on Diets and Menstruation in Young Girls
Talking to Your Daughters About Reproductive Health
The reality of healthcare for women and FemTech
How to Get Out of Your Own Way to Achieve Success
How to Be Your Most Authentic Self

Request Dr. Julie Hakim as a Speaker

FemTech Focus is proud to offer our members and accelerator participants access to our all-women run research laboratory.

We know that time, money, and effort are invaluable and often limited resources for startups. To conserve these assets, we believe that startups must establish a high data integrity level through rigorous testing. By making our research lab available, our members can mitigate risk, improve product quality, build customer trust, and bolster validity with potential investors.

About Our Research Lab

Our Co-Founder Dr. Julie Hakim directs a research lab colloquially called “Team Vagina”. The lab offers a unique women’s health research focus that combines the depth of science with the breadth in biodesign and engineering.

Dr. Julie Hakim leads the women’s health research lab with the expert support of Research Associates Drs. Jennifer McCracken, PhD and Gisele Calderon PhD. Our lab is unique in that it combines science, technology, and biodesign with device innovation.

Our FemTech Focus members and incubators will have the opportunity to test in a space that is a force behind the FemTech industry where clinical needs are tested and accelerated through science, technology, and engineering.

Donate

Invest in the future of Femtech discoveries and innovations by donating to FemTech Focus. Your donations make it possible for femtech founders to access resources like our research lab, and become one step closer to revolutionizing women’s healthcare.