HER HEARD

If you want to be heard and join the HERd, sign up for our waitlist. We will let you know once it is built.

Why do we care?

Midlife women are 30% of the workforce, are a powerhouse of the economy, are the backbone of our families, and are pillars of our societies. We are building the support women need to be valued. Strong and healthy women make for strong workplaces and communities.

1 in 5 midlife women considers quitting work because of midlife women's health issues that are not addressed.

Who are we?

We are a Boston-based team, incubated at MIT, seeking to improve healthcare for midlife women.
We are patients, caregivers, scientists, nurses, doulas, pharmacists, doctors, engineers, AI ethicists and many others of all backgrounds who believe science needs to work for us...all of us.

We understand that science has gaps and harms. We see making science work better as a "wicked problem" to solve.
We know that AI (Artificial Intelligence) could worsen gaps if we do not work fast to make sure women are heard. To be "heard" is both via women's voices and via "patient-driven data" to inform how doctors, insurance and employers make decisions. 

You should be allowed to define yourself, not be defined by others.

Our team has work experience in public-private partnerships, direct clinical care, life sciences, public health, healthcare compliance, clinical effectiveness research, evidence-based guideline development, value-based care, population health, addressing disparities, health literacy, and community organizing.
We are from the U.S. (Massachusetts, Texas, NYC, New Jersey), Africa, South Asia, and Europe.

We are a pre-seed venture supported by MIT Sandbox, StartMIT, and MIT Momentum.

Founder Story

For a more detailed story,  click here. Briefly, Dr. Umbereen Nehal needed to go on medical leave from her executive MBA for late diagnosed and avoidable health complications common in midlife women's health. She ultimately needed six blood transfusions. In the process, she experience delay in getting appointments, wrong paperwork, medication side effects, clinician error, missing data, surgical complications, fighting for insurance coverage.

Because she had a combination of fibroids, endometriosis, and premature impending ovarian failure (early perimenopause in her 30s), she was getting put into the wrong "box" instead of treated like one whole human. Sometimes science just did not have answers for her exact combination of women's health issues. Other times, hospital clinical guidelines were not be updated to include more recent research.

Umbereen struggled to get the right care at the right time from the right person or in the right place to stay healthy.

It should not be this hard.

She now is better and working with a team at MIT to make sure other women can have a better experience and outcomes.

Umbereen experienced all this is despite being a physician herself.
If a former Chief Medical Officer, a frequent invited public health expert to the White House, a Harvard School of Public Health graduate, and a national grassroots organizer could get so severe and struggle... what happens to other women?

We need science that works for us, for our bodies, for our health.
We need what we are feeling to be converted "data" that doctors, clinicians, insurance, employers  hear us.

Like many women, Umbereen could have avoided so much of this if only common conditions that affect women's health were tracked and prioritized for women's own health and wellbeing. 

Hear yourself
Be heard
Join the HERd

See what we have designed so far

What is our mission?

Once the HER Heard team starting talking to women (we spoke with over 120 women and over 40 clinicians) and researching the issue, it turns out Umbereen's story is not unique.
A problem this big needs to be fixed.

1 out of 2 women at midlife will miss work for preventable or not optimized midlife women's health issues.
40% of women will get a hysterectomy.
At least 1 in 5 hysterectomies is not necessary.
Women who get hysterectomies often have worse pelvic floor dysfunction or bladder issues later.
Women with endometriosis get diagnosed years, even decades late, especially minority women or BIPOC women.
May women suffer silently with pelvic pain, urinary problems, intimacy issues.

Few women are able to make truly informed decisions about own bodies.

Too often science and healthcare is not built for women or by women and does not listen to women.
Let's change that.

Our Brand and Logo

We chose our logo based on what women told us they want, trust, and like.
What we heard from you:

Colors:
Purple is the color of royalty, of innovation, and is feminine.
Red is the color of strength, action, and vitality.
Pink is playful and fun.
(The colors were chosen to be better seen by those with visual difficulties and to be more inclusive.)

Elephant and HERds:
Elephants live in female-led herds with a wise matriarch. Elephants are intelligent, loyal, caring, and build strong communties. Elephants have big ears, which represents being "heard."

Visual Elements:
Red dots can represent multiple herds, data points, blood cells under a microscope, blood clots, or fibroid/endometriosis growths.
The incomplete letters and broken box represent incomplete knowledge and data in women's health.
The letters are modern representing hope via innovation.
The box can also be connectivity via digital health.
The "H" is growing out the box because science is aways expanding knowledge.
Also, it is okay to be "out of box" as we are all beautifully diverse and unique.


Join us on improving women's health..together.
Join the herd.