The Digital Era for Women’s and Family Health Has Arrived

Maven Clinic, the largest virtual clinic for women’s and family health, made history as the only unicorn in the category with its recent Series D round of funding. Maven Founder and CEO Kate Ryder speaks to Lux Capital Partner Deena Shakir, who co-led Maven's Series D alongside Dragoneer Investment Group, about what employers and payers can take away from this news and where women's and family health is headed. 

About Maven:

Maven is the largest virtual clinic for women's and family health, offering continuous, holistic care for fertility, pregnancy, parenting and pediatrics. Maven's award-winning digital programs combine specialized telehealth with care advocacy to provide women and families with the support they need to plan, grow and raise a family.

Founded in 2014 by CEO Kate Ryder, Maven is trusted by leading employers, including four of the Fortune 15, and health plans to reduce costs and drive better health outcomes. 

To learn more about Maven's fertility, pregnancy, parenting and pediatrics programs, visit mavenclinic.com.

Video transcript:

Deena Shakir: All right. Hello, HLTH. I'm Deena Shakir. I'm a partner at Lux Capital and am a proud investor in Maven Clinic. We just co-led the Series D. Maven has just announced it and it's the largest venture round for a women's and family health company. It's a huge milestone for the industry, and we couldn't be more excited about the growth that's ahead. I've been a student of this space myself as an investor and as a patient and a mother of two, and in all of my diligence on the industry, on the companies, on the patient outcomes, and on the customer journeys, it has become abundantly clear to me that Maven is a head and shoulders above the rest. It is the category leader best positioned to fulfill the promise of digital health for patients, for providers, for employers, and for payers and I'm particularly excited about the expansion ahead of us as we look into more underserved populations. So with that let's get right into it. Kate, how will Maven use this capital to support your partners and the patients that you serve?

Kate Ryder: Well thank you so much, Deena. It's so amazing to be partners finally and this is a really exciting time for Maven and I'm so glad to have a chance to connect with the HLTH community. So there's a couple of things I want this audience to know and what we're doing next. So for employers we can invest more deeply in our all-in-one platform for fertility maternity parenting and pediatrics and ultimately to bring more personalized experiences to each and every member. Some of the investments we make will include expanding our international footprint. You know about 25 of our companies are international today but we're seeing huge demand in the space, and so we're going to do this both through expanding our global networks of care advocates and providers as well as continuing to expand our on-the-ground fertility clinic partnerships. We're also doubling down on our global family building reimbursement product from Maven Wallet. Maven Wallet allows all families to have financial access in their path to parenthood and again, we have just seen so much demand for this in this space because combined with not only you know the financial reimbursement but also our care management programs that fully support the emotional and physical challenges as well, you know this is really the full stack solution I think that a lot of employers and employees are looking for. And so this is you know I think what we're also seeing is after Covid with so many parents getting affected and also just still so many gaps in the family building journey that this is the kind of support that best in class companies are putting in place to attract and retain top talent and foster inclusive workplaces regardless of whether you're in the office or hybrid or remote. So for payers which you know of course also partner with employers but then have their own populations that they look after, Maven's going to continue to invest even more deeply in our award-winning member experience, and so this has not only allowed you know enabled us to drive industry-leading patient engagement but really our high-risk pregnancy and fertility management programs do deliver clinical outcomes, and this is one of the things we're incredibly excited about to continue to offer our Maven Pair Program to payers to drive those outcomes in those populations and ultimately serve as a digital front door to additional services that health plans have around the family journey. And finally for those who are really thinking bigger about what health care can and should be, because this is the time to do so, whether you're coming at it from a health system perspective or the public sector, you know we are ultimately going to be a connector and problem solver in this space, which is just so fundamentally riddled with inequity, with patient distrust, and so women and families really just can't wait, and we are ready and willing to work with anyone who's really thinking big here and wants to build something better for each and every one of them.

Deena Shakir: Important messages, thank you so much, Kate. There's so much activity in the market these days, it's become almost a cliche to talk about the digital health transformation and the unprecedented times that we are in with Covid. There are a lot of products that are out there for customers and for patients to sift through. Can you share a little bit more about what makes Maven so different?

Kate Ryder: Sure. Our difference is really being able to serve the patient experience in all of its diversity and so we're able to do that for each and every member because of two core components of our product that are unmatched in this space. Our individual care navigation and a specialized telehealth network. And so we really believe that you have to go beyond just digital platforms and add a high touch experience so that you're able to meet the patients wherever they are and provide care and support for whatever they need because it's a lot. And so I think that one really unique thing about our provider network is that 40% of them identify as BIPOC, meaning that they we have providers from across different races, ethnicities, genders, you know there's more than 30 languages spoken in our provider network and we have over 30 specialties and 350 sub-specialties, and so you know this level of support and care which becomes hyper-personalized paired alongside the care navigation and then a great technology experience that delights our members is really what what makes Maven different. I think really what we've proved is that when you build for patients the entire system benefits. So, Deena, you know you've done so much work in this space, and so I'd really love to hear your perspective on what you're seeing in the market today.

Deena Shakir: Absolutely. You know despite the proliferation of solutions that are out there, it is clear that there is still just so much unmet need and everyone is looking for a way in and in particular with the black maternal health crisis and the endemic iniquity that plagues health care, women's and family health is such a critical wedge in and this is a category that you and Maven have defined and you've elevated where it belongs, which is truly at the center of health care, the best place to invest affecting those systemic issues related to cost related to equity and related to access. And there's still a tremendous amount of opportunity for us to really affect the outcomes of families to help ameliorate the lives of children of mothers of fathers and help provide better access to care when families need it most. And so we are really excited at Lux about Maven's patient first approach in particular and it's exactly that type of personalized care that you mentioned that makes Maven so special. Okay, so we are almost out of time. Let's pivot to talk about what's next. You are done with fundraising for a while now and it's back to building. What does the future look like for Maven?

Kate Ryder: Well, building is my absolute favorite thing to do and where I'm most comfortable, so definitely glad to be able to focus all of my attention on that because there's so much we're going to be able to do going forward and there are so many unmet needs in this space. I'm incredibly excited to invest in our team and to work alongside our new Chief Medical Officer Dr. Neil Shaw who HLTH attendees may know from his work at Harvard and around the greater Boston area. And you know Neil is incredibly passionate alongside all of us, really built a different kind of healthcare experience than the one patients have become used to and one that's grounded in principles of empathy and trust and cultural humility. And so really you know one that brings the whole health care to the patient and putting them in the driver's seat and so there's just genuinely so much ahead. I can't wait. I've never been more energized even though it's been seven years. I'm so all in for the next decade. 

Deena Shakir: I love it. That's such a great way to end. Thank you so much, Kate and thank you to everyone watching. I hope to see you soon either virtually or in and around HLTH and please be well.

Kate Ryder: Thanks Deena and I echo that. Look forward to seeing everybody. Take care.