Welcome to Startups Weekly, a fresh human-first take on this week's startup news and trends. Hey Jane, a digital health startup that scales access to abortion pills, makes sense. It's a direct-to-consumer pharmacy that aims to meet consumers where they are, which is especially important as the pandemic's extended stay continues. Hey Jane's core product has significant red tape to deal with. It's main product, abortion pills, are banned or restricted in several states. Add in the fact that Roe v. Wade is set to be overturned, and the world's future could clash with the startup's mission to expand healthcare. Hey Jane pretty much underscores the potential — and promise — of telehealth startups. But it also operates at the heart of an over-politicized issue. Earlier this month, I wrote about how digital health startups are bracing for a post-Roe world. Then, Hey Jane co-founder Kiki Freedman said that the overturn makes abortion care via mail "now likely to be the most viable form of access for most of the country." A hurdle, she expects, will be a lack of education among consumers on medication-induced abortions. The majority of abortions performed in the U.S. are via medication, except she says that a minority of people are educated about the nuances of medical abortion. "It's imperative that we continue to educate people about this safe, effective and common abortion option," she wrote in a statement. But now I want to do a follow-up to these next-day reactions. Next week, I plan to interview Freedman for TechCrunch's Equity podcast and ask her about how to build a company when the mission may be irreversibly challenged by our government; we'll talk about the origin story, and how they plan to pivot in the future. I want her to tell me what the world is getting wrong about telemedicine's ability to answer the biggest questions in health right now, and where startups could fit into the solution going forward. Also, are they actually raising a growth round? For the answers, make sure to tune into the Equity episode wherever you get podcasts, and, heck, why not start now? In the rest of this newsletter, we'll talk about another round of startup layoffs, why your MVP isn't the MVP, and a fintech company betting that it can make even your local credit card crave some Netflix & Chill time. As always, you can support me by forwarding this newsletter to a friend or following me on Twitter or my blog. |
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