How to Build a Femtech Startup Without a Science Background, with Nandhini Gopal | Blush & Bloom Podcast | Ep. 44

Plenty of people assume you need a biology degree to build in women's health. Nandhini Gopal is proof you do not. On this week's Blush & Bloom, Gigi Kenneth sits down with Nandhini Gopal, founder of Femovation Advisory and founder of the women's health startup FemC, which was later acquired by Koto, to talk about how to build a femtech startup when you come from outside science.

Nandhini's path runs through electronics and business administration, not medicine. Her way in was curiosity: researching her own hormonal health, discovering the word femtech through Clue founder Ida Tin, and slowly moving her whole career toward the space. It makes her unusually good at answering a question a lot of would-be founders are quietly asking: what do you actually need to start?

In This Episode, We Cover:

• How Nandhini moved from electronics and business into femtech
• Whether you can build in women's health without a science background
• The FemC story: vision, pivots, community, and acquisition
• The two biggest hurdles facing early-stage femtech founders
• How to build a sustainable, values-first business
• Using AI as a founder, and where to be careful
• The breakthroughs she hopes to see in the next decade

Can you build a femtech startup without a science background?

Yes. Nandhini's advice is to approach it with humility and hire the expertise you lack. Instead of waiting for a perfect scientific co-founder, find a smart early employee, a young doctor or nutritionist, who can help you read the research well. "Don't stop building, don't stop thinking that you can solve this problem too," she says.

What are the biggest hurdles for early-stage femtech founders?

Two stand out. First, a shortage of commercially ready research founders can build on, which slows everything down. Second, a stubborn funding gap: health and wellness ventures read as risky to many investors, and the sector swings through sharper cycles of willingness to fund than most. Her take is to accept that reality and build toward what investors need to see.

The FemC journey: vision, pivots, and community

FemC started with a science-first vision: use data at scale to spot patterns in women's symptoms and flag issues like PCOS earlier. When the data sets did not exist, the team pivoted from software to a service model, then discovered that the real need was awareness. The community they built to meet it became the company's backbone, and the strongest takeaway of all: "there is a need for education and there is a need for strong communities where you get trustworthy information."

How should founders use AI in women's health?

Nandhini uses AI daily for scheduling, meal prep, and workouts, and she is genuinely excited about it. But in health tech she is clear that it still needs human input and oversight. For anyone treating it as a plug-and-play fix, her line is simple: "I would say tread with caution."

The breakthroughs she wants to see

Looking ahead, Nandhini hopes for research that finally includes menstruating women by default, backed by legislation, plus real progress on endometriosis, non-invasive diagnostics, and menopause care, something roughly half the population will go through. Her throughline is that women deserve to live well for as long as they want, and the science should catch up to that.

FAQ

Do you need a science degree to start a femtech company? No. A science co-founder helps for some models, but many founders succeed by pairing their own passion with an early hire who has the relevant clinical or research expertise.

Who is Nandhini Gopal? Nandhini Gopal is a femtech founder and advisor. She founded FemC, a women's health startup acquired by Koto, runs Femovation Advisory, and mentors early-stage founders as an alumni founder of FemTech Lab.

What is FemC? FemC was a women's health company Nandhini co-founded that pivoted from a data-driven app to a service and community model before being acquired by Koto.

What is the biggest challenge in femtech right now? Access to commercially ready research and a persistent funding gap, as women's health ventures are often treated as riskier than other sectors.

Should founders use AI in women's health? As a tool, yes, but with human oversight. Nandhini's advice is to set boundaries and tread with caution, especially where health outcomes are involved.

Listen to the full episode

Hear the full conversation on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and explore more guests on the Blush & Bloom podcast hub. For a related listen, see our earlier episode on building femtech.

Connect with Nandhini on LinkedIn and through Femovation Advisory.