This FemTech Pioneer Built the Breast Cancer Care She Needed | Blush & Bloom Podcast | Ep. 62

On this week's Blush & Bloom, Gigi Kenneth sits down with Efrat Roman, a breast cancer FemTech founder who built two companies out of her own treatment. Efrat founded CureDiva, a social commerce site and community for women with breast cancer, and is the founder and CEO of EZbra, a patented, FDA-listed post-surgery breast dressing that is sterile, absorbent and disposable. Her thesis is simple: the hardest gaps in breast cancer care are human ones, and founders who close them need validated needs, clear data and a story told for the right room.

In This Episode, We Cover:

• What Efrat found missing after her breast cancer diagnosis at 40
• How CureDiva grew into a community of tens of thousands of women
• Why five breast surgeries led her to design EZbra
• Pitching breast health to investors before the word FemTech existed
• Why founders should validate the need before the solution
• How to use storytelling and data in a pitch
• Where FemTech still has gaps to fill
• Her advice for anyone going through a health crisis

What gaps did Efrat see in breast cancer care?

Efrat was diagnosed at 40. Medically, she says, she had the best of care and access to everything she needed. What went unseen was everything else: day to day realities, independence, dignity, body image and self esteem. In her words, "the gaps were human." Talking to women in support groups around the world, she heard the same complaints again and again.

From CureDiva to EZbra

Those conversations became CureDiva, which Efrat describes as the first social commerce website dedicated to women with breast cancer. It paired a shop for wigs, special bras, prostheses and help with hot flashes with a large community where women shared practical, detailed advice for each phase of treatment. She says it launched in 2013 and reached seventy thousand women by 2014.

While building CureDiva, Efrat went through five breast surgeries. She noticed that an eye or a knee gets a dressing designed for its shape, while women recovering from breast surgery were left with improvised solutions. Many patients cannot lift their arms to put on a bra, which leaves them dependent on someone else's help at a vulnerable time. She went looking for a dressing that was a bra, sterile, absorbent and disposable. When she could not find one, her friends told her, "apparently you are the someone." That became EZbra.

How do you pitch women's health to male investors?

Efrat's answer starts before the pitch. Validate the need with as many women as you can, then validate your solution. When she walked into investor meetings, she says, "I had an army of women standing there," backing her up. Knowing she brought a validated problem and a good enough solution gave her confidence in the hardest conversations, including ones where investors told her to be thankful she survived.

Why does storytelling matter for FemTech founders?

Storytelling for FemTech founders fills the gap between a world without your product and a world with it. Efrat's advice is to describe that gap clearly and without sugarcoating, then tailor the detail to your audience. Clinical specifics that matter to doctors and nurses can lose investors. Test your pitch on people who give straightforward feedback, and anchor the solution in data. As she puts it, saying a bra is nice is very different from saying, by her estimate, 13 million women need it every year.

Where does FemTech go next?

Efrat credits Ida Tin with naming FemTech and giving founders like her a category to stand in. She sees the sector growing because women started talking openly online about what bothers them. Her challenge to founders is to look beyond health: products, services, education and work were largely designed around men, and wherever women feel "this is not made for me" is a place to start looking for solutions.

Advice for anyone facing a health crisis

Get as much support as you can, she says, and allow yourself to complain, because if no one says what is wrong, nothing changes. Do not try to return to exactly who you were before. A diagnosis changes you, and for Efrat that change became a source of strength. Today she mentors women founders, sits on the boards of women's health companies, lectures and has returned to making art.

FAQ

Who is Efrat Roman? Efrat Roman is a breast cancer survivor and FemTech founder. She founded CureDiva, a social commerce site and community for women with breast cancer, and is the founder and CEO of EZbra. She now mentors women founders and serves on boards of women's health companies.

What is EZbra? EZbra is a patented, FDA-listed post-surgery breast dressing. It is sterile, absorbent and disposable, designed to fit the shape of the breast after surgery so patients do not have to rely on improvised dressings.

What is Efrat's advice for founders pitching women's health to investors? Validate the need with the women you are building for, validate your solution, and back your story with data. Keep the detail relevant to who is in the room.

What does Efrat recommend for someone going through a health crisis? Build as much support around you as you can, let yourself complain, and accept that a diagnosis changes you rather than trying to return to who you were before.

Listen and connect

Listen to the full conversation on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. Connect with Efrat on LinkedIn, where she says she is always happy to help. For more conversations, visit the Blush and Bloom podcast hub, including Ep. 57 on funding women's health startups and Ep. 61 on women's health communications, and track your own health with the Asele app.

This episode is for general informational purposes and does not constitute medical, legal, or regulatory advice.