Women Disrupting Tech

One in eight women in the Netherlands must choose between food and tampons. Sophie Haccou bootstrapped CupHub to close that gap, and is about to launch the crowdfunding campaign that could take her full time.
In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Sophie Haccou, co-founder of CupHub, about building a hardware startup from a university design project to a live crowdfunding campaign. Sophie and her co-founder Aart are developing Casey, a portable rinsing device that makes menstrual cups practical to use outside the home, and bootstrapped the company by waitressing at night while building it during the day.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- Why one in eight women in the Netherlands have to choose between food and tampons, and how that defines period poverty
- Why menstrual cups cost more upfront but save money over time, and why that upfront cost is the real barrier
- Why almost no public toilet stall has a sink, and how that drives the design of Casey
- Why VCs told Sophie and Aart it was too early for them, and how that pushed them toward crowdfunding instead
- What Sophie’s 100,000 euro crowdfunding goal will fund, and what changes at the 200,000 euro stretch goal
- How bootstrapping meant working nights as a waitress while building CupHub during the day
- Why Sophie’s dream is to tackle period poverty beyond the Netherlands, including an early conversation about testing Casey in Kenya
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
04:50 Introduction to Sophie Haccou and CupHub
08:47 Development of Casey, the portable menstrual cup rinser
12:51 Designing user-friendly and sustainable menstrual products
16:51 Business model: crowdfunding and social impact partnerships
18:50 Material safety and standards for menstrual cups
20:42 Future prospects: diagnostics and FemTech innovations
22:41 Global expansion and impact in developing countries
24:49 The role of community in breaking taboos
26:51 Crowdfunding strategy and investor engagement
28:50 Partnerships with food banks and NGOs
30:58 Access to clean water and sterilization in different regions
32:50 The importance of education in schools about menstruation
34:56 The social and health impact of menstrual products
36:57 The future of FemTech and diagnostics
38:43 Advice for female founders and entrepreneurs
40:49 Building a community and sharing experiences
42:43 Expanding internationally and future goals
44:52 Funding strategies and business sustainability
46:43 The role of men in menstrual health awareness
48:52 Closing thoughts and how to support CupHub
More about this episode:
Blog: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/08/13/episode-165/
Substack: https://womendisruptingtech.substack.com/p/episode-165
Connect with Sophie Haccou and CupHub:
Crowdfunding campaign: crowdaboutnow.nl/campaign/CupHub
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cuphub/
Instagram: @CupHubOfficial
Website: CupHub.net
More about the TEDx Coolhaven Women event on 9 October in Rotterdam
More about the event: https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/68333
Buy your tickets at: https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/tedx-coolhaven-women-the-new-builders-tickets-1992166654090?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true
Use code WDT25 for an exclusive 25% discount.
Connect with host Dirkjan Hupkes
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/
FundingCoach.ai: https://fundingcoach.ai
Substack: https://womendisruptingtech.substack.com/
About Women Disrupting Tech
Every week, Women Disrupting Tech covers the decisions, patterns, and structural realities that female founders and investors rarely discuss in public but run into every time they meet. Follow to get it in your feed.
🎧 Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or YouTube.
👉 Subscribe for more conversations with women building hardware companies from the ground up.

50% of women over 40 will experience some degree of pelvic organ prolapse. Most still manage it with a device that has barely changed in decades.
In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Mirjam Weemhoff, urogynecologist and co-founder, and Bart van Diepenbeek, CEO, of Saturn Pelvic Health.
Together they built FlexSupp, an adaptable pessary built to replace the one-size-fits-all devices women rely on for prolapse. We get into the clinical problem, the research behind it, and how they built the company.
If you're a founder building medtech or health tech products, a woman in tech curious how founding teams get structured, or just someone who is interested in women’s health innovation, this episode is for you.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
* Why traditional pessaries fail so often, and what actually causes prolapse
* How FlexSupp’s adaptable design replaces the one-size-fits-all approach
* Why the team deliberately chose a male CEO to normalize investor conversations
* Why established pessary producers have little incentive to innovate
* What the last ten percent of medical device development looks like, and how a diverse team handles setbacks
* Why they chose Europe before the US, against the more common playbook
* The prevalence numbers behind prolapse, and why it stays hidden
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
04:30 Introduction to Saturn Pelvic Health and the team
04:54 Mirjam Weemhoff shares her background and motivation
06:30 The clinical problem of pelvic organ prolapse
07:39 The founding story and team formation
09:31 Bart van Diepenbeek joins the team and his motivation
12:33 The importance of team diversity and gender balance
14:11 Prevalence and impact of pelvic prolapse
16:22 How prolapse affects organ function and daily life
18:37 Limitations of current pessaries and surgeries
21:40 Advantages of the new adaptable pessary design
26:26 The development process of FlexSupp and research insights
39:48 Research and MRI studies informing product design
41:52 Current stage and remaining risks in product development
45:18 Lessons learned and unexpected challenges
48:56 Market entry strategy and regulatory considerations
53:57 Convincing stakeholders and overcoming barriers
58:34 Addressing gender and cultural aspects in healthcare
1:03:28 Why start in Europe before expanding globally
1:04:33 Closing thoughts and contact information
Connect with Mirjam Weemhoff, Bart van Diepenbeek, and Saturn Pelvic Health
Mirjam Weemhoff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirjam-weemhoff-she-her-b343581b9/
Bart van Diepenbeek: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-van-diepenbeek-b771734/
Saturn Pelvic Health: https://www.saturnpelvichealth.com/
FlexSupp product details: https://www.saturnpelvichealth.com/about-our-product/
More about the episode
Read more on the blog: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/08/06/episode-164/
More reflections on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/womendisruptingtech/p/episode-164
Connect with the host: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/
More about the TEDx Coolhaven Women event on 9 October in Rotterdam
Event website: https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/68333
Buy your tickets at Eventbrite
Use code WDT25 for an exclusive 25% discount.
About Women Disrupting Tech
Every week, Women Disrupting Tech covers the decisions, patterns, and structural realities that female founders and investors rarely discuss in public but run into every time they meet. Follow to get it in your feed.
🎧 Listen to Women Disrupting Tech on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.
👉 Subscribe for more conversations with founders building the future of health tech.

Our healthcare system wasn't designed for the 21st century. It is a century-old model built in an era without AI, designed to rescue sick people instead of keeping people healthy in the first place.
In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, host Dirkjan Hupkes talks with Dr. Robin Blackstone about healthcare innovation, AI in medicine, and what real health system reform actually requires.
Whether you are following digital health trends or are a founder and investor building in the space, this conversation explores how a reimbursement system built after World War I still rewards treating sickness over prevention, and unpacks her Health 4.0 framework for closing that gap.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
The true cost: Why healthcare is the second line in the P&L of major US companies and why employees pay up to $6,000 per year for coverage.

Health 4.0: How to redefine care around continuous, personalized, AI-enabled health instead of episodic disease treatment.

Systemic incentives: What it would actually take for hospital CEOs, insurers, and health ministers to align incentives around wellness.

Data and equity: Why social determinants of health and data equity matter for building a system for "the other ninety-nine percent."

Technology's role: How AI connects people and systems to combat loneliness and drive decision-making.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
03:45 Introduction to Healthcare Innovation
06:35 The Journey of a Female Surgeon
09:33 Challenges in the U.S. Healthcare System
12:19 The Need for Systemic Change
15:27 Aligning Incentives in Healthcare
18:17 The Role of Technology in Health
21:18 Social Determinants of Health
24:15 The Impact of Environment on Health
27:05 AI’s Role in Personalized Medicine
30:09 Overcoming Barriers to Technology Adoption
33:01 Addressing Loneliness with Technology
35:41 The Role of AI in Human Connection
36:58 Understanding Health 4.0
41:16 Shifting from Crisis Management to Prevention
46:31 Incentive Changes in Healthcare
53:02 The Importance of Data in Healthcare
57:10 Monetizing Data and Equity in Healthcare
1:00:11 AI’s Role in Decision Making
1:02:16 Transforming Healthcare: A Personal Journey
1:05:46 Strategies for Healthcare Leaders
1:08:25 Reimagining Insurance and Payment Systems
1:10:44 Building a New Health System
1:11:50 The Human Element in Healthcare
1:16:18 Introducing Dr. AI: A New Frontier
1:21:23 Empowering Female Founders in Health Tech
1:27:17 How to Learn More and Connect with Dr. Blackstone
Links & Resources:
Show notes and blog: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/07/30/episode-163/

Women Disrupting Tech on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/womendisruptingtech/p/episode-163?r=2v0lts&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Connect with Dr. Robin Blackstone:
Website: https://robinblackstone.com/

Book: https://robinblackstone.com/the-book/

Papers: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=11181028

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinblackstone/

Podcast: https://robinblackstone.com/podcast/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RobinBlackstoneDoctorAI

Substack: https://robinblackstone.substack.com/

Connect with host Dirkjan Hupkes:
LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/⁠
FundingCoach.ai: ⁠https://fundingcoach.ai
Substack: ⁠https://womendisruptingtech.substack.com/⁠
About Women Disrupting Tech:
Every week, Women Disrupting Tech covers the decisions, patterns, and structural realities that female founders and investors rarely discuss in public but run into every time they meet. Follow to get it in your feed.
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

One in three women will experience incontinence in her life, yet the options have stayed stuck at pads or surgery. Leonie van de Kamer is building the option in between.
In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Leonie van de Kamer, CEO and co-founder of Certain, about a patient-controlled device placed in the urethra for female stress urinary incontinence, positioned between disposable pads and invasive surgery. We trace how the valve technology started as a hormone-free contraceptive at Choice, why the team spun Certain out as a separate company, and what it takes to fund a preclinical medtech startup.
This episode is for female founders, women in tech, and health tech entrepreneurs, plus investors and women in leadership who want to see how a real medtech company gets built: the market validation, the regulatory strategy, and the funding decisions behind a women's health product.
What you'll learn in this episode:
Why incontinence ranks as the second most impactful chronic disease on quality of life, and why one in three women is affected by anatomy, not injury
How the same valve became two companies: adapting contraceptive technology to incontinence, and when to spin out rather than run a platform
Why incontinence is a lower-risk investment case than contraception, in Leonie's own words
How a lean medtech team "steers the orchestra" using external specialists instead of hiring every expert in-house
Why the UK is a strategic first market after its ban on surgical meshes and tapes
What early market validation with clinicians, patients, and insurers actually looks like before the product exists
How Leonie uses AI to filter investors and cut the time lost to the wrong funding conversations
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
03:20 Introduction and background of Leonie van de Kamer
05:17 Leonie's journey from medicine and entrepreneurship
08:13 Inspiration behind Certain's incontinence device
13:22 Technical challenges and design considerations
18:26 Market strategy and spin-out process
23:15 Societal impact and addressing taboo in women's health
28:20 Regulatory classification and approval pathway
33:21 Funding strategies and investor relations
43:23 Building a lean team and quality management
53:20 Market opportunities in the UK and Europe
1:03:15 Future milestones and strategic partnerships
1:13:10 Closing thoughts and connecting with Leonie van de Kamer
Blog and show notes:
Show notes: https://womendisruptingtech.blog/2026/07/23/episode-162/
Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/womendisruptingtech/p/episode-162?r=2v0lts&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Connect with Leonie van de Kamer and Certain:
Website: https://www.certain.care/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonie-van-de-kamer-2ba79a2b
Connect with Dirkjan Hupkes and Fundingcoach.ai
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/
Website: https://fundingcoach.ai/
About Women Disrupting Tech
Every week, Women Disrupting Tech covers the decisions, patterns, and structural realities that female founders and investors rarely discuss in public but run into every time they meet. Follow to get it in your feed.

Meditation and sleep apps are not fixing women’s health. Karen Berg explains why femtech needs real clinical answers instead.
In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Karen Berg, partner at Healthy Capital, a venture capital fund investing in digital health, about her path from law and investment banking into impact investing, and why she thinks femtech needs to move past wellness apps and into real diagnosis and treatment.
This episode is for founders building in health tech, women entrepreneurs, people in women in tech, and investors who want to know what makes a digital health startup investable.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
Why regulatory complexity can work as a moat, not a burden, for healthcare startups
What Healthy Capital looks for before investing: a distinctive, hard-to-replicate solution
Why femtech needs to move beyond wellness apps for meditation or sleep, and focus on serious medical issues
How the Life Impact Framework measures healthcare startups across cost, quality and capacity
Why AI in women’s health is limited by a lack of historical medical data on the female body
Why closing the funding and health gap for women requires men and women working together
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:47 Karen Berg's background
03:44 Karen's transition from finance to healthcare
04:56 Impact of personal loss and career change
06:12 Attraction to complex, regulated markets
08:38 Experience with her brother’s illness and sabbatical
11:38 Why healthcare and impact matter to Karen
14:37 Investing in digital health and early-stage companies
16:09 The role of AI and data in women's health
21:48 Bias, representation, and funding disparities
29:42 Defining impact and measurement frameworks
38:58 Women's health as a serious, underserved market
47:17 Impact of societal awareness and education
52:29 The importance of diversity in investment teams
56:33 The debate: FemTech vs. HealthTech branding
1:02:02 AI funding coach for female founders
1:03:33 Closing remarks and where to connect
Connect with Karen Berg and Healthy Capital:
Karen Berg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-berg-9a97213
Healthy Capital website: https://www.healthy.capital/
Healthy Capital on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/healthydotcapital/
Connect with me:
Dirkjan Hupkes on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dirkjan-hupkes/
About Women Disrupting Tech
Every week, Women Disrupting Tech covers the decisions, patterns, and structural realities that female founders and investors rarely discuss in public but run into every time they meet. Follow to get it in your feed.
🎧 Listen to Women Disrupting Tech on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube.
👉 Subscribe for more conversations with women building the future of health tech.