In this episode of The Founder CEO, we spoke with Kathy Lee-Sepsickfounder and CEO of Femasys, who shared her personal motivation for starting the company. Driven by her experiences, she saw a great need for better options in women's health care, especially permanent birth control, and set out to create safer and more effective solutions. She candidly discussed the challenges of balancing her role as CEO with being a mother, highlighting her practices. head style and strategic vision for the future of Femasys. Despite many obstacles, Kathy's unwavering commitment to improving women's health remains evident as she continues to lead Femasys to significant advancements and support for other innovative technologies in the field.

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The main takeaway

Personal Motivation and Femasys Mission

• Felt a great need in women's health care for better options, especially permanent birth control.
• It was believed that the existing options were lacking and aimed to create something better and safer.
• Motivated by personal experiences and the belief that women deserve better health care opportunities.
• Awareness of the risks associated with existing solutions and an effort to improve them.

Challenges and Evolution as a Leader

• Juggling responsibilities as a working mom and CEO.
• The girls grew up with Femasys, positively influencing their career choices.
• Felt responsible for every dollar raised and the impact on women's health.
• Maintain a balance between professional and personal life, ensuring commitment to both.
• I have never thought of giving up, despite the many challenges.
• She faced attempts by others to take her position, but remained steadfast.

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Strategic Planning and Vision

• Infrastructure built and prepared for commercialization years ago.
• Focused on creating a strong foundation to support future growth and product launches.
• Plans to leverage current position to bring more innovative women's health technology to market.
• It envisions Femasys as a platform for unfunded and shelved inventions to find a path to commercialization.

Leadership Style and Team Dynamics

• Actively involved in all aspects of the business, from clinical cases to patient encounters.
• Believes in leading by example and working together as a team.
• Successfully recruited a high caliber commercial team, valuing their contributions.
• Ensures the team is well informed and aligned with the company's mission and goals.

Personal reflections and lessons

• Emphasizes the importance of maintaining personal health to be effective in professional and personal roles.
• Monitors her health regularly to ensure she can continue to lead the company.

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Continuous learning and networking

• Emphasizes the value of strategic networking and learning from the experiences of others.
• Attend events and conferences to stay ahead and gather useful knowledge about Femasys.

Personal challenges

• Proud that we took the company public without a CFO and I'm one of the few female founders to do so.
• She finds fulfillment in seeing the impact of her work on women's health.
• Managing the demands of being a CEO and mother often feels overwhelming.
• There were times when balancing professional and personal life was particularly difficult.

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