September Company Update
By: Brittany Villegas
Welcome New Users
We want to first take the opportunity to welcome our newest users and followers (Valkommen)! We're thankful that you are now a part of our community. You make our full-time team of six feel much grander than we are.
The responsibility we feel towards helping the endometriosis community receive the respect and care they deserve rests firmly on our shoulders. Therefore, listening to feedback and taking the time to get to know our users has been at the core of our operations since we held our first focus group with 30 people from the endo community in 2018. From that point on, we've been committed to making our users the center of everything we create and do.
Ultimately, whether our user base consists of 30 or 30,000 people, we remain committed to continuously improving the Endometrix app by considering every piece of feedback we receive.
Libresse Partnership
We wouldn't have this new influx of users if it weren't for Libresse and Essity Ventures seeing something in our young and small, yet ambitious and sometimes naively idealistic startup. The work we had ahead of was often intimidating and left us feeling as though we'd never pull it off for such a large, global brand like Libresse. However, here we are. Moving full speed ahead with thousands of new users, still holding on strong to our aspirations and our values.
We are eternally grateful for all of the hard work done by Libresse Sverige and Essity, especially while seamlessly integrating our app into their #wombstories campaign. We are also so proud to work with a company that's not afraid to put period blood, laparoscopy scars, and miscarriage at the heart of its campaign. Ultimately, we not only hope that this campaign increases the visibility of our app, but we also hope that it will increase accessibility to personalized and adequate healthcare for under-recognized, yet complex conditions like endometriosis.
Upcoming New App Features & Bug Fixes
Timeline updated on 21-09-2020
After going over our recent influx of feedback, we are currently working on fixing the following bugs and implementing the following features to ensure your app experience meets your needs.
Timezones Bug (fixed)
Those living outside of Central European Time (CET) are now able to track on the correct day within their timezones. If you are still experiencing this issue, first try completely closing the application. If this doesn't work, send us an email or in-app feedback with a corresponding screenshot!
Custom Notifications (available now)
This feature gives you the option to create and customize multiple reminders for tracking your symptoms and overall health. For example - set reminders to take specific medications at certain times, to track after taking your to see how they’ve influenced your health medications, or to track before you go to bed.
Translation to Swedish (2-3 weeks)
Although we are a Stockholm-based startup, Swedish is not the first language for the majority of our team (my two year old speaks better Swedish than me). We understand that medical terminology is difficult to translate off the top of your head. Therefore, we are making it a priority to provide the app in Swedish for our Sweden-based users. From there, we hope to expand to different languages like French and Spanish.
Additional + Custom Tags (3-5 weeks)
You asked, therefore we're delivering. If you don't find our updated pre-made symptom tags suitable to your needs, you will finally have the option to create your own.
Delete Account Within the App (3-5 Weeks)
You will now be able to delete your account within the app on your own. For now, email us at info@endo-metrix.com if you would like to delete it and we will do it for you.
Graphs (5 weeks)
This feature will provide you an alternative view within the Calendar view. It will show you line graphs that will allow you to see how your Medication, Bleeding, Flaring, and Sex factors correspond to your Daily Symptom Averages over time.
Personal Profile (5-8 Weeks)
This feature will allow you to input your health information, including if you have had surgery, if you take medication, and the type of medication you take along with dosages.
Medication tracking (5-8 weeks)
Something we've had in the pipeline since before our official launch in July is the ability for our users to track the exact medications they are taking and their dosages.
Past Tracking (5-8 weeks)
One of our biggest requests has been for the ability to edit past tracking. We realize how important this feature is, and we are working hard to implement it. In order to do so, we must completely change our database, which causes the lengthy amount of time it will take to make it happen. Stay tuned!
Sending Our Chief Design Officer Kristin Well Wishes
Our Chief Design Officer Kristin Asker, who designed how everything you see in the app looks and feels, was recently released from the hospital after an eight-day-long stay for severe endometriosis pain and flares. We wanted to give her a quick digital shout out full of love, hope, and support. We can't wait to have her brilliant and forever creative brain back to the team once she feels ready.
Read Kristin's story a recent article published about her on the news site Expressen (in Swedish), on our own blog, or check out her Instagram where she talks about her experiences with endometriosis, chronic illness, and disability advocacy.
The Fund Hunt Continues
In the grand tradition of running a small company, we would like to reiterate that making money is tough, especially when it comes to finding investors who are just as passionate about helping people with endometriosis as we are.
Over the past few weeks, we have been reaching out to investors who we know will resonate with our cause and who can potentially help fund our operations and abilities to develop an adequate care solution for the endometriosis community.
The femtech industry is currently growing at a rapid rate despite its bare 1.4% makeup of aggregated capital investment that flows into healthcare. With lots of competition (there's an estimated 3,000 femtech apps currently on the market) and not a lot of money flowing into this industry, it's easy to become discouraged; however, we remain hopeful. For now, we will keep fighting for funding (shout out to Femtech Insider for their nifty funding resources) and building a better product for you.
New Team Members
A warm welcome to the newest members of our intern team who help us successfully manage the never-ending challenges of working in a startup environment!
Linn Ekroth, Design Intern: Linn is from Sweden, and she recently graduated from Jönköping University. She joined the team fresh out of college to learn more about UX design and web development while also helping us create a much more visually stunning and cohesive branding.
Rakshita Singh, Marketing Intern: Rakshita is from India, and she has a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. Although she does not have a formal background in marketing, she shows the drive and capabilities to communicate effectively and make strategic decisions.
Sexologist and Pain Specialist Needed
We're looking for a sexologist experienced in working with people with dyspareunia and/or vaginismus. We are also looking for a pain specialist experienced in working with people with endometriosis. Do you, or someone you know, fit these roles and have an interest in creating educational videos to add to our growing library of self-care programs? If yes, email your CV and a brief cover letter to mitchell@endo-metrix.com, and we will get back to you with more details!
Upcoming Events
endoQueer Digital Summit: Join endoQueer founder Les Henderson (@lessequalmore) on Wednesday, 16 September, from 12:00 - 17:00 EST as they host a day full of wellness and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ endo warriors. The digital summit will include discussions about mental health, sound-based meditation, a healthy cooking lesson, fundraising for the endoQueer organization, and networking. Register for free on Eventbrite.
Liria Digital Panel: On Friday, 2 October at 15:20 CET, our Chief Design Officer Kristin Asker will speak on the Liria Digital Health panel called "There's An App For That." She will join other industry leaders to talk about how femtech apps like Endometrix are helping close health inequality gaps for under-recognized conditions like endometriosis. Register for free on Eventbrite.