Today we talk to Tania Boler, founder of disruptive femtech brand Elvie, who are revolutionising women’s health with their innovative products. First with the launch of a pelvic floor trainer and now their latest release—the world’s first wearable cordless breast pump. Tania has worked internationally within the UN supporting various charities on HIV prevention and sexuality across Africa and Asia. Before setting up Elvie, she was the Director of Strategy and Innovation at Marie Stopes International. Tania lives in London with her two children.
tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to start Elvie?
I’ve always been passionate about women’s health – I have a PhD in HIV prevention and was working in research. I never planned to start a company but when I got pregnant, I realised there were so many simple issues to do with motherhood which nobody talked about and were completely neglected by technology. That is when I started Elvie, launching two revolutionary products for women.
So on to your first product Elvie Trainer, it incorporates some pretty nifty tech! Can you tell us a little more about it and who should be using it?
All women should be exercising their pelvic floor! Young women, older women but especially new mums. Your body goes through so much change during pregnancy and childbirth. You need to focus on rebuilding your strength too. Elvie Trainer is a smart app-connected pelvic floor trainer. It is easy to use and makes exercising fun! Simply insert and use the app to guide you through six different gamified workouts. It provides you with real-time biofeedback and will remind you to do your exercises to help motivate you. Most women start to see results within just four weeks of use!
And on to Elvie Pump, this will revolutionise breastfeeding for women; can you tell us a little more about the tech and the inspiration behind the design?
Naturally a lot of the women that we were talking to about our Elvie Trainer were new mums and something that kept coming up was how uncomfortable and inconvenient breast pumping was for so many of them. Pumping is often an isolating experience, relegated to stationary cupboards and toilet cubicles. Women don’t want to spend hours daily plugged into a wall or cleaning and sterilising tubes. Women have been calling for a new breast pump and whilst we’ve seen some innovation as a result, they’ve mostly been small improvements to the existing technology, which is both noisy and cumbersome.
We recognised the opportunity to completely change the way mums pump, whether at home, work or on-the-go, and we knew we’d have to start from scratch for it to be truly different to the other products on offer. Elvie Pump is the world’s first silent wearable breast pump. It slips directly into a standard nursing bra and offers a new level of discretion when pumping. It is completely app controlled so there’s no fiddling around in your bra once it’s pumping. It’s a complete departure from existing pump architecture and is a total game changer in its category.
What’s in store for Elvie in the future and where do you see FemTech heading?
At Elvie, we’re starting with solving real needs for new mums. All stages of womanhood are neglected from menstruation through to pregnancy and menopause. Our vision is to be the first global female focused tech brand that breaks those barriers. When it comes to FemTech, it’s an extremely exciting space to be in at the moment. There’s been a surge of investment into the area and it’s finally being taken seriously as a category.
What health advice would you give to women?
Listen to and care for your body. We’re all guilty of ignoring change but the more you listen to your body the more you get to know yourself and the more you can take care of yourself.
For more information, please visit: www.elvie.com
