"The power of vulnerability and consistent communication in building trust and mutual support cannot be overemphasized"
Welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview with Michele Wispelwey, a visionary leader revolutionizing women’s wellness. Michele, the CEO of FemGevity, is dedicated to providing high-quality care for women through innovative solutions.
With her passion for blending creativity and technology, she has developed a telemedicine model that offers personalized, continuous, and affordable care for women navigating menopause and beyond.
Michele actively engages in closed-door forums, industry panels, and networking events, collaborating with like-minded CEOs and founders who share her vision of transforming women’s healthcare.
Through these connections, she gains valuable insights, explores new perspectives, and forges strategic partnerships to drive growth and innovation.
In this interview, we dive into Michele’s entrepreneurial journey, the milestones achieved by FemGevity, and the challenges faced along the way.
Join us as we discover Michele’s unwavering commitment to empowering women through transformative healthcare solutions.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Michele Wispelwey: A lifelong learner, Michele leverages her MBA in healthcare management & marketing from Northeastern University, and her BS in Business Administration from Seton Hall University.
With her love for travel and art, Michele is constantly seeking new ways to fuse creativity and technology to provide high-quality care for all women. Michele’s next bucket list item is to learn French fluently and travel to Japan.
One of Michele’s passions is to participate in closed-door forums, industry panels, and networking events, where she can exchange ideas with fellow CEOs and founders who share a common vision of transforming women’s healthcare.
These engagements allow her to gain invaluable insights, explore new perspectives, and foster strategic partnerships to drive growth and innovation. She is a firm believer in the power of collaboration and learning from like-minded leaders.
Femgevity’s telemedicine model offers women access to personalized, monthly/continuous, and affordable care that addresses their evolving menopause symptoms. We provide continued medical support, help, and advice beyond just menopause – extending and optimizing feminine health longevity.
In the past year, what is the greatest business achievement you’d like to celebrate with your team? Please share the details of that success.
Michele Wispelwey: We launched a digital telemedicine company in under a year because we were able to combine the power of visionary & integrator leadership style.
In the past year, our crowning business achievement that warrants grand celebration has been the successful launch of our telemedicine enterprise. We managed to accomplish this remarkable feat in under a year, thanks to the effective blend of visionary and integrator leadership styles within our team.
The visionary leaders on our team sparked innovation with their broad thinking and aspiration for change. They were instrumental in shaping the concept and future direction of our digital telemedicine company. Their vision and strategic insight helped us identify and capture unique opportunities in the evolving telehealth market.
On the other hand, our integrator leaders played a crucial role in turning these bold visions into reality. They were the glue that held everything together, connecting the dots and ensuring efficient execution of strategies. They managed teams, optimized processes, and maintained harmony and alignment across the organization.
By successfully merging these two complementary leadership styles, we were able to bring our idea from conception to execution within a year.
This accomplishment is not just a testament to our team’s hard work, commitment, and expertise, but also a powerful illustration of how diverse leadership styles can catalyze rapid, effective innovation in the fast-paced world of digital health.
What advice do you wish you had received when you started your business journey and what do you intend on improving in the next quarter?
Michele Wispelwey: Looking back, I wish someone had advised me early on in my entrepreneurial journey to anticipate significant expenditure during the initial year. Rather than being consumed with immediate profitability, it’s vital to prioritize establishing a proof of concept and securing a consumer base.
As for the upcoming quarter, the focus will be on refining our value proposition and intensifying our consumer acquisition efforts. We understand that in the initial stages of a business, attracting and retaining a loyal consumer base is crucial for long-term sustainability. With this in mind, we aim to enhance our market presence and solidify our customer relationships.
The other aspect I reflect back on is the importance of maintaining a strong, open, and honest connection with my co-founder. The power of vulnerability and consistent communication in building trust and mutual support cannot be overemphasized.
The strength of this relationship directly influences the overall success of the venture and contributes to a supportive environment for employees.
As for our intentions in the coming quarter, we are dedicated to improving our communication and support mechanisms within the leadership team. We recognize the importance of these relationships as the backbone of our enterprise. We aim to foster a culture of openness, trust, and mutual support, ensuring that every member of our team feels valued and supported in their roles.
Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?
Michele Wispelwey: We intend to capitalize not just on consultations but on other avenues of revenue that help the consumer, bring benefits to their health outcomes. We constantly ask ourselves “What else will generate revenue”. You have to constantly ask yourself those questions. Once you stop then your creative ideas do not stand strong.
Our expectation is DISRUPTION in the Menopause market. We can’t give you all of our secret proprietary ideas that we have in the funnel. BUT what I can tell you is that we have some employer solution products and retail products that will make noise! You need diversity in your offering, we can’t just rely on consultations only.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Michele Wispelwey: For a female entrepreneur leading FemGevity, the primary challenge at present lies in striking a balance between two crucial aspects: cultivating brand recognition and penetrating the market, all the while maintaining fiscal prudence as a startup.
This requires implementing innovative, cost-effective strategies to enhance visibility and make significant inroads into our target market. The goal is to establish FemGevity as a trusted and recognized brand without overstretching our limited financial resources.
It’s indeed a challenging task, but one that presents tremendous opportunities for learning and growth. I have gained more clarity in understanding our right target consumer, strategic thinking, brand storytelling & Innovation and creativity.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Michele Wispelwey: Reflecting on my entrepreneurial journey as a woman, I believe one of the most underestimated aspects of running a business is the balance between home and work life.
Being in your own startup often feels akin to nurturing a newborn child. It’s a commitment that does not pause, one that you find yourself entirely engrossed in, out of sheer passion and love for what you do.
It’s like when my children were just infants. I yearned to savor every precious moment, to be there for every milestone, and was constantly on my toes trying to avoid mistakes. Similarly, fostering a business from its infancy involves that same level of dedication, attention, and love.
The challenge, however, lies in ensuring that this all-consuming venture doesn’t overshadow the equally important personal facets of life, such as family, self-care, and maintaining a nurturing home environment.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Michele Wispelwey: This is a great question! I would love to have the super power of an Idea Incubator: I would love the ability to conceive innovative ideas at the speed of light. Every challenge faced turns into a new idea, keeping FemGevity always at the forefront of innovation!
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Michele Wispelwey for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Michele Wispelwey or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
Disclaimer: The ValiantCEO Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.
