In 2019, Anne Fulenwider, a former Marie Claire editor-in-chief, was surprised while speaking with her friend Monica Molenaar, who'd had her ovaries removed as a preventive measure against breast cancer. The procedure essentially kick-starts menopause Fulenwider explainedto Insider, but Molenaar hadn't been able to find suitable options for treating her new symptoms, like hot flashes, for nearly five years.

"I couldn't believe that it took her five years to figure it out," Fulenwider told Insider. "I just thought we have to fix this."

In 2020, Fulenwider, 49, and Molenaar, 47, cofounded Alloy, a direct-to-consumer digital-health company that treats menopause symptoms. On Wednesday, the company raised $3.3 million in seed funding from PACE Healthcare Capital and Kairos HQ, where the two women had incubated the company.

"This group of millennial men said, 'Yes, we've been looking at this space,' and I just about fell off my chair," Fulenwider said of starting the company with Ankur Jain, Kairos HQ's cofounder and CEO.

Alloy is still a rarity. While women's-health companies have broken fundraising records this year, Rock Health's third-quarter report said, menopause startups remain overlooked, Fulenwider said.

Alloy says it's working with a select group of customers in a small trial phase and plans to fully launch its website and mail-order hormone treatment in November. Fulenwider said Alloy planned to start by using low-dose estrogen to treat hot flashes, the most-complained-about menopause symptom among the women she knew. Over time, she hopes to add treatments for the full range of menopause symptoms, which can include weight gain and mood changes.

Alloy provided Insider the presentation it used to raise the seed funding from Kairos HQ and PACE Healthcare Capital. The presentation has been edited to remove sensitive financial data and outdated information.

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See the Presentation Menopause Startup Alloy Used to Raise $3.3 Million - Business Insider

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