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Hello, and welcome back to Equity, the podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.
This is our Wednesday show, where we sit down with a critical person in the world of startups or venture, and dig into what they are building.
Today — ahead of our relaunch of our Wednesday episode that we discussed earlier this week — we have an interview to share featuring TechCrunch’s very own Morgan Sung and Shruti Dwivedi, the co-founder and CEO of health tech startup, Duly.
Duly took part in TechCrunch Disrupt’s 2023 Battlefield cohort, showing a global audience its contraceptive care platform that is initially targeted at the Indian market.
Why India? The company cites a large, young population in the country, with more than 700 million people under the age of 30. However, Duly also reports that fewer than 15% of Indians have access to sexual education. Even more, the startup notes that condom usage in the country is modest at best, and nearly half of young, unmarried women felt “judged when seeking contraception.”
Put that all together, there’s a massive market gap that Duly wants to bridge.
Sexual wellness is not a small market, naturally, and other startups are active in the space. News broke late last year, for example, that Evofem Biosciences — which makes Phexxi, a non-hormonal contraceptive gel — found a buyer after financial struggles. Changes to American law regarding abortion make it clear that access to contraceptive care is critical for women around the world.
A big thanks to Morgan for the interview, Mary Ann for the intro and Theresa and Kell for the edit and production!
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
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