Health in Her HUE, a digital health app that focuses on reducing health disparities for women of color, announced that it raised a $3 million seed round today, led by Seae Ventures.
The company was founded in 2018 by Ashlee Wisdom. Health in Her HUE seeks to connect women of color with healthcare providers and content that can better address their needs.
The company is being built during a precarious time for women’s health, where women of color, especially Black women, still face medical discrimination. Modern medicine is permeated with myths like Black people feel less pain compared to white patients or that Black skin is thicker than white skin. The medical mistreatment many Black people have faced because of such myths has contributed to a wider distrust of medical systems.
“Health in Her HUE is uniquely positioned to address the existing racial health disparities and connect our members with providers who are committed to hearing and understanding their unique lived experiences while providing quality care accordingly,” Wisdom told TechCrunch.
Image Credits: Courtesy of Health in Her HUE
Health in Her HUE says it has nearly 13,000 members, with 1,300 health providers across 60 specialties, from therapy to chiropractic. It also offers educational health content and community forms for women to engage with each other. Wisdom, who remains CEO, says the company will use its seed round to expand its products and programs. That will include an expansion of its current Care Squad program, which provides culturally tailored health education classes, and adding new topics to its platform, including fertility, endometriosis and postpartum recovery. It will also launch a product to answer health questions via video from clinical experts.
Wisdom said fundraising for this seed round was “undeniably challenging.” Health in Her HUE technically started raising late in 2022, though it was last year’s market retraction that Wisdom said felt like a “series of unfortunate events.”
“I had to maintain a dual focus on both fundraising and revenue, recognizing that the business had to thrive, irrespective of the round’s outcome,” Wisdom said.
She met Seae Ventures in her early founder days before she even worked at her own company full-time. The firm was impressed with the company and has been involved with it since it first raised a pre-seed round in 2021.
Others that participated in this seed round include Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures, HBCU Founders Fund, Stanford Impact Fund and Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Labs. To date, Health in Her HUE has raised $4.2 million in funding. The company is now part of the booming digital healthcare market, with a focus that has only become even more pressing given the increased politicization of women’s healthcare. Similar health companies that focus on minority women include Meet Mae and Culture Care.
Next, Wisdom hopes to broaden the company’s impact by expanding its reach and attracting new users to the platform. She hopes to also enhance the company’s membership experience to help with customer retention. “I want to ensure that more women of color and individuals can benefit from the valuable offerings we provide,” she said.
This piece was updated to reflect the name of the Care Squad Program and correct who founded the company in 2018.