This week’s featured startup is Odeya, where I joined in late 2023 as a business and entrepreneurship mentor. Odeya is tackling a significant and often overlooked challenge in health and well-being: sexual health.
Why Odeya stood out to us:
#1 The scale of the problem ⛰️
Female sexual dysfunction is a common, yet underreported and untreated issue.
This is a multi-billion-person problem—3 in 4 women experience sexual problems during their lifetime!
These problems vary widely and can include pain during or after sexual intercourse (dyspareunia), which affects approximately 50% of women with endometriosis, often leading to sexual dysfunction and straining relationships. For context, endometriosis affects nearly 1 in 10 women between the ages of 18 and 80 (2).
Additionally, sexual dysfunction impacts women with other health issues, such as painful bladder syndrome, vulvodynia, vestibulodynia, pelvic floor disorders (PFD), and postpartum recovery (3).
The economic burden is also significant.
Women with sexual dysfunctions face healthcare costs that are 20%–50% higher than their peers of the same age, due to the need for diagnosis and comprehensive treatment, which often involves gynecologists, psychologists, general practitioners, and sex therapists (4, 5).
#2 The team 🏆
Odeya’s team comprises renowned experts in women’s sexual health, with numerous publications to their names. What sets them apart is their openness to learning new approaches in digital health, ensuring their solutions are both innovative and impactful on a global scale.
#3 The stigma and a lack of knowledge, and lack of trained HCPs 🤐
Social stigma surrounding female sexuality remains prevalent in Western culture. As a result, women often avoid discussing their sexual health with healthcare professionals (HCPs) due to embarrassment or fear of judgment.
Compounding this issue is a lack of awareness among women about conditions that may negatively impact their sexual health. Many are unaware that safe and effective treatments are available.
On the healthcare provider side, the lack of training, tools, time, and treatment options limits their ability to offer adequate sexual health support. Recent international surveys reveal that most women do not discuss their sexual health symptoms with HCPs, citing discomfort and embarrassment as primary barriers (6).
Odeya in Their Own Words
We asked the team at Odeya a few questions, and here’s what they shared:
#1 What’s your one-line pitch that makes people go, “Tell me more”?
3 out of 4 women experience sexual problems (e.g. pain during sex, lack of libido or orgasm) in their lives, yet it remains a highly underserved and stigmatized topic - Odeya is Europe’s first evidence-based, digital care provider for women's sexual health, offering innovative, accessible, and affordable solutions.
#2 Why does the world need your solution, and why now?
Despite the high prevalence, sexual health is still a taboo, with fragmented care paths, limited trained providers, and prohibitive self-pay costs preventing women from receiving the care they need. We at Odeya believe it is time to revolutionize how sexual healthcare is delivered.
Our approach integrates expertise from gynecology, psychotherapy, and sex therapy to address the full spectrum of women’s bio-psycho-social health needs.
We are entering the market with a self-paced digital sex therapy app for women suffering from sexual distress. With expert psychoeducation, guided exercises, and symptom tracking, our program empowers women to improve their sexual well-being within 12 weeks.
#3 Which metric(s) from 2024 are you most proud of, and what do they say about your performance?
In 2024, we launched a randomized controlled trial at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin to evaluate our sex therapy intervention (DRKS00034351). While the study is still ongoing, preliminary findings from the current sample of 60 participants with endometriosis and sexual distress highlight promising trends. These include a strong interest in digital sexual health solutions, reductions in sexual distress observed midway through the intervention, and high levels of user satisfaction with the app experience. These early indicators are encouraging, but we remain focused on completing the trial to assess the intervention's impact fully.
#4 Which market are you targeting, and where will we find you in 2025?
Sexual health is an integral part of overall health and well-being. By 2025, we aim to focus on women experiencing sexual problems linked to chronic conditions such as endometriosis, postpartum pelvic floor issues, or hormonal imbalances during menopause in the German-speaking market. We also plan to expand into addressing broader sexual health concerns, striving to become the trusted, go-to platform for women’s health.
#5 What’s the scariest challenge you’ve tackled so far, and what did you learn from it?
German and EU health regulations are complex. As part of a digital health accelerator program at the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, we recognized this early on and prioritized embedding regulatory compliance into our product development. This approach has positioned us well in the highly regulated German healthcare market, ensuring our app is safe, evidence-based, and trustworthy.
#6 If someone handed you a blank check, what’s the next big thing you’d do?
After establishing proof of evidence and ensuring ongoing regulatory compliance, our focus will shift to scaling and expanding our product portfolio. This includes addressing additional health conditions, integrating an eCommerce shop for health tools and services, and introducing diagnostic kits. To drive growth, we will leverage targeted social media campaigns, print advertising, and strategic partnerships in the sexual health and wellness market to build a thriving community.
#7 How can people help or get involved right now?
We are actively fundraising and seeking people who share our vision to break taboos and provide accessible sexual healthcare. Whether you’re an investor, advocate, or potential user, we’d love your support in shaping a future where sexual health is prioritized and accessible.
👉 Contact team Odeya 👈
info@odeya.health
🪴 5one8 is a venture building initiative Mikael and I started to help early stage projects shape into startups that have the potential to become commercial successes. Additionally, we are nano angel investors, investing in process improvements in healthcare. 🪴
References:
Azar M, et al. Patterns of help-seeking in women when problems arise in their sexual life: a discussion paper, 2013
Zondervan KT, et al. Endometriosis, 2020
Mosca L, et al. Female Sexual Dysfunctions and Urogynecological Complaints: A Narrative Review. Medicina (Kaunas), 2022
Mirkin D, et al. Actuarial analysis of private payer administrative claims data for women with endometriosis, 2007
Foley K, et al. Healthcare resource utilization and expenditures of women diagnosed with hypoactive sexual desire disorder, 2010
Kingsberg SA, et al. Female Sexual Health: Barriers to Optimal Outcomes and a Roadmap for Improved Patient-Clinician Communications, 2019