For too long, women’s health has been overlooked and understudied, but Dr. Brittany Barreto is breaking barriers and driving change. As the founder of FemHealth Insights, she’s redefining leadership in women’s healthcare by driving innovation and fostering meaningful transformation.
From Lab Coat to Leadership
Dr. Barreto’s journey began in genetics, where she earned her PhD. But she quickly realized her impact could extend beyond the laboratory. “I felt like I had too much personality to work in a lab my whole life,” she recalls. This realization led her to entrepreneurship, where she found her true calling.
Her first venture was groundbreaking: the world’s first DNA-based dating app. Though the company eventually closed due to policy changes, this setback became a stepping stone to her current mission. “I use that opportunity to kind of jump into my next career,” she explains, demonstrating the resilience that would become her trademark.
Breaking New Ground in Venture Capital
The transition to venture capital proved transformative. Dr. Barreto began mentoring and investing in women’s health companies, introducing her to the world of FemTech. This industry, named by Ida Tin, encompasses solutions for conditions that solely, disproportionately, or differently affect females, women, and girls.
What started as mentorship quickly revealed a stark reality about women’s healthcare. “I started to mentor these founders, and of the things I realized was that they were working on things that I couldn’t believe were still problems,” Dr. Barreto shares. The innovations weren’t just addressing minor improvements – they were creating first-ever solutions or updating technologies that hadn’t been improved in centuries.
Building Infrastructure from Scratch
Recognizing the lack of resources in the field, Dr. Barreto took action. “Our industry had a name, but no infrastructure,” she explains. Starting with a podcast during lockdown in March 2020, she began building that infrastructure. The podcast quickly gained thousands of listeners across dozens of countries, demonstrating the global hunger for information about women’s health innovation.
The Power of Market Intelligence
One of Dr. Barreto’s most significant contributions has been quantifying the women’s health market. “People thought women’s health is niche, which is another word for no one’s quantified it,” she explains. Her research revealed a market worth at least $1.2 trillion, challenging the “niche” narrative and providing crucial data for investors and entrepreneurs.
What sets FemTech apart is its founder demographics. “80% of FemTech founders are female, which is a higher percentage than any other tech industry in the world,” Dr. Barreto notes. These founders often bring personal experience to their innovations, creating solutions born from a firsthand understanding of the problems they’re solving.
Inspiration and Mentorship
When asked about her role models, Dr. Barreto cites Cindy Eckert, founder of Sprout Pharmaceuticals, as a primary inspiration. “She would go on CNBC and be like, ‘There are 13 approved drugs for erectile dysfunction and zero for female sexual dysfunction,'” she recalls, admiring how Eckert maintained her personality while achieving tremendous business success.
The Future of Women’s Health
The landscape of women’s healthcare is changing rapidly. Dr. Barreto points to recent developments, including the Biden administration’s approval of $100 million for women’s health research and the first-ever study of menstruation in zero gravity. These advances signal growing recognition of the importance of women’s health research.
Through her consulting firm, podcast, and book “Unlocking Women’s Health: FemTech in the Quest for Gender Equity,” Dr. Barreto continues to build bridges between innovation and women’s health. Her work demonstrates that with persistence, vision, and collaborative spirit, transformative change is possible.
“We’re not just hoping the men take action. We are taking action,” she declares, embodying the spirit of leadership that’s helping to reshape the future of healthcare. Through her continued advocacy and innovation, Dr. Barreto is ensuring that women’s health moves from the margins to the mainstream of medical innovation.
The Impact of Education and Awareness
Dr. Barreto’s commitment to education extends beyond her business ventures. Her podcast, “FemTech Focus” is available on major streaming platforms. It takes a deep-dive approach to specific topics within women’s health, making complex medical concepts accessible to listeners worldwide. “We have listeners in 142 countries,” she notes proudly, demonstrating the global appetite for accurate, accessible information about women’s health.
Her recently published book serves as a comprehensive guide to the FemTech industry, combining scholarly research with practical insights from over 100 podcast episodes. This work represents another step in her mission to build the infrastructure necessary for sustained growth and innovation in women’s healthcare.
Through these various channels, Dr. Barreto continues to challenge assumptions, break down barriers, and create pathways for future generations of healthcare innovators. Her story is about more than just personal success – it’s about creating systemic change that benefits women worldwide.