Coined in 2016 by Ida Tin of Clue, the term “femtech” refers to technologies addressing women’s health.
The femtech industry has seen a recent explosion: despite representing only 1% of healthtech investment in 2022, femtech startups have surged to a $28 billion valuation by 2024. VC investment in Femtech startups has steadily grown in the last decade, peaking at $2.2B in 2021, down to $1.4B in 2024. In this nascent and competitive space, crafting a winning pitch deck is a critical first step for femtech startup founders seeking to raise investor capital.
What is a femtech pitch deck? What is its purpose?
Pitch decks are a critical component of every founder’s fundraising toolkit. A well-crafted pitch deck should both appear visually stunning and convey a compelling narrative. Most decks take the form of 15-20 slide presentations describing all the key aspects of a startup’s unique value proposition and business model.
The femtech / women’s health industry (and the broader healthcare space) can be particularly challenging, with stiff competition from incumbents and long sales cycles for large health system contracts. Simply put, your deck should convince investors that your startup has identified a compelling problem, built an effective solution, and developed a well-formulated plan for monetization and growth.
What slides should be in your femtech startup’s pitch deck?
An investor-ready femtech pitch deck should includes the following slides to address all key questions about your startup:
Cover Slide:
Founders tend to overlook the importance of the cover slide since it generally has limited substance in terms of content, but (as is true of any presentation) the cover of your pitch deck is your first impressions, and deserves special attention.
A thoughtful tagline paired with a carefully-selected app screenshot or image can set the stage for your deck by effectively summarizing your startup’s unique value proposition. Rather than thinking of the cover as simply a title slide, consider it your opportunity to succinctly deliver your elevator pitch. Even if you don’t have branded imagery or product mockups ready (ie. for a pre-seed pitch), incorporate product photos/mockups or lifestyle imagery related to women’s health and wellness. Some founders also include contact information, so potential investors can easily reach out if interested.
Problem Slide:
Most femtech startups aim to solve a specific challenge in women’s health (ie. reproductive health, pelvic health, wellness & nutrition). The problem slide should clearly outline the pain points that your startup aims to address, as well as the overall impact. Use stats (ie. size of population affected, DALYs, healthcare cost or economic impact) and reliable sources to support your claims. Femtech startups often discuss existing solutions and the limits of generic healthcare, emphasizing the need for a new approach to address the unique needs of women’s health.
Solution Slide:
Your femtech product or service should take center stage in the solution slide. Avoid simply describing the customer experience or key features, and instead focus on value proposition and benefits (how your innovation addresses the identified problems within women’s health).
As is true of any medium, the key here is to “show, don’t tell.” Use visuals (ie. app screenshots) to demonstrate benefits and customer testimonials to support your claims. Effective pitch decks will find ways to weave traction and competitive advantages throughout the slides, instead of on just one page.
Investors should leave this slide with a clear picture of how your solution fills the gap in the market and meets the unique needs of your target customers.
‘How It Works’ Slide:
In your femtech pitch deck, the ‘How It Works’ slide breaks down how your solution operates. Use clear visuals like infographics or flowcharts to show the process step-by-step.
Avoid complex jargon and focus on illustrating how your innovation solves real-life women’s health issues, such as tracking menstrual cycles, providing personalized insights for fertility planning, offering remote access to reproductive healthcare services, or assisting in managing menopausal symptoms.
The goal is to make it easy for investors to understand how your femtech solution works and its impact on improving various aspects of women’s health and wellness.
Competitive Advantage Slide:
This slide of your pitch deck highlights what makes your femtech startup unique. Focus on showcasing its strengths compared to existing solutions. Emphasize superior features and benefits and explain why customers will prefer your product. Highlight innovative technology or partnerships that give your startup an edge, like advanced algorithms or collaborations with healthcare providers.
Market Slide:
In this slide, you should emphasize the demand for technology addressing women’s health needs in today’s world, and then hone into the specific niche you are focused on.
For example, if you are creating a menstrual cycle tracking application, then you should provide statistics showcasing growth in the femtech market specifically within the niche of menstrual cycle tracking or trends in new forms of menstrual cycle tracking. Providing real-world evidence that the market you serve is growing will show investors that this is the right time for your product.
You should also discuss emerging trends in the market to showcase your startup’s alignment and adaptability. This slide will instill confidence in investors that your startup is viable and scalable in today’s and the future’s market.
Applications Slide:
The applications slide is crucial for showing how your femtech solution directly meets the needs of women. Focus specifically on femtech applications and use cases to demonstrate how your solution empowers women to manage their health and wellness.Â
Be sure to use market data or customer feedback to highlight the value of your unique femtech product. Providing concrete examples of how your product helps women with their health and wellness needs will strengthen investor confidence in your startup’s potential.
Traction Slide:
This is your opportunity to show investors what you’ve already achieved; highlight the milestones you have passed or any achievements and successes you’ve already seen. This can include early user metrics, partnerships, accolades, or media coverage. This slide should showcase the momentum and validation that your business has already sustained.
Team Slide:
The Team Slide introduces the key member of your femtech startup team and highlights their expertise to emphasize the strength, experience, and capability that backs your business up. This slide instills confidence in potential investors by showcasing the knowledge and talent driving your business forward.
Investment Slide:
Here you should outline how much funding you need, the value of your company, and most importantly, how you will allocate the funds to achieve your startup’s goals. This slide shows investors that their money will be well-utilized and that your investment ask is based on a clear plan.
Roadmap Slide:
In this slide, create a clear timeline with milestones for each stage of product development, launch, and marketing. Breaking down your plans for the near future into a quarterly timeline will give investors insight into your strategy for achieving your goals.
Vision Slide:
While the Roadmap slide looks to the near future, the Vision slide encompasses your long-term vision for your startup/product. Describe the overarching goal or mission of your startup, and explain how you envision it making a positive impact in the women’s health industry. Share your aspirations for the evolution of your product in the face of broader trends, societal needs, and any barriers that you foresee in the future.
Call-to-action Slide:
Encourage investors to take the next step through your final, call-to-action slide; whether that’s scheduling a follow-up meeting, exploring partnership opportunities, or investing in your startup. Include contact information and any other details you need so they can reach out to you easily.
Tips for designing a femtech pitch deck:
Follow these tips and design a Femtech pitch deck that effectively communicates the value proposition of your startup and resonates with potential investors:
- Don’t just talk about market size. Instead, highlight trends and changes in the industry that show why it’s the right time for your startup to enter the space. This can include shifts in society, regulations, or technology that favor your solution.
- Focus on the market and opportunity. The key is to show the big picture of the market and the specific opportunity your Femtech startup has to fill a niche in the market by using facts to demonstrate the demand for women’s health solutions. You should also showcase how your product can beat out the other competitors by simply highlighting gaps in existing solutions.
- Keep it simple and avoid too many technical details. Don’t bore investors with technical details; they care more about what value your startup brings to the market. Make sure investors understand what problem your solution solves and its competitive edge without getting lost in technical jargon.
Need help crafting your femtech startup pitch?
Crafting a captivating pitch deck is key to securing investors and partnerships for your Femtech startup. Our Femtech Pitch Deck Template could be just what you need. With this professionally designed PowerPoint template, you can present your ideas with confidence and leave a lasting impact — check it out here.