Mirror Talks

Ep 3. “I Had to Explain What FemTech Is”: Karina Vazirova, FemTech Lab сo-founder, on products women really need

Episode Summary

A tampon designed to help prevent BV and yeast infections. A women-designed strap-on for same-sex couples. An at-home sperm test that shifts part of the fertility burden off women. These are just some of the innovations coming out of FemTech Lab, led by our guest Karina Vazirova.

Episode Notes

In this episode, Karina talks about what it takes to build women’s health products that actually work — and what surprised her most after supporting more than 70 founders. 

She explains why FemTech doesn’t only mean “female founders”, how early founders had to start every investor call by defining the word “FemTech,” and what she learned from cold-messaging hundreds of investors just to get the category taken seriously. 

Karina also shares what’s next: why the future of FemTech depends not only on great products, but on a real infrastructure — capital, partnerships, and a system that doesn’t crumble every time a founder burns out.

You’ll hear about: 

• The tampon in clinical trials for BV and yeast infection prevention
• The women-designed strap-on reshaping sexual wellness
• The sperm test reframing fertility conversations
• Why male investors and male consumers matter more than people admit
• The biggest misconceptions she sees around women’s health products
• Why building in FemTech is still harder than it should be — and what needs to change

Connect with Karina on Linkedin. Learn more about "Mother" podcast at Substack.