I’m so excited about today’s guest! Jessica Ching is the CEO and founder of Eve Medical — a company that makes devices so that women can do cervical screening in the privacy of their own home. She has seriously done something incredible for women’s health by acknowledging the fact that not all women want to go into their doctor’s office, spread their legs, and have a cervical screen done by someone else! In my books, this makes her a true pioneer and entrepreneur of the most real sort.
And one of the many reasons why I’m so excited to have Jessica on today is because she never intended to live this journey at all — in fact, she and her co-founder came up with this product idea while they were still in school and she just couldn’t let it go. She’s a great example of someone who became an entrepreneur as a result of need and passion to put something into the marketplace that would serve people in a really big way.
In this episode, Jessica talks openly about her journey as an entrepreneur; the huge roadblocks that they had to overcome in order to get their product to market; and why if she had quit early on, it never would have been able to change women’s lives the way that it has.
Key Takeaways:
[1:02] About today’s guest!
[2:47] Welcoming Jessica to the podcast!
[3:33] What Jessica’s original vision for her career was and how that evolved into what she’s built today.
[6:19] Was Jessica always an entrepreneur?
[7:52] So what is the Eve Kit? How does it work?
[9:30] Did the medical community welcome Jessica’s idea with open arms for finding a solution to a common problem?
[13:58] The critical parts to getting your product or service out there as an entrepreneur.
[16:20] Challenges Jessica has run up against when trying to create the Eve Kit.
[18:42] How Jessica and her co-founder raised Capitol to get up and running.
[20:51] Where did Jessica and her partner get the advisement that enabled them to know what next steps to take?
[22:50] One of the biggest failures/learning opportunities that Jessica and her partner have had in the development of the Eve Kit.
[25:52] About the Eve Kit that is currently available for purchase online!
[27:10] What it’s like to be a female founder in an early-stage company while raising a child! How Jessica has found balance between the two.
[30:37] Did Jessica struggle to communicate to her investors that she was expecting?
[32:38] The biggest pleasant surprise for Jessica during her entire journey.
[35:15] Jessica’s key performance indicators!
[40:02] Where to follow Jessica and Eve Medical online.
Mentioned in This Episode:
More About Jessica Ching
Jessica Ching is the Co-Founder and CEO of Eve Medical, a social enterprise dedicated to improving women’s health. Following her passion to integrate design and healthcare, she founded Eve Medical after graduating from OCAD University’s Industrial Design program. Since then, she and her team have brought a self-sampling device (HerSwab) and home screening system (Evekit.com) from early concept to commercial launch.
The Eve Kit is a home-based screening service that remotely connects users, doctors, and labs for sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing. It enables women to easily and reliably collect their own DNA samples from home to screen for common STIs, including Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which is known to cause cervical cancer and Chlamydia and Gonorrhea (which can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility if not treated). Home collected samples are then sent to an accredited lab for testing, and results are provided to the patient through an online secure portal. This saves time, provides privacy, and minimizes invasiveness, which are some of the root barriers to screening women face.
Through Eve Medical, Jessica hopes to improve access to screening, in a patient-centered way, for women on a global scale. Jessica was honored as one of Canada’s Inspiring Fifty women in STEM in 2018 and named one of Canada’s Top 25 Women of Influence in 2017. Her work at Eve Medical has been profiled in the Globe & Mail, Canadian Business, Reader’s Digest and Chatelaine.
Connect with my Guest:
Social Media: Instagram @helloevekit and Facebook
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