Changemaker Series: What Dr Helen O'Neill Taught Us About Women’s Health

Inside The Hertility Story, What Founders Can Learn from Dr Helen O'Neill.

If you could not make it to our recent Changemaker conversation with Dr Helen O'Neill, founder of Hertility, here is everything you missed. It was an eye opening deep dive into women’s health, scientific rigour, startup grit and why building for impact matters more than ever.

Helen is a molecular geneticist who became a founder almost by accident. What started as a scientific frustration and a personal mission has grown into one of the fastest rising companies in women’s health, giving thousands of women clarity about their bodies and control over their future.

Read on for the highlights, insights and founder lessons that shaped the conversation.

Women’s Health Is in Crisis and the Opportunity for Change Is Huge

More than 600,000 women in the UK are currently waiting for a gynaecology appointment. Women make up 52 percent of the population, yet less than 0.2 percent of health funding goes into women’s health.

Helen opened the conversation with a simple truth. You cannot fix what you do not measure. Hertility was created to give women answers sooner, not years later. The demand is clear, the system is strained and the need for innovation is urgent.

Helen described herself not as an entrepreneur but as a problem solver. The idea for Hertility grew out of her scientific research, her personal experiences and her frustration with how little women are taught about their own bodies.

A clinical trial was the starting point. Then lockdown hit.

Overnight they had to move everything online and within weeks 7,000 women signed up, desperate for clarity around fertility and reproductive health. The signal was loud. The market was ready.

The Funding Journey, the Reality and the Myths

Hertility did not start with a big cheque. It started with £40,000 from Helen’s brother, enough to build the first test and website.

Her advice was simple. Build without money first. Use academic networks. Ask for free support. Prove the problem before you pitch.

Investors can be sceptical about women’s health, but Helen reminded the room that data is your anchor. Let evidence speak louder than bias.

Unlike tech, you do not get to ship fast and fix later. In healthcare you only get one chance with someone’s wellbeing. Hertility had to lead with scientific rigour from day one.

Accuracy, safety and trust were non negotiable. It slowed them down at first, but gave them credibility that money cannot buy.

Data That Changes Everything

Hertility is building what Helen called the mother of all databases in women’s health, mapping lifestyle factors, symptoms and outcomes across thousands of users.

It is already revealing connections we have never quantified before, such as how vaping impacts reproductive hormones. And despite the progress, many women still do not know when they ovulate, how their cycle works or what their symptoms mean. Data helps close that knowledge gap for good.

Women wanted clarity, not cold clinical language. Hertility intentionally built a brand that feels warm, funny and relatable without losing scientific depth.

Their team culture mirrors that balance. Highly technical, highly rigorous and also full of personality, humour and humanity. As Helen put it, they talk about serious things in a way people actually want to engage with.

Education Is Part of the Mission

One of the biggest issues is not just lack of access but lack of education. Helen shared that even medical students often graduate with very little understanding of reproductive health.

Hertility tailors its assessments and recommendations to different user archetypes, making the information as clear, honest and supportive as possible.

Helen spoke openly about the emotional toll many women carry when they are struggling with symptoms, uncertainty or fertility challenges. Hertility has built supportive language and signposting into every report and interaction. The goal is not just to diagnose, but to meet women where they are and help them feel less alone.

Looking ahead, Hertility’s ambition is big. Licensing clinical decision tools, expanding into all reproductive life stages and eventually supporting men’s health too.

For Helen, the focus is impact over hype. Better data. Better care. Better outcomes for women everywhere.

Final Thoughts: What Founders Can Learn

Helen’s journey is a reminder that building in women’s health requires resilience, evidence and a huge amount of heart.

Key takeaways for founders:

• Build with rigour, not shortcuts

• Use data to advocate for the underserved

• Educate your users, your investors and your industry

• Bring humanity into your brand, especially in healthcare

• Stay focused on impact, not labels or vanity metrics

If you missed the conversation, join us at our next event.

We hold our Changemakers every month at the Virgin HQ in Central London and it's free to attend.

We hope to see you soon!

Written by Diana Greenhalgh, Virgin StartUp