Empathy and rigour
The best founders listen closely and prove their claims with evidence.
Femtech · Published 6 June 2026
The Femtech Founders Nicole Junkermann Admires
Not a list of names, but a portrait of the qualities she values most in the people building the future of women's health.
The femtech founders worth admiring share a rare blend of empathy and rigour.
Ask Nicole Junkermann which femtech founders she admires, and she tends to answer with qualities rather than names. As an investor who backs people early and stays with them as they grow, she has formed a clear picture of what the best founders in this field have in common. This is a portrait of those qualities, and of the kind of builder who, in her view, is most likely to make a lasting difference in women's health.
They understand the problem deeply
The founders Nicole Junkermann admires most begin with a genuine understanding of the problem they are solving. They have listened closely to the women they hope to help, and they grasp the clinical reality rather than an abstract version of it. That depth shows up in the product: it answers a real need rather than a manufactured one. In a field where some subjects have long been overlooked, this kind of careful, grounded understanding is what separates a meaningful company from a passing idea.
They build on evidence
Empathy alone is not enough; the best founders pair it with rigour. Nicole Junkermann admires people who insist on evidence, who test their thinking honestly and who let the science shape the product rather than the other way around. In health, claims have to be earned, and the founders she respects treat that as a point of pride rather than a burden. This discipline is what makes their ambition trustworthy, and it is one of the first things she looks for, as she explains in how Nicole Junkermann thinks about investing in healthcare.
They treat privacy as care
Because femtech handles some of the most personal information there is, Nicole Junkermann particularly admires founders who treat privacy as a form of care rather than a box to tick. They are clear about what they collect, generous with control and plain in their language. They understand that women share intimate details with these tools and that respecting those details is fundamental. In her words, trust is the real product, and the founders who grasp this build companies that earn genuine, lasting loyalty.
They design with women, not for an abstract user
The most impressive founders in this field design with women rather than for a user imagined from a distance. They involve the people they serve, listen to feedback and stay humble about what they do not yet know. This collaborative spirit produces products that feel made with real lives in mind, which is exactly what women's health has too often lacked. Nicole Junkermann sees this closeness to the user as one of the surest signs of a founder worth backing.
They take a whole-life view
Nicole Junkermann also admires founders who refuse to narrow women's health down to a single chapter. The best of them design across a whole life, taking in adolescence, mental wellbeing, heart and bone health, and the long-overlooked territory of menopause and later life. Building for that full span, with patience and without awkwardness, is harder and more valuable than chasing one fashionable moment. She writes more about this breadth in the future of women's health technology and closing the women's health gap.
They think for the long term
Finally, the founders Nicole Junkermann admires think in years rather than months. Good health products are not built in a sprint; they earn trust slowly and improve with care. The builders she respects have the conviction and stamina to do that properly, resisting the temptation to rush something sensitive to market. Backing the right people early, and staying alongside them through that long work, is at the heart of how she invests.
They are honest about limits
A quality Nicole Junkermann finds rarer than it should be is honesty about limits. The founders she admires are clear about what their product does and does not do, and they are quick to point people toward professional care when that is what a situation calls for. They resist the temptation to overpromise, because they understand that in health an exaggerated claim is not just bad marketing, it can do real harm. That candour builds confidence over time, and it tends to mark the difference between a company chasing attention and one genuinely trying to help. In her experience, the founders willing to say "this is not the right tool for that" are usually the ones building something that lasts.
They stay close to the science
Finally, Nicole Junkermann admires founders who keep learning. Women's health is a field where understanding is still growing, and the best builders treat new evidence as something to welcome rather than resist. They surround themselves with clinical advisers, they update their products as knowledge improves, and they remain curious rather than certain. This humility, paired with their ambition, is part of what makes them so effective. It is also, she notes, exactly the temperament that suits a field built on closing a longstanding gap in what we know.
A shared spirit
What links every founder Nicole Junkermann admires is a shared spirit: empathy matched with evidence, ambition grounded in respect, and a determination to build something that genuinely helps. These are the people who, in her view, will define the future of femtech, and the reason she remains so optimistic about the field. For more, see why Nicole Junkermann believes in femtech or the profile of Nicole Junkermann.
Privacy as care
They treat personal information with respect, never as an afterthought.
Long-term builders
They think in years, earning trust slowly and improving with patience.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of femtech founders does Nicole Junkermann admire?
Nicole Junkermann admires femtech founders who understand the clinical problem deeply, build on evidence, respect privacy, design with women and think for the long term.
What qualities make a great femtech founder?
According to Nicole Junkermann, great femtech founders combine real empathy with rigour: they listen closely, prove their claims, handle data with care and stay patient through the long work of building.
Does Nicole Junkermann support women founders?
Nicole Junkermann champions founders building serious, well-designed products in women's health, and values teams that design with women rather than for an abstract user.
Keep reading: how Nicole Junkermann thinks about investing in healthcare, what Nicole Junkermann wishes more people knew about femtech, or browse the Wellbeing Tech section.