Companies like Ro and Hims have capitalized on the need for more seamless and discreet access to health and wellness products that are part of everyday life. For men.
Stix is looking to do the same for women, and has today announced the raise of a $3.5 million seed round. The financing was co-led by Resolute Ventures and SWAT equity partners, with participation from Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, Bullish, and a variety of strategic angels. This brings the total amount raised by the company to $5 million.
Stix launched in 2019 with a D2C pregnancy test that was easy to buy and use, and that eliminated some of their associated stigma. For example, some pregnancy tests show a smiley face when a woman tests positive, despite the fact that not all women taking a pregnancy test want to be pregnant.
The company then expanded to ovulation tests and prenatal supplements. Most recently, Stix has moved into UTI diagnostics tests, pain relief products, and preventative supplements. This last product category is particularly important. First of all, women are 30 times more likely to get a UTI than men, according to womenshealth.gov, and more than half of all women will have at least one UTI in their lifetime. It’s a huge market.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, there are few if any diagnostic products out on the market that women can buy over the counter. In other words, it’s taxing for a woman to diagnose a UTI (usually having to go see a doctor) despite the fact that UTIs are incredibly common.
The FDA-cleared UTI test makes it much easier for women to take action and get some answers from the comfort of their own home. Stix offers these products as a subscription and gives customers the option to choose how frequently they’d like them delivered.
Stix was cofounded by Cynthia Plotch and Jamie Norwood. The startup is looking to build a full suite of not only products, but educational resources and content to help guide women through these hyper common, but difficult, experiences.
Stix has eight people on the team, including the cofounders, three of whom are people of color. All are women.
The startup is not alone in the market. Modern Fertility, for example, is selling ovulation and pregnancy tests direct to consumer and has distribution through big box retailers like Wal-Mart.