Digital health startup Elda Health is on a mission to normalise menopause

Midlife crisis is a term that often conjures up images of extreme discomfort and restlessness. For women, this is further complicated by hormonal issues caused by perimenopause and menopause. Declining estrogen and progesterone levels have been found to cause sleep disturbances, mood swings, and energy dips. In addition, menopause can cause anxiety, weight gain, and reduced interest in hobbies and activities that once seemed stimulating. 

This is where timely professional advice will make a huge difference. And this is what healthcare platform Elda Health aims to achieve–normalise menopause.

“Puberty and pregnancy are typically celebrated in our country. But when women have retired from their reproductive roles, that’s when they need focus and attention. Menopause is a space that’s not touched, and women have the maximum problems there,” says Swathi Kulkarni, Co-founder of Elda Health, in a chat with HerStory.

Founded in 2021 by Swathi, Shubham Sharma, and Dr Ameya Kanakiya, Bengaluru-based Elda Health started off as a WhatsApp group focused on issues pertaining to middle-aged women’s health. The founders brought their own personal and professional experiences to the table, which Swathi says has helped build a holistic health platform for the mid-age urban woman.

A serial entrepreneur from Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad and BITS Pilani, Swati earlier co-founded women’s wellness startup Nua. Shubham, also a BITS Pilani graduate, is a passionate tech geek, and Dr Ameya is a Mumbai-based senior gynaecologist and one of the very few menopause specialists in India.

Building content and community

Elda Health aims to help middle-aged women take that first step towards understanding their health issues by reaching out to medical professionals even when they are not comfortable.

Swathi says her team initially did a dipstick on the user journey of 200 odd women, and realised that menopause as a segment has been largely underserved.

“As we reach our 40s, our estrogen hormone starts dipping and that’s when several problems start arising. We’ve seen three broad categories of concern in women in this age group–physical issues like skin and weight gain problems, urogenital issues like incontinence that women hesitate to talk about, and then mental health issues. We wanted to tell the women on our platform that while all this is completely normal, you don’t have to endure or suffer it,” says Swathi.

Since it began its programmes seven months ago, around 40,000 women from Tier I, II, and III towns come on board the Elda community to seek anything from awareness to health interventions.

According to Swathi, the platform leverages technology, data, and insights to support women on their menopause journey. She adds that the platform’s three-pronged approach—awareness, self-management, and health interventions—are all targeted at women achieving the best health outcomes.

“While the awareness and self-management happen through our app, clients who reach out for health interventions seeking diagnostic reports and talking to the concerned medical experts also do so with the help of our app.”

She stresses how the discretion that a digital platform offers its clients is a big draw for women who want to share about their health issues–both physical and mental.

“A lot of women are not comfortable sharing about their menopause problems with their families. There have also been cases where family therapy is required, and husbands come along for an online session to understand how they can support their wives during this tough period,” says Swathi.

Stating how health, human interference, and technology interventions come together to tackle an issue, Swathi says there is an 85% improvement in the health outcomes of women who take the Elda Health programmes. “Women in the age group of 35-60 keep going through some or the problems, and we see a lot of them coming back to us for sustainable interventions. Over 30% of women who have taken two or more programmes with us come back to us for other issues,” says Swathi.

She adds that the company has only started monetising this year, and declines to share the early revenue numbers. Elda Health’s wellness screenings start from Rs 999 for a basic diagnostic programme. The Elda Bounceback programme, a three-month programme that takes care of a woman’s entire menopausal needs, is priced between Rs 7,000 to Rs 12,000.

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Competition and next steps

An increase in disposable incomes and a post-pandemic rise in health consciousness have expanded the market for health and wellness startups, not just in India, but across the world.

On other startups in the space, Swathi remarks that she is excited to see more digital platforms working in the women’s wellness space, but is yet to come across one that is focusing exclusively on menopause.

In August 2021, Elda Health raised a seed funding of $1.5 million from Avaana Capital, Orios Ventures, and Ananth Narayanan Family Office.

“When we got funded last year, we wanted to ensure that we’re able to build an app and a programme structure. So, the first few months went in running pilot campaigns with a select set of customers to understand how effective our programmes are. Three months later, we were able to structure a few more programmes after gaining inputs,” says Swathi.

She adds that social media and word of mouth have helped immensely in obtaining new clients, and they continue to remain focused on health outcomes and building a firm foundation than being driven by factors like app downloads and other statistics.

“Our fundamental goal is to ensure there is positivity in this phase of menopause. Women need to realise it is a time of opportunity to reinvent themselves, and not just endure this time. And I want Elda to be part of this journey for women,” concludes Swathi.