Fika with femtech venture studio CEO Malin Frithiofsson: "This needed to be done way earlier!"

For people unfamiliar with how a venture studio works, can you give us a summary?

"We start with very broad problems - it can be anything from endometriosis to the need for space innovations. Then we do an ‘intervention’ where we invite people who have important things to add to the topic - like researchers, doctors, other stakeholders, patient advocacy groups, and then we do a series of workshops. Through those we see if there’s a tech solution we can build to solve some of the issues, and if there is, we start to build it."

How do you help those companies get to market?

"We do the branding – help with the name, the first website, first logo, things like that. And then we recruit the founding team, and we give them funding and ensure they own the majority of the company."

That’s a different approach to many other venture capital companies and studios. Why?

"We believe that it helps our companies to scale, which is a general challenge for startups and one that specifically impacts women and deep tech companies a lot. In deep tech startups, we can take as little as ten percent of the company even if we've done all of this pre-work, just to make sure that the startup actually is investable through its whole journey."

And Daya Ventures is the first venture studio in Europe, with a focus on femtech, right?

"Yes, we launched in 2022 and think we were the first in the world, although we didn't actually know or really care until about a year later when other studios popped up saying they were! I'd actually say I wish we hadn't been first, because this needed to be done way earlier for all women's sakes."

You recently spoke out about Jeff Bezos’ space mission, suggesting women shouldn't have to rely on a billionaire to travel into space. And now Daya Ventures is planning on investing in space-related femtech?

"Well we had already started working in the space sector before I talked about Blue Origin on LinkedIn and to Impact Loop. We’re in the middle of the workshop phase. Like in so many industries, men were the first to adventure out beyond earth. We have been questioning “what would have happened if it was women?” and “what would happen if we created specific space suits for women?” instead of the male default – which is the same issue we have when it comes to healthcare. So we are still exploring the issue from a bunch of different angles – but we want to spin out some startups soon."

You clearly have a lot going on. Tell us what a typical week looks like for you?

"Well I have one one year old and one two year old and technically I am only supposed to be working 50%. But often on those days “off” get up early at 5.30am (my kids usually wake up then anyway) and then take calls at home, from New York or elsewhere – we have startups and connections across the world so we’re trying to puzzle a lot of time zones. I spend some time each week in our office at Lindholmen (a science park in Gothenburg) where I meet colleagues. Or sometimes we just all have different meetings in different rooms adjacent to each other!"

What is the biggest challenge for you right now?

"Fundraising. We’re trying to move into more deep tech innovations that are in the femtech space. The second generation of femtech companies needs to go beyond consumer apps or community organisations and platforms. We recently closed a tranche of early seed rounds and we're hoping to close a second tranche before the summer."

What are you looking forward to?

"Next week I am going to New York for the Vault Fund’s global summit for venture builders. I will be hanging out with Fierce Foundry (another femtech venture studio). There’s a great femtech network in New York."

You ooze a lot of confidence, what is your top tip for other fundraisers or founders looking to win pitches?

"In fundraising you often get eleven nos for every half-yes! That can be very hurtful, especially in femtech where as a woman you may be working on solutions for health problems you've personally lived through. But I think if you 100% believe in what you’re doing and you’re confident it is going to work, then when someone says no, you can just think “okay, they're just not getting it – yet.

Has anything embarrassing ever happened to you at work?

"At an event I was speaking at a couple of years ago I was heavily pregnant and I borrowed a dress from my sister. After I got off the stage someone came and told me it was completely see-through in the stage lights. All the pictures show my bra and my big pregnant belly! It was okay because it was a female investor summit so there were mostly all women in the room. But the images are a bit embarrassing and unfortunately I can’t delete them from LinkedIn!"

What is your favourite fika?

"I’m a croissant lover. At Chalmers University in Gothenburg I am known as ‘the croissant lady’, because I was working there once and everyone had to evacuate – during university mid-terms - just because I tried to defrost a croissant in the microwave and the alarm went off! Even after that incident, they are still my favourite!"