Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Dr. Jenny Schneider about the new Home[ward] Grown program to elevate women founders and leaders that was launched last year. Dr. Sipra Laddha, CoFounder and CEO of Luna Joy discusses her experience with the program. Jenny is very vested in female founders and believes that the worn battle scars are useful to others. She has particular affinity to founders who are also physicians. And with Sipra, not only are they both doctors, but being Mom first is key to them both. You have to do it all and if there ever was a superpower for knowing that trying and not doing it all right all the time – being a mom is IT. Sipra began LunaJoy because she saw women’s health issues and mental health issues up close and personal in the early days of her practice. When she became pregnant with twins while practicing and trying to do it all, she found the needed resources to support women at every stage of the reproductive journey were either subpar or not available. LunaJoy aims to solve that with women’s mental health reimagined. Reproductive psychiatry begins from the moment that that person is thinking about conceiving or getting pregnant through fertility (or a fertility journey). LunaJoy aims to prepare women to have the best possible outcome.

As to the mentorship program, for Sipra this was intensely different. Every discussion with Jenny led to actions she could immediately take within LunaJoy. Sipra would bring the TL;DR approach to her team even though she would be taking copious notes in every discussion. Jenny also talks about how with most people who are involved in a company, as the CEO, you are always trying to impress them. Some of the magic of the mentee/mentor discussions is that nothing is off limits. “Things are crazy….3 people quit today…..how do I even deal…..”. Sipra emphasizes that we really don’t need to pathologize messiness, that is exactly what entrepreneurship is. Like Jenny, Sipra is also committed to paying it forward. And no matter how busy you are – if it is important to you to bring more female founders forward, to advance more women into leadership – you have the time. Small comments and actions matter. Showing up matters. Inspiring Women looks forward to showcasing future conversations with women in the Home[ward] Grown mentorship program.

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Guest Bios:

Dr. Sipra Laddha, CEO and CoFounder, LunaJoy

Throughout my education and career, I have been dedicated to improving the lives of others. My background in psychiatry and deep interest and experience in women’s mental health has allowed me to support women through various life transitions, including pregnancy and postpartum.

I gained firsthand knowledge of the challenges women face in accessing affordable and convenient mental health care. I co-founded LunaJoy with these challenges in mind. A unique platform that improves access to high-quality therapy, medication, and mind body interventions.

With our telemedicine platform, you spend less time commuting and waiting and more time engaged. And our ability to work with most insurance companies reduces the financial burden for patients who have previously seen cost as a barrier. Every woman should have access to the care she needs. We aim to make this possible.

From adolescence through menopause, we support women through their emotional challenges, allowing you to engage in other parts of your life with more joy and efficiency. It is time to live fully, unburdened, and authentically. For personalized psychotherapy and women’s mental health reimagined, send a message or visit us https://hellolunajoy.com

Dr. Jenny Schneider, CEO and Founder, Homeward

I am CEO of Homeward, a technology-enabled healthcare provider delivering care to those who don’t have it, starting in rural America.

Previously, I served 5 years as the Chief Medical Officer and President of Livongo. At Livongo, I was responsible for product, data science, engineering, marketing, clinical operations, and our growth strategy. In my final year at Livongo, we led the company through the largest consumer digital health Initial Public Offering in history, a secondary offering, a convertible debt offering that raised over $540 million, and the industry’s largest merger ever between Livongo and Teladoc Health, valuing Livongo at $18.5 billion and beginning a new era of consumer centric virtual care. I was honored by Modern Healthcare as one of the 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives and by Fierce Healthcare as Woman of Influence for our work empowering women and modeling diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

In October of 2020, I joined the Board of the Health Assurance Acquisition Corp., a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) with Hemant Taneja, Glen Tullman, Dr. Stephen Klasko, Quentin Clark, and Anita V. Pramoda. Our mission is to partner with leading health and care businesses leveraging technology. We aim to support their efforts to become iconic category winners that accelerate the digital transformation of existing healthcare into a new system of health assurance.