Amy Vaughan:
Hello, everyone, and welcome to our weekly power lounge. This is your place to hear authentic conversations from those who have power to share. My name is Amy Vaughan, and I am the owner and chief empowerment officer of Together Digital, a diverse and collaborative community of women who choose to share their knowledge, power, and connections. You can join the movement at togetherindigital.com. And today, I am very excited because we are welcoming Ikram Guerd, who is doing incredible work at the intersection of women’s health and marketing. Ikram is the CMO and general manager for The US at Apivix, where she is creating solutions like painless IUD insertion, which let me tell you, friends, it’s pretty revolutionary for anyone who’s ever been through that. Sounds like a game changer to me. What I love about Ikram’s story, though, is how she is bringing over twenty years of experience from both big corporations to scrappy startups across The United States and Europe into this emerging femtech space.
Amy Vaughan:
And she does not stop there. She is also on the board of inspiring girls USA, mentoring the next generation, and breaking down those persistent gender barriers that we are facing. And let’s be honest, women’s health tech has been overlooked for far too long. And that’s why I am very excited to dig into Ekram’s approach to marketing, networking, and personal branding today. So whether you are specifically interested in health tech or just looking for a fresh perspective and marketing strategies, I think you’re going to walk away with some things that you can use immediately. So, Ekram, welcome so much to the Power Lounge. We’re thrilled to have you here today.
Ikram Guerd:
Likewise. Thank you so much, Amy, for having me. I’m very excited about today.
Amy Vaughan:
Absolutely. I’m curious. With such a varied background across some different marketing industries, what is it that pulled you into the femtech space? Was there a specific moment where you thought this is where marketing can really make a difference, or what is it about femtech in the space?
Ikram Guerd:
That’s a good question. I will probably just take a step back in the way I started my career. Mhmm. So I’ve always been interested in health care from a very, very young age, so I wanted to be a pediatrician. Then I wasn’t able to go to med school. So I went with my second passion, which was around learning other languages and culture. So I’ve done a master degree in international trade. And during that time, I was very lucky to work for Procter and Gamble.
Ikram Guerd:
And that’s really when I just learned about marketing, and I just fell in love with marketing. That was back then more than twenty years ago. So I’ve completed a master degree in strategic marketing, and that experience brought me to health care in some ways. So I found this opportunity for two months, and those two months became twenty years. So
Amy Vaughan:
Wow.
Ikram Guerd:
I’m very stubborn in a good way, in a sense that, I wasn’t able to be a doctor, but I was able to find a way through marketing, to join healthcare. And I had experiences in pharma, home care, and medical devices. And during that time, I’ve learned so much, both on the marketing side, but also in health care. And being now in femtech kind of makes sense as a woman. So I’m 14 years old. And I had this great opportunity, that came from my CEO, who I used to work with ten years ago in another company. And it’s a kind of perfect timing, and we just find ourselves working together. And it makes total sense.
Ikram Guerd:
I don’t see myself working in any other industry because there’s so much to do in women’s self. And anyone who would like to join, just please join us. There’s so many things to do and fun things to do also on marketing and innovation.
Amy Vaughan:
That’s good to know. I think a lot of us within the marketing space have been looking for a sense of passion and purpose. And so, I mean, I know I personally relate a lot to your story. Fun fact. Yeah. I was in my first year of college. I wanted to be a doctor, and I mean, I fell in love with, but then also, I was like, I was a two it was a double sided sword for sure. You know? It’s like a love hate situation.
Amy Vaughan:
I was in health care for a number of years. I was a certified nursing assistant. I worked in the ER, nursing home, hospitals, psych office, all these different roles. And there’s a lot about, like, the systems and the things like that within health care that feel very, like, difficult and broken. But at the core of it is just this tremendous sense of humanity and desire to really help people. And I think that’s what I’ve always continued to love about it. And then I agree. I kind of, like similarly, I had a pretty bad year, was struggling to kind of make things work, you know, with my student loans and then decided to kinda take a hiatus and then found marketing. And then, like, you kind of stuck with that road. And so, yeah, I totally get how those two can be such a powerhouse, you know, for the sake of really helping others. Because at the end of the day, like, you know, it’s that whole sense of, like, do do no harm. You know. Even though we never took the oath, you know, as doctors, there are ways that we can, you know, do the work that we love, which is marketing
Ikram Guerd:
Exactly.
Amy Vaughan:
And, you know, still fulfill that need of helping and supporting others. So I love, love, love your passion for all of this. And, you know, one of the things I wanted to touch on that was from the intro was, this introducing certain things like painless IUD insertion devices. You know, it’s a challenge because I think, you know, like I mentioned with the systems and health care, embracing change is a challenge. Right? They’re a little bit archaic sometimes in their ability to embrace new tech, to evolve what they do, how they do it. So how do you approach marketing, you know, something that is disruptive in places that kinda feel more traditional?
Ikram Guerd:
Yes. That’s a very good question. So let me just also take a step back in presenting what our solution is. So, the name of the company is SPVIX, which stands for SP for aspiration, and VIX for cervix. So just looking at what is used currently right now when you get an IUD, and I’ll try to make it very short. Mhmm. At least you can. That’s one takeaway that you can definitely get out of August. So when you get an IUD, basically, you go to your OBGYN, and very quickly, there’s different steps.
Ikram Guerd:
So they will place the speculum, then they will use something called the tenaculum, and I will invite you to Google it. So that way, you can see what it looks like. And it’s, I would say it’s almost like a pair of scissors with two sharp teeth, and that instrument will help grab the cervix, pull it, and stabilize it. So that way, they can measure the depth of the uterus and then insert the IUD, kind of four steps. Yep. The pulling of the cervix with these two sharp teeth is one of the most painful steps in the procedure. This instrument was developed more than thirty years ago during the US Civil War to extract bullets from soldiers. And probably some guy thought, let’s use it on women.
Ikram Guerd:
And it became Why not?
Amy Vaughan:
They don’t know how that feels?
Ikram Guerd:
No. And it became kind of the standard of care. So it’s used in gynecology for this procedure and other procedures as well, like endometrial biopsies, hysteroscopy, and others. So just looking at that, when you think about zero innovation in hundred years when it goes to women’s self, and we know that it’s painful. So I’m super glad to see more women, Gen z, Gen x Gen z, sorry, more sharing their stories on social media saying it’s enough. When I’m getting an ID recording myself, it’s super painful. Yeah. We have spent a lot of time at SPVX as well just educating.
Ikram Guerd:
So everything starts with education and how, even myself as a woman, I didn’t know it was done like that until I joined SPIVX. So how do we just empower women to learn more about their own body and how the procedure is done. So that way you can feel empowered to have a conversation with your OBGYN Yeah. And ask the right questions. So that’s really what we are doing. Everything takes time in terms of changing mindset, practices, and so on. So finding those early adopters Mhmm. Or begin with those who are willing to change and willing to use innovation.
Ikram Guerd:
So that’s really where we are focused on, and getting great evidence.
Amy Vaughan:
And it’s brilliant too. Right? Because I think it really speaks to those that you’re trying to convince within the marketing and the systems to make those changes that they might not be more apropos to do is if you educate the consumer and the consumer says there’s a better, easier way, then I will go to my doctor, and I will will ask for that. And that’s I think that’s so smart. It makes a lot of sense because that’s what you want is for them to move from that educational space to advocating for themselves. Because I think that is another place in health care where I just wish there was a solution for this where there could be and I think there are in certain situations, right, if you’ve been diagnosed with something terminal, like, you might get a patient advocate. But I just kind of wish all of us had patient advocates for us because it can be overwhelming. It can be confusing to kind of understand and know what things are happening. There’s nerves that go into play.
Amy Vaughan:
Right? So when you’re sitting there and you’re talking about birth control options with your doctor, maybe make some people uncomfortable. And then you’re saying, okay. Yes. I’ll take this thing, and you’re gonna insert it into me. And like you said, I have had an IUD, and I had it removed after a couple years. I didn’t love it. The insertion and the extraction both were not pleasant either, I will say, but they didn’t describe to me what you just described to me. Why?
Ikram Guerd:
Yeah.
Amy Vaughan:
It’s wild.
Ikram Guerd:
Exactly. When you just take a look at the instrument, it’s scary.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah. It’s medieval. It’s a really large device.
Ikram Guerd:
Exactly. Exactly. And that’s really what we are changing in terms of, bringing that into the discussion with a more transparent dialogue between the physician and the patient. And we have, one site, in Indianapolis, which is like the IU Health, which is currently, they’re currently using the device, and it becomes part of the conversation. So when they explain the different steps, they show the tenaculum, they show our device, called the CareVix, because we care about the cervix. Oh. And that’s, that’s become just natural. And just looking at the device makes the level of anxiety right.
Ikram Guerd:
A little bit lower. Exactly. And that helps with just the full experience.
Amy Vaughan:
Mhmm. No. That makes a lot of sense. And I’m wondering too, like, if, you know, as you’re trying to reach these different audiences, patients who need solutions like this, doctors who want to provide them. I don’t even know about the insurance companies who wanna pay for them. That’s a whole another topic maybe. For a whole another day for those of you who aren’t, like, oh, you’re just listening. Like, Eric Grimbs heads like, yes, popping up and down.
Amy Vaughan:
Outside of this patient kind of education and advocacy, like, efforts and approaches, are there any other approaches that have worked for you in the ways to kind of get people to acknowledge, adopt, or, you know, embrace new products like these in the market?
Ikram Guerd:
In our own experience, we are at the very early stage. So, right now, we have started the commercialization in Switzerland. We’re expanding to Europe. I’m about to launch a commercial in the US. It’s also very interesting to see how, at the end of the day, each woman is different in terms of pain tolerance. Yes. But at the end of the day, women in The US and women in Switzerland or in any other country are the same. Yeah.
Ikram Guerd:
They will feel kind of the same experience. So what we have been doing last year is really focused on getting evidence, creating a community and an ambassador program with early adopters Uh-huh. With different types of institutions, from the private office to the academics, and being able to have those users, using the device, giving feedback about the user experience, but also on the patient side. What is the patient’s satisfaction with the use of the device? And we had great results that we can use in our marketing strategy, both targeting b to b, our health care providers, but also in our conversation with women patients and just, as part of the education.
Amy Vaughan:
That’s fantastic. And I love this because I think all of this is applicable to anyone in any other vertical that’s kind of, like, struggling with getting people to kind of take on and adopt things either on the b to b or the b to c side.
Ikram Guerd:
Exactly.
Amy Vaughan:
It gets really, really smart. I love that evidence and community. I think those are very big, big, big, wins when you can kind of collect those data points and share and create and facilitate those kinds of things too, like community. So I’d love to talk a little bit more about some of the challenges you’re facing because I know femtech isn’t always an easy sell. Right? It’s not at the top of everybody’s to do list. What has been your biggest, how are we gonna solve this marketing moment, and what did you learn from pushing through it?
Ikram Guerd:
That’s a very good question and a very broad question. I would say just to also be very clear on what is fintech, people tend to get confused with fintech, which has nothing to do.
Amy Vaughan:
Interesting, right? Yes. Financial.
Ikram Guerd:
Exactly. So fintech and women’s health are a kind of a common field. So fintech misses mostly anything that is technology driven, solutions, services, products that can answer any women’s health needs. And that can really go from reproductive health, menopause, periods, cardiovascular disease, pregnancy, and so on. So the bucket is super, super large. Yeah. So you can think of one of the challenges and one of the gaps that we have right now in fintech is, the lack of data.
Amy Vaughan:
Mhmm.
Ikram Guerd:
So that’s why, like, all the different innovators, companies, and research centers are really focused on getting data, and AI can help with that. Yes. Because, basically, when you think about the data we have, we only have around thirty years of data. Yep. Everything that has been done prior to that were clinical studies just, used on men Yep. White men. So we don’t have the data about how the women’s body will react to any medication and all that. So we are trying to fill that gap.
Ikram Guerd:
So that way we have so it’s under, research, underfunded. And to be able to get more investments, you need also to get those data. So we are trying to accelerate and close this gap. So that’s one of the challenges. Yeah. And AI is a wonderful tool if it’s used properly to really try to get quicker, faster data that then we can, we can use it for our product innovation and communication and so on.
Amy Vaughan:
Absolutely. Yeah. I wanna highlight that, the fact you started there because, I mean, I think we’ve said it before on the podcast, but I don’t know that everybody’s heard this or realizes this. Pharmaceutical research in general, like, clinical research, not until, like, what, the nineties Mhmm. Was done on women. And it’s just wild to think about Yes. The amount. Yes.
Amy Vaughan:
It was all men, and then, like, all white men. And it’s, like, so, you know, our body chemistry is different. Our physiological makeup is different. And so so many of the medications that we even take today still don’t have an abundant amount of research with women kind of at the forefront of it. And that can be kinda scary. And like you said, between not being under researched and underfunded, it makes it hard to do what you said earlier where it’s like you’re building that evidence. You’re creating that education, so then you can get to that advocacy and community. Exactly.
Amy Vaughan:
But I agree with you. I love love love AI for health care. Again, having worked within the systems, I’m also a patient advocate for my mom. And so, like, all these lived experiences, there’s just so much data around our health, and there’s also a lot of misinterpretation. There’s a lot of human error, that, you know, I think in a lot of ways that AI could actually help solve for in looking for and analyzing the data that we have to see instances in an happenstance where we can’t see it as humans. I nerd out just for a minute, Ikram, because I have to give a little background. My husband’s a former university professor who does, like, biomedical research through mathematical modeling. So, like, I have watched and seen how he can literally take something, like, building up something with, you know, a little bit of AI, a little bit of computer programming to model clinical research without the use of humans and animals, and it’s accurate.
Amy Vaughan:
And I’m like, just that’s just mind blowing. That’s really gonna help us get ahead or at least get caught up. Really, maybe more than anything, get caught up.
Ikram Guerd:
Exactly. Exactly.
Amy Vaughan:
I love it. Yeah. No. It’s all very critical. I’m excited to see what AI does for health care. I’m not an ex. I’m not in health care as much anymore, obviously. And I’m kind of curious, like, just quickly a sidebar question is, like, how much do you know, is the health care industry embracing it? What’s your sense of it?
Ikram Guerd:
Yes. Yes. I get to be within the healthcare community in Fintech, which is kind of a small community, and you get to see so many innovations coming our way. We just need to get the funding. But also just broadly, I sit into, different committee to review some of the innovations coming our way in terms of mental health, in terms like, different things not specific to women. And it’s just amazing. Like, everybody’s really embracing AI. So if you, like, feel like you’re not in it, like, yeah, you probably need to right now.
Amy Vaughan:
That’s good. That case makes me very hopeful because I do think it could remedy a lot of different things in, like, the sense of, like, even, like, mixed misdiagnosis, you know, misdosing. And, like, I’ve dealt with all these issues as a family, and I’m like, ugh, we’ve gotta find solutions for this. So I love it. Alright. So this next question I really like because it’s really about evolving our thinking and, you know, looking back over your career, which, you know, like you’re saying, you’ve been here for a minute. Are there any marketing approaches that you swore by that you would completely abandon now and or maybe are sort of, like, slowly walking back as far as, what you’re doing and working within women’s health and marketing?
Ikram Guerd:
Not necessarily one, because I also like, most of my career was really targeting well, in terms of marketing, I was really targeting b to b, so health care providers, pharmacies, to different types of doctors. I would say that probably it’s things that have changed, but that also came with technology. So it has been interesting to see also the evolution of marketing over, at least for my career, over the last twenty years
Amy Vaughan: Absolutely.
Ikram Guerd:
Coming from Europe to The US. When we used to be even if you are targeted, you used to have the same messaging to everybody Yeah. Because we didn’t necessarily have the right tools. And now it’s like, oh my god, everything goes so fast in terms of development and evolution. So especially in women’s health, one size doesn’t fit all. So you need to be also very personalized in the way you are reaching out to your different audience within the same target. So being able to have the right personalization, AI can help with that. Mhmm.
Ikram Guerd:
Being able to also get the right data. So that way, you can be even more personalized in your communication. So I would say that the way we used marketing back then is, like, targeting and having the right the same messaging to all of our, all of our customers, and now being able to be very precise and and specific. And that you can see that with the data. It’s like, it increases engagement, all of that, but we’re not able to track at that time. It makes me feel super old saying that.
Amy Vaughan:
No. I get it. I’m there with you. I’m pretty sure we’ve tallied up the same number of years. I just stopped counting. Yeah.
Ikram Guerd:
I should probably do that.
Amy Vaughan:
After fifteen, I was like, yeah. Fifteen plus. Sure. But, you know, we gotta own it. Right? We gotta own it because it’s all valuable experience. I’m kinda curious too. This is another fun side question. You know, I’ve also lived and worked outside of The US Mhmm.
Amy Vaughan:
And, have worked with some international companies as well. And within health care and with consumers in general, obviously, regulations are different. So I’m kind of wondering too, like, with that, like, how has your experience been sort of an approach sort of shifted between, like, Europe and The United States and the ways in which you either can or could or should market?
Ikram Guerd:
Okay. So health care is very regulated everywhere. Having said that, it also depends on the type of product or service you’re offering. In my case, right now, we have a medical device. I used to work in pharma, so the regulations were very different.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah.
Ikram Guerd:
Also in Europe and in The US, the way we are targeting is very different. For medication, you can have TV ads here in The US. That’s something you will never ever ever see in Europe. It’s like Yeah. Just myself coming to The US, like, oh, that’s interesting. They have ads for this treatment. I was like, okay. So that’s one of the differences.
Ikram Guerd:
Being in a medical, medical device space, it depends on the classification of your device and who is your purchaser. In our case, it’s a medical device class two. So the ones that can purchase are the health care providers. Having said that, our device can be purchased by patients in other regions or countries. So you need to be mindful of that because that also impacts your marketing strategy and the way you will be targeting them. For us here in The US, we are targeting health care providers with clinical data, evidence, studies, and so on. And then, on the women’s side, even if they are not the one purchasing, they can influence. So we have this more, like, educational content that we develop for them.
Ikram Guerd:
So it really depends. And I like the fact that even sometimes it feels like, oh, marketing, health care, it seems very boring. It feels like it’s so regulated that you cannot Sure. Pretty much. No. You get a chance to be also very creative, just also being mindful of the regulatory landscape, but you can still make an impact and have a marketing. So I’ve done a very diverse type of marketing, and I just, yeah, I love it because you get to make an impact.
Amy Vaughan:
I agree. I agree. I always kinda felt like, sometimes those regulations, you know, why they feel like barriers and obstacles, I always saw them as opportunities to kind of get a little more creative. Right? Learn the rules so you can break them.
Ikram Guerd:
I know.
Amy Vaughan:
And I do think it is really interesting here stateside how it is, like, you know, all these brand name drugs constantly. People just go to the doctor and ask for it. But then at the same time, I’m like but it’s kind of like as it makes me sometimes, I also have to also acknowledge and realize that, like, they’re in a way, they’re advocating for themselves. They might hear or see something and be like, well, I need to talk to my doctor about this, or at least know that there’s options, right, for a certain type of medication, that they maybe didn’t even realize. And, again, depending on the doctor mine’s great. I like him. That’s why I haven’t fired him. He’ll be like, well, these are all your options.
Amy Vaughan:
Like, here’s, here’s what this being like, this is the big name that everybody’s putting out there, but here are the side effects. Here are the watch outs. Here’s the ways it might interact with you and anything else you’re taking. And then here’s other alternatives, which I appreciate. And if your doctor doesn’t do that for you, ladies, maybe consider finding a new doctor.
Ikram Guerd:
Just saying. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. %, they wish.
Amy Vaughan:
Yep. Yep. So, yeah, it is , it’s an interesting dynamic, and I’m sure working between the two, you know, continents, it could definitely create, like, a whole another level of complexity at times. But, you know
Ikram Guerd:
It’s fun.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah. I was gonna say, like, those challenges are why you keep going. Right? More things to kind of figure out as you go. Exactly. Alright. So there’s this, you know, this we’ve talked about evidence earlier. And there is, like, a persistent idea around the fact that medical marketing should be all clinical devices and technical specs. Usually, kind of, might say, maybe more on the b to b b side.
Amy Vaughan:
Very sterile, very formal, very formal. I’m kind of curious, and I’m guessing in Aspivix, you might see things a little bit differently. And if so, what is your take on that?
Ikram Guerd:
Yeah. You need to have the foundation, and the foundation is making sure that you have the right data, you have evidence. Mhmm. Because if you want to impact and make a change, you need to get the buy-in from those stakeholders. So if you don’t get the buy-in from the healthcare providers, and if you don’t have any clinical data, there’s no reason and no way to make any, anything towards the patient. Because at the end of the day, the healthcare providers who are the buyers won’t buy your product. So making sure that you have those data and making sure that you have data from different regions of the world as well, and they are critical. That helps, with building the brands and the credibility.
Ikram Guerd:
And, you can present those data with all leaders in the area and make sure that you have exposure in conferences and so on. You need to have that first to be able then to start talking to patients. Like, oh, there’s an option out there. This is how it works. So that way, the healthcare providers have enough information. Mhmm. Not everybody will buy it right away. Yeah.
Ikram Guerd:
But if you have those early adopters, they can become your ambassadors. Yeah. And then when women will start having the conversation, then the gynecologist is like, oh, I’ve heard about it. Oh, I’ve used it. And then it’s a totally different discussion. But you need to have this foundation first with technical data, clinical data.
Amy Vaughan:
Mhmm. Yeah. No. I agree. It’s not safe to start without it, but I love that too. And I’m kind of curious, like, FDA approval, and I’m sure it was, like, a big, big part of that hurdle and work through for you all too. I need to remember to connect you to one of our, one of my connections. She was a member for a while with Together Digital.
Amy Vaughan:
Melanie, she is creating a medical device for women, different from what you all are doing, but she is, like, flying solo on this. She’s gone through I think so I can’t remember the name of the big oh, y combinator out in California, a big accelerator. And I think she’s close to having her FDA approval, and then she needs to hit the ground running with marketing. So I should set up a chat with the two of you.
Ikram Guerd:
Yes. I would love that.
Amy Vaughan:
Because, yeah, it’s super, super awesome what she’s working on. I know I’m hella excited for it. I don’t need it quite yet, but I know in my lifetime that I will. So I’m like, all for this. I’m like, how can I help you? So we check-in with each other every so often. Then it just as you were speaking, it’s so funny. I left this out. I was working at a pharmaceutical research company at the front desk.
Amy Vaughan:
What I kind of learned I I came from a small town, and our guidance principal or guidance counselor was like, you could be a nurse, not a doctor, a nurse, a teacher, a lawyer, or a wife, or something like that was his, like, reply to me when I asked, like, about career options. I was like, bro. I think I should be a guidance counselor because I would probably do better than you’re doing right now. But, anyways, just to kind of give you that context, I moved to Chicago after I got married, and I was working at a pharmaceutical research company, and I kinda fell in with the CMO there.
Ikram Guerd:
Mhmm.
Amy Vaughan:
She had seen some of the things that I had put together for the office and was like, you do you do like, you write really well. Your design’s really nice. Would you wanna help me with this, like, clinical research study, like, campaign that we’re doing? It’s for GERD, which is, like, the gastroesophageal reflux disease, but in kids. And, like, here’s, like, what we need. And, I mean, I had no clue what I was doing. I think I laid it out in words, and then I made a little logo. I still remember what it looked like. And then the day they created candy jars to go on the desks, the doctor’s offices, because the kids would be like candy.
Amy Vaughan:
And then the parents would be like, oh, brochures. What’s this for? You know? And so I have my little logo on the jars, and I remember taking that out and being like, look. I made this. I don’t even think I should have kept one of the jars. Right? But that was it for me. I, like, ditched that job, went back to school, started working in a design firm next door. It was wild. But, yeah, I was literally in the midst of the throes of health care working at a pharmaceutical research company debating. I’m like, do I wanna be one of these 20 that, like, has, like, all these, like, delta points and miles? Because they’re just going around schlepping drugs all day every day. And I was like, no. I don’t think so.
Amy Vaughan:
But this marketing thing is pretty sweet.
Ikram Guerd:
I love your story. I love it. Sometimes it’s a yeah. It just takes one comment from someone that makes you think about what I should do next and maybe try something new. And here we go. Absolutely.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah. I don’t know if she knows about it. I Deb, I’ve mentioned her a couple of times on this podcast probably, and I might have reached out to her on LinkedIn at one point or another. Like, we’re still connected, but we haven’t caught up in forever. But, yeah, I mean, I do give her a lot of credit for giving me that opportunity and that inspiration to just go off and try something completely different. So yeah. Yeah. Became marketer Amy instead of doctor Amy, which is all good, Which is all good.
Amy Vaughan:
Awesome. Alright. We’ve already talked a little bit about AI, and then we have had several episodes on AI and marketing. They’ve all been very, very popular. If you guys wanna go back and take a look at some of the past episodes. How did we talk a little bit about how it’s evolving, like, the health care industry, but I’m kind of curious how AI might specifically change the game for femtech marketing, especially when it comes to sensitive topics that might need more of a human touch Because we are talking about some pretty, you know, private things for some people. Me, I’m like, whatever. We can talk about IUDs all day long.
Amy Vaughan:
Same.
Ikram Guerd:
Right now, I feel like, so AI becomes, as I was mentioning, a key tool to help us accelerate our innovation, the way we reach out to our community, the way we engage with our providers. There you can use AI in so many ways. So I’ll just take, as a first example, so many different innovations, developing apps and devices and different kinds of services to help women throughout different health conditions or just throughout their health journey.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah.
Ikram Guerd:
So I’ve seen so many amazing things where we can also correlate different types of data. Mhmm. And we can right now, there’s many different, hot topics. IUD insertion is a hot topic. There’s nothing related to menopause. Suddenly, we just discovered that, oh my god, every woman will go through menopause. So everybody’s talking more openly about menopause. Right.
Ikram Guerd:
Right. Yes. And there’s so many things that are coming our way in the market with apps that can really help you with, Hura brings, like, monitoring your cycle and just going back to the way that women have hormones, and they fluctuate quite a lot, and that means a lot. So if you can predict the variation of hormones, then that way you can be able to take care of yourself and take ownership of your own health. Yes. So being able to get those data as a predictor, and that way you can have the right advice, symptoms, conversation, then with your health care providers. So many great things are coming, in the market, so we just need the funding. Also, more on the marketing side, there are so many ways to use AI.
Ikram Guerd:
When you think about it, I was talking about personalization. We can even take it to the next level with hyper personalization. See, collaboration with other other industries. Why not? There’s, if you can be creative and say, okay. We have this data. If you can maybe combine it with other companies, more on the fitness, sport, diet, nutrition, and get something that can really help and bring a solution. And engaging the audience with, right content at the right time to the right people. Smart education.
Ikram Guerd:
AI can really help with smart education. But else, social listening, there’s so many conversations. So it’s really about opening the conversation, creating the community, being able to really monitor and have this, those data that you can use, and that can help also with the hyper personalization. So, yeah, many, many ways too. I can talk hours about that, but there are many ways that we can use it. Exciting.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah. I love it. Yeah. I was thinking a couple of things as you were giving those examples. Those are all brilliant. Thank you so much. Is Apivix using a, like, chatbot, any kind of, like, AI chatbot right now?
Ikram Guerd:
Not right now. It’s something we are looking at.
Amy Vaughan:
Okay. I wanna introduce you to Lauren then. We just had a master class, and she, like, broke my brain on our Together Digital master class. I like AI marketing with your bot. And because what here’s the thing, Ikram. What I’m hearing and seeing, and this is anecdotal, so I don’t have a whole lot of data on this. But, and also a little bit of case study in one is that I am seeing and hearing that people are almost more comfortable asking uncomfortable questions to AI. It’s kinda like a Google search.
Amy Vaughan:
Right? You don’t want nobody to see that Google search because that’s embarrassing possibly. But there’s something about having a highly personalized, highly attentive chatbot that might actually make it easier for you to ask the hard questions that maybe face to face you couldn’t ask. So if you’re up for it, I would love to introduce you to Lauren at Mongoose. That’s what they do.
Ikram Guerd:
Definitely up for it.
Amy Vaughan:
Yes. Please do. Yes. All about connecting. And I was like, when we went to that masterclass, I was like, woah, there’s just so much that they’ve seen, like a ton of lift in like actual conversions and engagement when they are just really well fine tuned, well built bots that don’t feel like bots at all on the back end or on the front end to the consumer.
Ikram Guerd:
Yeah.
Amy Vaughan:
And then I loved what you were saying about apps too, because, you know, as women who obviously need to advocate for ourselves in an abundance of places, you know, in the doctor’s office is another I am 43. I’ll be 44 next month. And I know I am premenopausal, but I’m also kind of shit about keeping track of my cycle, but I know it’s not regular. So I’m like, why bother? Because it just comes when it wants. And I have hot flashes and I have insomnia and I, you know, and then I feel fatigued and brain fog, but then my, again, my male doctor’s like, nope. You’re too young. But, again, if you have, like you said, that data
Ikram Guerd:
Yes.
Amy Vaughan:
Or you could be kind of having those things more easily tracked. I know people love, like, this aura rings and things like that, whether that’s devices or other apps to help you track. Like, again, like you said, that information is power so that you can be like, yo, just look at the data, buddy. Exactly. Tell me.
Ikram Guerd: Exactly.
Amy Vaughan: I’m not premenopausal because I can’t lose weight also. Like and I’m having hot flashes, but I’m on a pill. Like, you know, he’ll be like, oh, that is strange.
Ikram Guerd:
Exactly. And that’s the scary part. Even OBGYN, they have a very short amount of time in their education, you know, their curriculum to really cover menopause. So even your doctor doesn’t know that much about menopause. So right now, we are, like, getting this data and learning every day. Yeah. So the more data, the better. That’s better.
Ikram Guerd:
But still, like, even with your physician, I’m sure that there’s so many things he doesn’t know.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah. Well, and then to be fair, not to just throw him under the bus, but the woman I know said the same thing to me. She did. I was really shocked. I was like, and here I thought we were simpatico. She’s like, no. It just seems too early. And I’m like, then explain the symptoms.
Amy Vaughan:
Then what is happening to my body that I’m having hot flashes? And they’re, like, in the middle of the night, night sweats, like, all these things. I’m not sick. But yeah. Anyhow, off that soapbox for a minute. Also, I wanted to kind of remind as we get to our last few questions, our live listening audience, you are always welcome to drop into the chat and ask any questions that you have for us as we kind of get towards the end of the session. I wanna pivot for just a moment into the amazing work that you’re doing with Inspiring Girls USA. I would love for you to tell us a little bit about who they are, what they do, and then, you know, what we you know, a lot of us within this kind of industry, we’re kinda workaholics. We do love what we do, and we work hard.
Amy Vaughan:
But it often feels like we can’t bring our wholesales and our professional expertise, as well as our lived experiences, to help advocate for better solutions. So I’m kind of curious, like, one, about inspiring Girls USA, and then two, this kinda feels like a double question now. To you, like, how do you work through the balance personally? So let’s start with Inspiring Girls USA and then more of, like, how you’re navigating and managing the balance of being able to bring your whole self to work.
Ikram Guerd:
Okay. Okay. So inspiring girls. I’ve always been, okay. I’ll just say take a step back quickly. That was probably 15 ago. I had one of my managers, he was a man, and one day, he told me, like, I was, like, working very hard, getting great results. He was very happy.
Ikram Guerd:
And then when he was asking me, oh, what do you wanna do next? And then I told him, oh, I wanna be a manager. He basically kind of laughed, laughed at me. He was like, no, you cannot be a manager. You’re too nice. Like, you’re too kind. I was like, yeah. You cannot say no. Okay.
Ikram Guerd:
Okay. Interesting. Then just coach me. Then I think he just didn’t believe in me. A year later, I moved to another company. I had my first leadership experience. And since then, I’ve been a leader for ten ten over ten years Yeah. Both in Europe and in The US.
Ikram Guerd:
I’ve built marketing teams. And I’m glad that I also had that type of feedback because that really drove me. Uh-huh. And that helps me be who I am right now.
Amy Vaughan:
Right.
Ikram Guerd:
Having said that, one way to also give back was how I can give back to others, because that’s something that is very important to me. So giving back to my team, I’m very proud and very grateful to be able to sit in that position and to have mentored others.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah.
Ikram Guerd:
Some of them even took my position, which was, like, the best reward ever.
Amy Vaughan:
Right.
Ikram Guerd:
Exactly. So joining as Inspiring Girls was an extension of that. How can I also help with my experience and help other girls? Because I wish I had someone during that time who could have been a great mentor and helped me navigate that type of feedback and situation with all the sales depth that you can have. So, Inspiring Girls was a great opportunity to join a team of women who have been successful in different industries and bringing that experience back to young girls from the age of seven, eight, and showing them that we look alike. There’s a woman who has been successful in finance, in health care, in sports, and has those conversations. So different types of formats. We have webinars. We go to schools and explain what our leadership journey is, the challenges we have faced.
Ikram Guerd:
And we have also kind of a dating, networking session where they can get to ask their question. And it’s super empowering and super cute in some ways to have those young girls, eight years old, very, like, impressed. Yeah. And at the same time, very open and very curious to ask questions. How did you get there? What is it and what is a surgeon doing, and how can I get there? And seeing women who look like you also is very inspiring. So that’s really about the mission we have. So finding those role models in different industries.
Amy Vaughan:
I love it. I love it. That has to be so fulfilling and satisfying. And I love thank you for sharing your story about that, boss, because I’m sure all of us have kind of been in some similar situation, and I just all I could think, Ekram was like, who’s laughing now? You know? Like, who’s laughing now? Like, she’s been a leader now for, like, fifteen, twenty years. Who’s laughing? And then I always joke and say, like, if the one way to get me to do Elle and anything is to tell me that I can’t do it. Exactly. Right? Because then I’m gonna be like, watch me.
Ikram Guerd:
Yes. Exactly. I’m the same way.
Amy Vaughan: Right? Gotta prove I’m wrong. And I do feel like something like this where you can find the time, space, and opportunity to volunteer. I think there’s, like, this volunteer fatigue that has happened over the last, like, five or six years just because, again, the world’s gone through a lot. But I think I love that you’re still doing this because I think there’s so much that you get back. It’s not just about the giving. You, like, you receive so much. Right? Because I coach girls soccer. I’ve done there’s a local community here called, Innovation Girls that I’ve helped to support.
Amy Vaughan:
And I, honestly, I know that they get big eyed, starry eyed when, like, we walk in, but I get just as psyched when they walk in because they’re just so brilliant. Like, they don’t even know it yet, but they’re just so brilliant. And they’re still very uninhibited, which I love. You know, the world’s not beating them down and making them pessimistic. So I highly encourage you all.
Ikram Guerd:
Yes.
Amy Vaughan:
If you feel like you’re lacking, like, that sense of connection, purpose, self, like, just getting out there in community with others and volunteering is such a great way to do it. So I love, love, love that you’re doing that, Ikram. It sounds like an amazing group.
Ikram Guerd:
Likewise. Likewise. I love it. And that’s, going back to your second question, sometimes it’s difficult to balance because you have your full time job, you have your family job. You also have other commitments here and here. I’m the kind of person who likes to be. I’m very curious. So I love to learn something new every day. I love to network with people, get to know other, inspiring leaders, and, being able to find some time also to volunteer.
Ikram Guerd:
Mhmm. But that’s the kind of activity where you just get out of it, and you just feel fulfilled.
Amy Vaughan:
Oh, yeah.
Ikram Guerd:
It just makes you feel super good, and it kind of rebalances all the things going on in your life. It’s like, okay. I’m doing that, but I’m definitely seeing some impact. And just planting a seed early on, and maybe this young girl will be, an inspiring leader. And that’s something I will be kind of, very proud, like a kind of like a mama.
Amy Vaughan:
Uh-huh. No. Exactly. I believe it. I agree with you. Every time I volunteer, I consider it a form of self care. I consider it as just for me as for anybody else because like what you said, when you walk away feeling good about it, my daughter was 11. He was in a bit of a slump in the fall and just feeling kind of powerless.
Amy Vaughan:
That was the first thing I thought of. It was like, what volunteer activity could I sign her up for? Like, what we do as a family that might make her feel like she can make a difference. She can make an impact. She can make a change. So again, you know, I know so many of us were talking about health care and regulatory and, like, clients and all these things. Like, it can always feel like it’s no, no, no, no, no. Very, very barrier. But, like, things like this are, you know, not just opening up doors for yourself, but definitely opening up doors and, you know, perspective for others.
Amy Vaughan:
So thanks again for doing that work. I love that you do it.
Ikram Guerd:
Likewise.
Amy Vaughan:
Alright. Cool. Well, we’re at our power round questions. These are fun, like, lightning round types of questions. I wanted to know, is there a specific marketing metric that you think matters more in women’s health than other industries in particular and one that or one that people might be overlooking?
Ikram Guerd:
Not necessarily specific to fintech. Although I would probably think about metrics around patient experience
Amy Vaughan:
Mhmm.
Ikram Guerd:
Score, things where we can also capture how the patient is, feel more comfortable and respected when they engage with your brand. And then you can use different points to measure that. Mhmm. The engagement on social media, having services, if they are going to, to their physician to see how the experience was, but they being able to have some kind of patient experience score Mhmm. That you can really highlight also to health care providers and showing that it’s working, you’re making an impact, and overall, it’s helping the women.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah. Testimonials are far overlooked across all industries, I think, for how many reviews we like to rate and that are out there. Yeah. I’m just as guilty.
Ikram Guerd:
So yeah.
Amy Vaughan:
Totally. Let’s see. I, you know, I know that you’re on the marketing side. I’m not sure how close you are to, like, your like, you know, the gaining capital and fundraising and things like that. But, you know, I feel like when I have talked to women in any kind of femtech space overall, it’s often dubbed as, like, too niche for too much for much of the investment. Never mind. We’re 50% of the population and 85% of the buying power in this country. No big deal.
Amy Vaughan:
So I’m sure you’ve heard this too, but what are some ways in which you’ve tried to or that Apivix has tried to respond to that kind of classic notion that femtech is too niche?
Ikram Guerd:
Oh my god. You have no idea how many times we’ve heard this. So I’m also helping with the fundraising for the company. And you
Amy Vaughan:
Oh, you are okay.
Ikram Guerd:
Yeah. And when you pitch to investors, most of the time investors are men. Yep. And it’s heartbreaking in some ways to see we are 51% of the total population. Yep. So definitely not a niche market Mhmm. Getting only 2% of the total VC fundings. Right.
Ikram Guerd:
The potential of fintech is huge. That’s one of the fastest growing sectors in health care right now.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah.
Ikram Guerd:
So that’s why we need more money. We need more innovation. We need more talent joining. We need to talk more about everything we are doing.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah.
Ikram Guerd:
I’m starting to hear less and less about this market niche. Good. I don’t know if it’s finally changing. Mhmm. But at the end of the day, we are not getting all the investment. Right. So still work in progress. That’s awesome.
Ikram Guerd:
I’m I’m I’m hearing it less and less. Maybe one of the reasons is that we are also getting more women. Yeah. Joining the VC world. So investing themselves. So they can understand, they can relate, and they can understand why it is important to invest. Yeah. So I will encourage more women to join. And also just men overall, just, going back to the educational piece.
Ikram Guerd:
Yeah. It’s really about education. That’s something they won’t have to go through. Right. This type of contraception, all the different conditions we might have or challenges we have as a woman.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah.
Ikram Guerd:
But educate them. They all have wives, sisters, daughters Yeah. In their life that at some point might need to go through any of that. Right. So I love doing, during those pitches, having just a conversation and being a little bit controversial in the way I present the device. So just showing our medieval instrument that is currently used and just thinking about how you would feel if it was used on your body part.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah.
Ikram Guerd:
And then we can have a conversation.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah.
Ikram Guerd:
So it has been amazing to see the reactions. Like, oh, this is it, is it how it’s used? And it’s still in use?
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh.
Ikram Guerd:
And it’s like, I don’t want my girlfriend to go through that. Uh-uh. And when you think about just IUD, 99% of the most efficient contraceptive solutions.
Amy Vaughan:
Oh, yeah.
Ikram Guerd:
But so many women are just afraid of pain. So it’s really about changing that conversation
Amy Vaughan:
Mhmm.
Ikram Guerd:
On the patient level, but also from the investor side. It’s like really understanding the potential. Like, if we can eliminate that, the potential of the market just financially is also very important.
Amy Vaughan:
Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I mean, it’s a great call to action for our allies. Put your money where your mouth is. Like, you know, if you’ve got money to invest and you are an ally, like, find those diverse groups to invest in. And then, also, I would say to women, I agree with you. More women we need more women investors, and you don’t have to be sitting on a buttload of cash to be an investor.
Amy Vaughan:
There are loads of groups out there that are, like, social impact and Exactly. You know, angel investors and things like that. Actually, another person is like me. I made a list now. A big group of all these people I wanna introduce you to. I love it. And one of them is also a mentor and friend of mine, Sue Baggett, who’s a part of Queen City Angel Investors, huge advocate and proponent for, you know, helping more women get funding. She was a co-producer for Show Her the Money, which is a documentary they’ve been screening all across the globe.
Amy Vaughan:
And so she’s got some great connections too. That’s why I wanna connect you to her so she can connect you to her people that are specifically looking for femtech and femtech or fem and health care, like, feminine health care type of things to invest in. So, I mean, if you guys are always, like, constantly looking and raising, that’s hard. That’s another job on top of your job. You know?
Ikram Guerd:
Exactly. Exactly. It can be, yeah, exhausting. But at the same time, I always take that as an opportunity to educate, to connect with other people. Absolutely. And, you get to use marketing skills also in that setting in a different way. So that’s another kind of stakeholders. And it’s all at the end of the day, when you think about the common thread, it’s all about the story.
Ikram Guerd:
So what is your storytelling? How do you create that connection, that emotional connection so then people can remember you? So it could be through different ways, but I love this exercise as well.
Amy Vaughan:
I agree. It is. It is a good exercise because you’re constantly having to pivot, and you’re having to take something that is intended for your target audience and then explain it to and simplify it and get the people to empathize that are not. Because, right, usually, the investors, the people on the other side of the table when you’re vying for capital don’t look like you. And I heard that from so many again, I’ve got so many female friends who are business owners within, like, tech and other places that it is. It’s that same thing. You’re sitting across the table, and it’s really hard to help them relate. But I think sometimes, like you said, getting a little controversial and being like, would you like this used on yourself and your parts? No.
Amy Vaughan:
No. On your wife? I need a no. Pretty much sold at that point. At least I hope so. If not, then I don’t know. Maybe there’s something else we gotta talk about. But alright. One last quick one.
Amy Vaughan:
What is the most unexpected place that you have found inspiration for a campaign that you’ve done in the past?
Ikram Guerd:
There’s no one specifically. I would say just be very open minded, and I’m very curious. I don’t necessarily take a look at anything that is done within health care. There’s so many great examples, but I’m always trying to be very curious
Amy Vaughan:
Mhmm.
Ikram Guerd:
And, look at different industries. The sports industry is very interesting in the way that they are empowering also the Yeah. Sport leaders. So how can we use what they are using in our congregation? Mhmm. Because at the end of the day, it’s also about empowering women. So that’s an industry I kind of like, and I’m interested in looking at what they’re doing. Mhmm. Especially right now, they’re doing what we need to take a look at, the last campaign with Nike, really focused finally on women.
Ikram Guerd:
So how do we tackle that, and is there anything that we can learn from it or maybe maybe something that they can learn from us too? But really looking at other industries and the way they’re approaching and so on.
Amy Vaughan:
I love that advice. That’s fantastic. Yeah. I agree. I never loved that. Like, what’s your favorite campaign running currently within this industry or vertical? And I’m just like, you know what? I’m lining up my business. If I’m doing anything, I’m looking out to see what other groups and other industries are doing because that feels more disruptive than just seeing what’s already there and then trying to copy somebody else’s effort.
Ikram Guerd:
Yes.
Amy Vaughan:
I love it. Such a helpful conversation. Like, again, so insightful, Ekram. Thank you so much. I know our listeners are gonna wanna follow you and your work. What is the best place for them to connect with you and learn more about, Apex?
Ikram Guerd:
They can reach out to me on LinkedIn, so I’m easily fine. So you can just find me at Ecom.notes. Very open to engage and network with any of you. And, as Felix, they can go to and maybe we can have in the Yeah. In the chat, the link. So it’s Aspivix.com, aspivix . Com. So feel free to reach out, ask questions, and I’ll be happy to answer.
Amy Vaughan:
Absolutely. Well, our listening audience is quiet, so I’m guessing they don’t have any questions at the moment. But as she said, you can reach out to her on LinkedIn. And then as soon as I’m done clicking around on all the wrong things, I’ll drop that on the website in there for you all. To everyone listening, I hope you’ve enjoyed the episode today. We’d love it if you’d subscribe to the power lounge. It’s streaming on all channels that you might listen to podcasts on. Most of our community does listen to Apple Podcasts, so you can easily find us there.
Amy Vaughan:
And of course, of course, I hope that you join us together in digital.com. If you want to connect with more amazing women who are sharing their knowledge and lifting each other up in the digital space, this is the place. This is the place. We do this all day every day, and it’s, like, the best feeling ever. So I encourage you to get on with it. Alright, everyone. Thank you so much. We hope to see you next week.
Amy Vaughan:
Ikram, again, thank you so much for being with us today.
Ikram Guerd:
Thank you, Amy. It was a pleasure. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Amy Vaughan:
Take care, everyone. Bye.
