Brand Awareness And Access Are Saving Lives

One in three women is currently behind on cervical cancer screening, and Kara Egan is closing that gap with the first FDA-authorized at-home test. The CEO of Teal Health on why healthcare forgot design, and what happens when branding finally gets to do its job.

🔬 The Gap Nobody Talks About: Cervical cancer is entirely preventable through screening. But close to one in three women are behind. Teal is built to bring that number down to zero.

🎨 Healthcare Forgot Design. Teal Didn't: Open a Teal box and it says "Welcome to a more comfortable cervical cancer screening." Teal Health built the product around the best practices women already expect from every other category they spend money in.

🏥 Awareness and Access Are the Real Problem: Most women don't know the Pap smear is a cervical cancer screening. And even if they do, finding the time and the appointment is its own barrier. The Teal wand removes both.

💡 Health Tech Investor to Healthcare Consumer to Founder: Kara started in health tech investing, worked across tech companies, and became a consumer of healthcare herself. That full-circle view is exactly what it took to see the gap clearly enough to close it.

🌱 Your Later Self Is the One Who Takes the Leap: Kara started Teal at 39, pregnant with her second. Her advice: stop worrying about the perfect path early on. The point is making sure your later self is willing to take the jump.