How Nanette is Breaking New Ground as a Black Woman in MedTech
Nanette Sene, founder of Juno Technologies
As a Black woman in the medical tech space, Nanette Sene knows what it's like when both you – and the product you’ve created – are truly unique. While her journey as a Black female founder has been lonely at times, she says there’s also been lots of opportunity.
“In business, we have found people that supported us from the community. We won recently an investment prize at Startupfest. It was the Black Entrepreneur prize. So the fact that I am Black opened that door when it comes to investors,” she says. “So yes, it was lonely, and I haven't seen anyone, as I mentioned, doing medtech that is a black woman, yet in a way, I have found a lot of support.”
Nanette's groundbreaking innovation has captured the attention of more than just investors. As a newly minted mechanical engineering grad, Nanette was pursuing a masters in tech management and innovation. This is when she realized that she really loved business.
“One of the first things they tell you in business school is basically, if you want to build a business, make sure you solve a big problem, an important problem.” As she began thinking about what she could tackle, one thing came to mind: menstrual pain. “It's okay, take your Advils, take your medication, or just heat a heating bag but I just felt like, in 2020 at that time, we should have something a bit more innovative, or at least have more options. So that's when I said, Okay, let me build something that's innovative, that allows me to use my degrees in engineering that also touch on the medical field. So that's medical treatment, and that will allow you to function when you need to go to work, when you need to go to school.”
Nanette's company, Juno Technologies, is developing a wearable device for promising quick & lasting relief from menstrual pain. Both discrete and innovative, their product led to a 79% reduction in menstrual pain, with 78% of pilot study participants saying they would trade their medication for Juno Technology’s solution. They've now begun building on the second version, making improvements and preparing a commercial version of their unique product. One big hurdle they must face: getting their invention certified by the FDA in the US and Health Canada. Nanette says there's still a long way to go.
“We are right now in the middle of raising money from private investors because, so far, all the money in the business was basically prizes and brands. So we reached a point of maturity of the business where we felt like it was a good time to bring in investors.” In the US, only 2% of venture capital goes to firms founded solely by women and, according to the World Economic Forum, Black woman start-up founders only received 0.34% of that investment money. Nanette credits the public support her product has been receiving as one of the reasons why it’s been looked upon a bit more favourably by potential investors. As a Black woman entrepreneur based in Quebec, she says the environment for innovation is good.
“One thing that is good: in Quebec, we do have a lot of support when it comes to the ecosystem, like accelerator programs,” she says. “If you're doing AI, there's a lot of programs for AI that are interesting in Quebec.”
For a Black entrepreneur who might be just starting out, Nanette recommends first taking a deep-dive into all of the available resources in the province and beyond, maximizing on everything that’s available. “You're not in a prison in Quebec. So if you see opportunities outside of Quebec, you can go and reach for those opportunities. For example, in May, I went and pitched in Vancouver for a prize, and I won. So don't forget to see the broader picture, going outside of the province if necessary.”
The plan is to take Juno Technologies south of the border, pitching in competitions down there as well.