Rosy Wellness is taking a massive leap forward in advancing its mission to transform the sex lives of women across the country.
The Dallas-based startup has closed a $2 million round of seed funding to further develop its flagship platform, which gives women access to resources that aren’t traditionally readily available. It’s a groundbreaking advancement in an otherwise quiet industry: women’s sexual health.
The round was led by True Wealth Ventures, an Austin-based VC fund that invests in female-led companies, with additional participation from Portfolia’s Femtech II Fund and Mindshift Capital.
Rosy plans to use the capital to further grow its team and conduct groundbreaking research in its field.
A part of everyone’s life, but ‘no one is talking about it’
“Sexual health is a part of everyone’s life, yet when it comes to women’s sexual health, no one is talking about it,” Portfolia’s Jane van Dis, MD, said in a statement. “Rosy is leading the charge to break down stigmas and shine a light on women, sex, pleasure, and wellness in the evidence-based way that women deserve.”
In August, Rosy secured $1.345 million of the $2 million seed offering to grow its consumer base and continue iterating its technology. Previous funding included two local investors: Alex Snodgrass of healthy food blog The Defined Dish and Laura Baldwin, managing director of Golden Seeds, a national angel network investing in female-led companies.
Rosy offers trusted information and interventions via a free app, which includes a sexual wellness score, access to an extensive library of education, and a community for women to openly discuss their sex lives.
Doctor-turned-entrepreneur
Armed with years of experience as an OB-GYN and funding from angel and seed investors, the doctor-turned-entrepreneur also launched a free app and first-of-its-kind telehealth service. Rosy Telehealth enables computer-based, discreet sessions through the Rosy mobile platform for women experiencing decreased sexual desire.
The first-of-its-kind mobile platform was founded by board-certified OB-GYN Dr. Lyndsey Harper, and is designed and supported by additional doctors and psychologists.
The idea for Rosy originally came from Harper’s desire to give her patients an adequate place to address their decreased sexual desire. Too often in her private practice, patients would express their need for help with problems like low sexual desire, sexual pain, and orgasmic dysfunction.
It was a tall task for a first-time entrepreneur: 43 percent of women have some sort of sexual health problem, but don’t have the necessary materials to solve it.
Rosy was Harper’s way of filling that gap. In 2019, the CEO launched Rosy for women to “take back control over their sexual health.”
It’s a way for women who are often embarrassed and unsure of the resources they need to erase the sexual shame they might feel. Ultimately, Harper hopes to “fundamentally change the world for future generations of women.”
It goes beyond the problem of low libido—Rosy helps women improve their self-esteem, overall health, and relationships. Harper aims to put sexual health tools in the hands of women everywhere.
“It is time that women everywhere feel empowered to talk about sexual health issues and have access to convenient solutions for their needs,” Harper says. “I created Rosy with the goal of revolutionizing the way women and their providers think about, talk about, and treat women’s sexual problems.”
Recent studies validate Rosy’s approach
Rosy says that research conducted last year shows that its users experienced “statistically significant improvements in many aspects of sexual function including desire, arousal, orgasm, and lubrication.”
The findings, according to the startup, both validated its method and highlighted its differentiation in the sexual health and wellness space.
A recent study from Mount Sinai Hospital also lauded the platform. At the American Urogynecology Society annual meeting, Dr. Alexandra Dubinskaya and others referred to Rosy as the only app “approved to be recommended to patients by experts in the field.”
Currently, over 6% of OB-GYNs in the U.S. recommend Rosy to patients. In its first two years since launching, Rosy has attracted more than 3,500 physicians, psychologists, therapists, and other healthcare professionals to its tech platform.
Today, Rosy has offered its sexual health services to more than 100,000 women across the country.
“Rosy is proud to smash taboos around women’s sexual health,” Harper says, “and prove that everyone, investors included, should be paying attention to these interventions that women need, want, and deserve.”
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