A/Prof Fiona Brownfoot and Dr. Emerson Keenan are the co-founders of Kali Healthcare, a company determined to improve fetal monitoring — technology that has remained largely unchanged since the 1960s.

Kali Healthcare has developed an electrical sensing wearable patch for fetal monitoring, providing clinicians with real-time information leading to improved patient outcomes.

Fiona and Emerson discuss the power of consumer-centric design (like making the hardware look like a makeup compact), and offer key lessons on how to secure funding and integrate new technology into complex healthcare systems.

02:45 – Fiona and Emerson speak about their backgrounds

03:26 – Origins of Kali Healthcare

06:00 – How Kali Healthcare's electrical sensing wearable patch works

07:27 – How clinicians are making use of the real-time insights

10:00 – What makes Kali Healthcare’s wearable different to existing solutions

13:33 — Breakthroughs they’ve experienced

16:00 – Stepping into the founder role and the "ultimate rollercoaster"

20:02 – Fundraising lessons: why it always takes longer than you think

21:09 – Advice for other healthcare founders

🌐 Kali Healthcare - https://www.kalihealthcare.com/

Assoc. Prof. Fiona Branford - https://www.linkedin.com/in/a-prof-fiona-brownfoot-871036b8

Emerson Keenan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/emersonkeenan

Acknowledgment of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we record and pay our respects to their Elders, past and present. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters, and culture.

Disclaimer

The New Script is a podcast created for educational and awareness-raising purposes only. The conversations you’ll hear are not intended to be medical advice.

Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for any personal medical concerns or decisions.

Frances LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frances-goh/

Makenzie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/makenziethomas/

The New Script is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators & investors. https://dayone.fm/newsletter

In this episode of The New Script, Makenzie Thomas and Frances Goh sit down with Ash Ramachandran, founder and CEO of Sapyen, an at-home male fertility testing company that’s helping men take charge of their reproductive health.

Ash shares how his background in research, venture capital, and global health led him to build Sapyen, and what he’s learned about the hidden factors affecting male fertility. He explains how sperm health reflects overall wellbeing, why lifestyle and early testing matter, and what needs to change in how we talk about fertility and family planning.

The conversation also explores the realities of building a medtech startup from Australia, the challenges of fundraising in healthcare, and the importance of supporting founders’ mental health along the way.

02:27 – From asteroid mining and venture capital to founding Sapyen

03:32 – The idea behind Sapyen and rethinking male fertility testing

05:20 – How fertility clinics are changing and where gaps remain

05:54 – Breaking the stigma around male fertility

08:39 – What sperm quality tells us about health and fertility

10:37 – Why including men improves outcomes for couples

12:36 – The emerging research on sperm health and pregnancy

14:17 – How the Sapyen test works and what users can expect

15:41 – Building a global health company from Australia

17:11 – From investor to founder: lessons in healthcare fundraising

22:30 – Learning from early challenges and “favorite failures”

26:54 – Managing wellbeing and founder mental health

29:39 – Why men’s health matters for the future of fertility

31:34 – What’s next for Sapyen

35:00 – If Ash could rewrite the script on men’s health

🌐 Sapyen – http://www.sapyen.co/

👨‍🔬 Ash Ramachandran (LinkedIn) – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashwinramachandran1/

Acknowledgment of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we record and pay our respects to their Elders, past and present. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters, and culture.

Disclaimer

The New Script is a podcast created for educational and awareness-raising purposes only. The conversations you’ll hear are not intended to be medical advice.

Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for any personal medical concerns or decisions.

Frances LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frances-goh/

Makenzie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/makenziethomas/

The New Script is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators & investors. https://dayone.fm/newsletter

After two decades leading global marketing at Adidas and in biotech, Mayra Hurtado hit a wall, fatigue, sleeplessness, migraines. It wasn’t burnout; it was her hormones. That realisation set her on a new mission to close one of medicine’s most overlooked gaps: women’s hormonal health.

In this episode of The New Script, Makenzie Thomas and Frances Goh sit down with Mayra, co-founder and CEO of Prelude Health, the Singapore-based startup behind Hormony, the world’s first rapid, at-home saliva hormone test for women navigating perimenopause.

Mayra shares how Hormony blends science, technology, and behavioural insights to help women get “back in tune” with their bodies, why perimenopause is still misunderstood, and how education and early testing can transform preventive care. She also opens up about building a global team across Singapore, Mexico, and New Zealand, raising capital in a sector that still receives less than 3% of venture funding, and reframing failure as redirection.

You’ll hear why hormonal health is the next frontier in women’s wellbeing, how healthy women drive healthy economies, and why mental and physical health can’t be separated, for founders or for anyone.

02:05 – Mayra Hurtado’s journey from global marketing to femtech founder

05:57 – Why hormones have been ignored in medical research for decades

07:55 – Perimenopause vs menopause — what really happens to your body

11:38 – The meaning behind “Hormony” and the science of hormonal balance

12:06 – How Hormony works: personalised saliva testing and daily habit design

16:37 – From corporate leadership to startup life — lessons in transition

18:22 – Building a global team across Singapore, Mexico & New Zealand

20:54 – Raising capital in women’s health and closing the gender funding gap

26:17 – Failures, feedback, and learning to treat setbacks as redirections

28:35 – Mayra’s non-negotiables: sleep, gratitude, and mental health connection

32:28 – The case for holistic health and why women’s wellbeing powers economies

36:28 – If Mayra could rewrite the script: teaching hormonal health from childhood

🧬 Hormony by Prelude Health – https://www.findhormony.com/

👩‍💼 Mayra Hurtado (LinkedIn) – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayrahurtado/

Acknowledgment of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we record and pay our respects to their Elders, past and present. We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters, and culture.

Disclaimer

The New Script is a podcast created for educational and awareness-raising purposes only. The conversations you’ll hear are not intended to be medical advice.

Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for any personal medical concerns or decisions.

Frances LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frances-goh/

Makenzie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/makenziethomas/

The New Script is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators & investors. https://dayone.fm/newsletter