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- ITH: Dec 14th 2024 - Interview Special - Alice Zheng
ITH: Dec 14th 2024 - Interview Special - Alice Zheng
Peiru Teo
December 14, 2024
Hi! This is where health and tech intersect!
In today’s healthtech, we are spotlighting our interview with the amazing, Alice Zheng, a force in the women’s healthtech space. We are incredibly thankful for the opportunity to deep dive with her on issues of women’s health, solutions stakeholders, digital and scientific investments, diversity, and the future of the women’s health around the world.
image credit: Alice Zheng LinkedIn
Alice Zheng: A Force in Women’s Health Investments
Alice Zheng is a Partner at Foreground Capital, an early-stage VC fund spun out from RH Capital that focuses exclusively on women’s health. With a background as a physician and experience in global public health, Zheng combines clinical expertise with investment acumen to drive innovation in an underserved sector. Her own experiences with fertility, abortion, and pregnancy bring a unique perspective to her venture capital work. Consequently, over her career, she has contributed to building one of the largest women’s health-focused VC portfolios, helping to definitively shift the spotlight onto the critical area of women’s healthcare.
Women’s Health: A Space of Unmet Needs
“…many of the early believers in the field were folks who had personal experiences. It’s unsurprising if you’re affected yourself you’re going to find a solution if there isn’t one today, and that type of drive and passion can be really important for founder commitment.”
Women’s health remains riddled with gaps—both in research and care. Zheng highlights how conditions like endometriosis, which affects 5–10% of women of reproductive age, still lack adequate treatments. Menopause is another area that affects all biologically born women yet receives minimal attention in medical training. Maternal health, while extensively discussed, often focuses only on the act of childbirth, overlooking broader conditions that impact maternal well-being.
“So if you combine large population sizes with high clinical needs, that actually makes for a very, very ripe opportunity for innovation.”
What stands out is the sheer size of the opportunity. Women’s health issues affect millions worldwide, yet many of these conditions have no solutions or are poorly understood. Zheng emphasizes that this isn’t just a problem for healthcare systems—it’s a missed opportunity for innovation. Investing in women’s health offers the chance to address significant societal challenges while creating value in a market that has been overlooked for far too long.
image credit: Foreground Capital
The Ripple Effect: Elevating Awareness Across Stakeholders
“So there’s a lot of different stakeholders involved here, but definitely, I think all of them need to work together to elevate that kind of awareness around women’s health issues.”
Zheng emphasizes that solving the challenges in women’s health requires engagement from multiple stakeholders, not just investors. Medical education plays a critical role, as many physicians are undertrained in diagnosing and treating women’s health conditions like endometriosis or menopause. Zheng points out the need to empower women to advocate for themselves—asking better questions, seeking alternative care options, and demanding solutions when existing systems fail them.
At the same time, technology and innovation can help bridge these gaps. Companies developing decision-making tools for doctors, patient education platforms, or personalized diagnostic tools have the potential to streamline care pathways. Zheng also stresses the importance of involving pharmaceutical companies in separating clinical data by gender and addressing gender-specific gaps in trials. In her view, systemic change requires collaboration across education, technology, industry, and individual empowerment, creating a ripple effect that elevates awareness and drives action.
Balancing Scientific Innovation and Scalable Solutions
“We actually play across all the segments because we believe that there are different solution types for different problems.”
Foreground Capital’s investment strategy reflects the varied nature of challenges in women’s health. Zheng explains that a portion of the fund’s portfolio focuses on digital health solutions—accessible, scalable platforms that can address immediate needs. These include tools for better access to contraception, prescription delivery systems, or digital platforms that empower women to manage their health more effectively. These solutions often have shorter commercialization timelines and can quickly demonstrate impact.
“…digital health and health services: could they commercialize off the bat? So you can see very clearly early on how the company is performing in terms of product market fit, and if they’re on a trajectory to reach $50 million in the next four or five years…”
The other half of the portfolio leans into new scientific innovations. These are longer-term investments targeting areas with deep scientific and clinical challenges, such as treatments for endometriosis or diagnostics for conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome. These ventures often require rigorous clinical trials and substantial validation but tackle some of the most entrenched gaps in healthcare.
“…the scientific companies, they’re are not going to be commercialized before exit, most likely. It’s more about scientific underpinnings. Is it valid data? How’s the data look? How’s the clinical trial being run?”
By balancing these two approaches, Zheng ensures that Foreground Capital’s portfolio addresses both immediate needs and long-term transformation in women’s health.
The Role of Diverse Leadership
“I would say 90% of our portfolio is founded or led by women or people of color. So we do believe it is important, and although we don’t screen for it explicitly, it does show in our outcomes.”
Zheng stresses the importance of diversity in leadership for companies targeting women’s health. While many founders in this space are motivated by personal connections to the issues, she notes that leadership teams must reflect the populations they aim to serve. Companies with all-male leadership teams risk missing critical insights into the needs and experiences of women, which can hinder their ability to design effective solutions.
“I think it’s not ideal if a company targeting women has only male leadership. So in my mind, there should be blended leadership.”
She also advocates for inclusive leadership that brings together both men and women. This combination allows for a broader societal perspective alongside firsthand understanding of the issues at hand. She also points out that diversity is not just a women’s health issue—it’s a broader challenge across sectors. Organizations that prioritize diverse leadership tend to perform better, innovate more effectively, and deliver stronger outcomes for all stakeholders.
image credit: Foreground Capital LinkedIn (Alice Zheng on a panel at HLTH USA 2024)
Why It Matters: Opportunities for Healthtech Innovation and Investment
“More and more generalist funds are reaching out to us, wanting to learn, wanting to get involved. So that’s a great sign.”
Women’s health has gained significant momentum over the past few years, with more investors and policymakers recognizing its potential. Zheng notes that generalist funds, which historically ignored this space, are now actively seeking opportunities to invest in women’s health. Conferences like the one held at the New York Stock Exchange—where Zheng facilitated discussions with over 200 major investors—demonstrate the growing visibility of this sector. Policy changes in Europe and Canada further underscore the increasing support for innovation in women’s health.
“…we see a lot of positive movement on the regulatory side, and just public awareness, there’s been a lot more discourse, among people themselves and women’s health, which has been great to see.”
For the healthtech and investment communities, this shift represents a critical moment. Women’s health represents an incredible challenge; it affects half the global population and requires an array of solutions, from digital tools to cutting-edge science to address. Investing in this space means facing long-standing gaps while driving progress for millions of people. Zheng highlights that collaboration between investors, medical educators, and the broader healthcare ecosystem will be essential to sustain this momentum.
Women’s health is no longer a footnote in healthcare—it’s becoming a core focus for innovation and investment. As Zheng puts it:
“…investing in women’s health isn’t just about your personal health or the health of the women in your life, it’s a good business opportunity.”
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