“The only answer they ever seemed to get from doctors was to ‘just go on the pill’,” she says.
This was the turning point for Orchowski. She was seeing these women being let down and not seeing progress on their health goals, and it inspired her startup journey.
“I realised that to truly help my clients, I needed better biometric data, but tracking body temperature with oral thermometers every morning was impractical,” she says. “Wearables at the time weren’t built for cycle tracking, they had been built on male physiology. That frustration sparked the idea that led to Kyri.”
Initially called FemTek when Orchowski founded the company in 2020, Kyri creates cutting-edge technology, such as the Basal Body Ring, to support women to track and understand their cycles.
With data on basal body temperature, heart rate, and other essential biometrics, Kyri aims to help women make informed decisions about fertility, family planning, and managing underlying women’s health issues with overall health tracking.
Having been in operation for around five years, Kyri has already seen a significant amount of success. In early 2024, the company had a $1 million funding round, led by Arcanys Ventures and Techstars, along with support from angel investors.
Later that same year, the company went through its rebrand to Kyri, a name inspired by the warrior women of Norse mythology, the Valkyrie.
Filling the gap in women’s health tech
When the idea for Kyri first sparked for Orchowski, she says she noticed that everything in the tech space had been designed around men, leaving a gap in the market for a product that accounted for women’s unique physiological needs.
Instead of being offered band-aid solutions like birth control, Orchowski knew that women needed to be able to have discussions about the root cause of their symptoms.
“The biggest challenge I saw was a total lack of education and support around menstrual health,” she says, noting as well that women were often told their period problems were normal, even if they weren’t.
“[Women] were struggling to get accurate insights into their cycles and how their hormones were impacting their training, recovery, and overall health,” Orchowski says about what inspired Kyri. “The fitness and health industries had completely ignored these factors, leaving women stuck in a system designed around male physiology.”
Building products that serve women
As a female startup founder in the world of women’s health—a historically underfunded and overlooked space—there’s no doubt Orchowski has come up against her fair share of challenges. Nevertheless, like so many other women in business, this hasn’t stopped her passion for the cause.
“We’ve had to fight for every step forward,” she says. “The research gaps, the lack of investment, and the constant need to educate people on why women need a completely different approach to health tech – it’s all been a steep uphill battle.”
For Orchowski, working to overcome the many barriers that female founders face is worth it because she believes “women deserve better”, and says “seeing how our product is helping them build body literacy and take control of their health makes all the challenges worth it.”
It’s this passionate and action-driven outlook that’s driving change within women’s health, and Orchowski wants more women to feel capable to “just start” if they have an entrepreneurial idea.
“Too many women wait until they feel ‘ready’, but you’re never going to feel 100% ready,” she says, adding that “the most important thing is taking action.”
Just like what happened with Kyri, Orchowski recommends that if “you see a problem that needs solving, chances are other women are experiencing the same thing,” so don’t be afraid to “build something that serves them”.
This article was written in partnership with and originally published by Women's Agenda.
