More than twelve years ago, I stepped away from an executive role with a multinational company at the height of my career and, as I would later learn, at the height of perimenopause. I did not know it then, but that period would mark the beginning of one of the most challenging and transformative chapters of my life.
In my late thirties, I began to feel like I was coming undone. Brain fog. Exhaustion. Anxiety that made no sense. I was leading teams, raising a young son, and suddenly struggling to think clearly or trust my own mind. I left doctors offices feeling unheard, unseen, and at times, unhinged, wondering if it really was all "just in my head".
I searched everywhere for answers. I spent thousands on private specialists and alternative practitioners, and even paid $3,000 for a so‑called comprehensive assessment that ended with more than 150 supplements a day. I did not get better, I just got tired and disillusioned.
Over the years, I rebuilt myself and redirected my energy into a new venture that solved technology challenges in schools. That work was deeply meaningful, and five years ago I led its successful exit. But even after that achievement, one question stayed with me: why did it have to be so hard to get the right care when I needed it most?
A few years later, sitting with my dear friend and now co‑founder, Dr. Nese Yuksel, a day we now call The Sunroom Summit, that question came roaring back. We were talking about the challenges women face in accessing menopause care. I agreed, but added, "I did access care. I paid for it. I looked everywhere, and I still suffered." That was the moment it became clear: access is not the only problem. The system itself is broken.
It is not just about finding care, it is about finding care that connects. Why is it so hard to get a proper assessment? Why is women's health still an afterthought? Why, when half the population experiences menopause, do so few doctors even say the word perimenopause?
This is not only about menopause. It is about a health system that is fragmented, reactive, and still paternalistic. Women's health has never truly been designed with us in mind.
Effica was born from that realization and from the conviction that the democratization of healthcare is long overdue. To me, that means truly owning our data, having real options and meaningful choice, and participating fully in our own care.
"At Effica, our care begins with you. From clarity comes confidence, and from confidence, control."
Because the assessment is not the hard part. The hard part is what comes after: making sense of it all, finding clarity, building trust, and having the right support to actually get well.
At Effica, our care begins with you. We help you bring together those fragments, the stories, the symptoms, the lab results, the lived experiences, and make them make sense. From that clarity, confidence and control can finally emerge.
I am so excited to see this come to life and to watch it change lives. I am incredibly grateful and deeply honoured to dedicate this part of my life to something so meaningful.
We cannot wait to meet you all.