Reimagining Egg Freezing and Donation: Lauren Makler on Building Cofertility

Speaker 1: Welcome to She Built It. I'm your host, Melanie Bar. Fast company named Lauren Mikler one of the most creative people in business, and her track record explains why. After helping launch Uber Health and expanding access to care for millions of patients, Lauren went on to co-found Coertility, a company reimagining egg freezing and egg donations through a model built on trust, transparency, and ethics. Today we talk about building in a complex healthcare market, earning consumer trusts, and creating a company around one of life's most personal decisions. Lauren, thank you for being here. I'm so excited for this. What was the moment or experience that made you realize that Co-fertility needed to exist? Our

Speaker 2: business is unlike anything else that's out there, right? So, at CoFertility, we help women freeze their eggs for free when they donate eggs to intended parents who need the help of an egg donor to have a baby. So, we're both making egg freezing more accessible and egg donation less transactional at the same time. And I had gone through my very own unique experience on my road to becoming a parent that made me realize this company needed to exist. So, um, I'll give you the the short version of it, but in 2017, I was in my late 20s and I was diagnosed with an incredibly rare abdominal disease. I was told that I would need a number of surgeries to remove the disease and I was very likely to lose my ovaries in the process. And as someone who always wanted to be a mom, I of course was like, well, what will my options be if I want to have kids someday? And the doctors told me that my disease was too rare to take a chance by freezing my eggs and that I may need an egg donor someday. And so I looked into it, had to learn everything I possibly could about egg donation and was really shocked by what I saw. I could not believe how antiquated and really icky the process was. This idea that women are paid tens of thousands of dollars to donate their eggs and that compensation goes up depending on how in demand that donor is felt crazy to me. Also, that a single donor could donate to several families without a limit, right? Like there's just so many things that didn't make sense to me. At home, DNA testing exists and yet they were still billing donors at as anonymous, right? Made no sense to me. And so I wanted nothing to do with it at the time. My sister decided she would freeze the eggs and donate them to me in case I needed them someday.

Speaker 1: That's great.

Speaker 2: And yeah, best. I mean, what's better than that, right? And my sister, she did that. I ended up going through three major surgeries. Miraculously did not lose my ovaries, but I got to live my life with the gift of frozen eggs, right? I got to make decisions about my career without the pressure of my biological clock. And I got to make decisions about my relationship without the pressure of my biological clock. And ultimately, I went on to have my children without using my sister's eggs.

Speaker 1: Like total miracles. But it almost like suddenly after I gave birth, I knew I had to help other people have this same miracle feeling that I had, right? right? If I was going to spend my days doing something, I wanted it to help people have the same feeling that I did. And I gave notice. I had been working at Uber for about 9 years at that point and was just like, "This is it. I got to run

Speaker 2: toward this." I love that you are doing this because the journey to becoming parents isn't always easy and it's so hard for so many. And I'm sorry that you had to go do the surgeries and and the things that you did. Um, so happy for you with your two two children, but it's it's not easy and it's not always talked about.

Speaker 1: No, it is

Speaker 2: sadly still taboo to talk about the like winding roads that many of us have to becoming parents. More and more people are are becoming more open about it, right? I think talking about miscarriage and talking about IVF is something that more people are willing to do, but the use of third party reproduction, using an egg donor or just like non-traditional paths are still something that I think people feel a sense of shame about, which is ridiculous because there is no path to parenthood that should ever feel shameful.

Speaker 1: It's so true. And I worked in major league sports. I worked for the Dodgers and I remember looking out at the empty field wondering if I would ever have kids and I loved working. I also wanted to be a mom and I knew that the men there and you know I love working with men and all people but I remember thinking they're not thinking this. They're not thinking how do I do both? How? And then I I'm a twin mom, so I went through IVF. And I remember I remember the morning I had to go. Like I didn't want to get out of bed. And I thought, what is this process going to be? And how am I going to get through it? And I remember going to the office thinking, I don't know how I'm going to feel dayto day.

Speaker 2: Yeah. Based on what I have to go through to become a parent.

Speaker 1: Wow. And all of those things are so so challenging. And people around you don't know what's happening. They don't know what you're going through and it's not easy, right? But that's because we've we've

Speaker 2: put this pressure on people that it's supposed to be this beautiful thing that happens. You get pregnant and then you're like barefoot and pregnant is this like image I have in my head. It's not always that easy. And it is absolutely a double standard that you were thinking those thoughts that your male colleagues didn't have to think, right? And and honestly, that's why I'm so passionate about egg freezing as an option for women because I think it helps contribute to gender equality and helps level the playing field when you imagine, you know, you're 30 years old working for the Dodgers and your

Speaker 1: male co-workers 30 years old working for the Dodgers. If we can take that ticking biological clock out of your ear, this pressure of when are you going to have a baby, when are you going to have a baby or when are you going to meet your partner? If we can remove that, like then you have the same mental capacity that the man sitting next to you has, right? But if you have that weighing on you all the time, how are you expected to like show up in the world and show up and do your work and focus in the same way? It's just not possible. And so I like to eliminate that burdensome feeling that so many women have as much as possible.

Speaker 2: Yeah. And I heard you say when your sister froze her eggs that that eliminated the I guess fear for you.

Speaker 1: Yeah. And and look, I'll say this, egg freezing is not a perfect science. Whatever biology is involved, it's not perfect, right? But, and I hate when I hear people describe egg freezing as like an insurance policy because it's not, right? It's not a perfect science, but women who freeze eggs are more likely to have children later in life than women who don't. And so, it's your best foot forward if you can do it. It's just unfortunate that the number one barrier is cost. So, we asked, you know, women between the ages of 21 and 34, are you interested in egg freezing? Over 90% said yes. We asked what's the number one barrier. Over 90% said cost. And the problem is that it costs between 15 and $20,000 to freeze your eggs. And the best time to freeze your eggs is when you can least afford it. It's like one of the crulest ironies of the human body. And so that's why I really wanted co-fertility to exist to help change that dynamic.

Speaker 2: share with us more about co-fertility and the work you're doing.

Speaker 1: It really is something where we're serving two very different audiences, right? On one side, we have women who you do have to be between the ages of 21 and 34 to qualify to donate eggs in the US. And so these are women who are thinking about their future, who are very careerdriven, who are ambitious, but who also want to leave their options open and they want to leave the possibilities on the table of this version of their life where they have it all, where they get to be a mom and they get to experience what that's like. and they get to do that with this full vision of their future that includes going to med school or law school or getting their MBA and all these really amazing endeavors that they're going after. Um 55% of our split members we call them, they have a graduate degree or higher. They 50% of them identify as women of color. Like they're really diverse. Amazing. I look at their backgrounds and I am like, "Wow, I my my resume is put to shame compared to like really impressive." And I think they're drawn to the idea that while doing something empowering for their own future, they can also help someone else at the same time. And so they often think about the intended parent on the other side who comes to co-fertility looking for an egg donor, never as plan A, never as plan B. maybe plan C, D, or F. They have tried everything. That could be a couple that experiences fertility challenges or has a genetic reason they need an egg donor. Or same-sex male couples who two gay men who want to be dads who always knew they'd need an egg donor are going through this process learning along the way what it takes. And we help them get to the other side. So, we actually just got a message from one of our intended parents yesterday that said after 10 years of trying to conceive, we finally got our first positive pregnancy test thanks to co-fertility.

Speaker 2: And that has to be so amazing.

Speaker 1: Like I can't even amazing. Like it's for me to even like call this work is is a is rough, right? I feel emotional even like saying that out loud because what's better than that? 10 years of trying. Like think about how wanted these children are. And that's what just feels really incredible and what my entire team is so focused on, which is like helping people who really want to have babies have babies. And for intended parents, that's a baby today. And for our split members, that's a baby someday.

Speaker 2: It's interesting to think being told you will have a challenge or you might not be able to do this. The worst feeling and the fact that you're able to help people through those times. Yeah. It's incredible.

Speaker 1: Thank you.

Speaker 2: What is the thing about co-fertility that lights you up that you could talk about all day?

Speaker 1: You know, I always tell people who are thinking about starting a business instead of being obsessed with the solution that you're bringing into the world, like are you obsessed with the problem you're solving? So, for me, I am obsessed with the fact that the best time to freeze your eggs is when you can least afford it. That is something I can't shake and I just feel so lit up about. And similarly, intended parents should have access to egg donors without feeling gross about it. Those are two problems that I will think about on every walk I take, every shower I take, talk about it every dinner party I'll I go to. My poor husband, thankfully, he too is obsessed with this problem now. doesn't have a choice because this is what I want to talk to him about after our kids go to bed. This is the problem that I have dedicated myself to solving. And the good thing about falling in love with a problem instead of a solution is that if you have to shift gears to solve the problem and adapt or pivot or whatever it takes, you won't care as long as the solution solves the problem. And the best businesses come from a

Speaker 2: need. And through your experience, I'm sure you saw it through. What do people need going through this process when they have things told to them that are just heartbreaking?

Speaker 1: Yeah. How do you support people through this?

Speaker 2: Yes. I had a doctor tell me when I said, "Will I have kids someday?" She told me, "Maybe you'll be a unicorn." Which no one ever wants to hear, right? And what now I wear a ring that has a unicorn on it every day as a reminder that like being a unicorn is possible, right? And so how do you hold people through what is one of the hardest times in their life and help them get to the other side and get to the point where they're sending me baby photos?

Speaker 1: Oh, everyone is using AI in different ways. How are you using AI in your business and where do you see the biggest opportunity to support in a fertility space?

Speaker 2: This is an area where I am very grateful to my husband and his passion and the thing he's obsessed with, which is AI, but also helping businesses and brands better understand how to use it, when to use it, what's appropriate, and sort of influencing cultural shifts and changes within a business. At Coertility, every year we do something called the Everything is Figure Outable Challenge. It is a that's one of our cultural values is everything is figure outable. And it's sort of a a hackathon type initiative where we spend 2 days solving some of our biggest challenges as a business. And this year was a vibe coding edition. And so we came up with six or seven challenges and we broke into cross functional teams and we gave our entire team training and access to claude and said hey let's go solve these problems using vibe coding. We have a tech team and we have product people on our team. But the ability to get our member advocates who have worked in fertility clinics for years and are now working at Coverertility using Claude and realizing that they now have at their fingertips the ability to solve problems that they are living and breathing every day was transformative for them I think as professionals but also for our company. And so an example is that like scheduling a split member's egg retrieval is challenging. It's based on when was her last period and when can she get to the fertility clinic for a twoe period of time and working through those details. And we had a member advocate on our team build a tool that now completely solves that problem and and makes it way easier to communicate the solution for them to know like, oh, I don't have to wait to get this on an engineering road map and I don't have to like make the business case as to why we need to prioritize energy sources for X over Y was really exciting for them. I had people ping me afterward and say like this was the best day of my career. And like realizing that they were just so much more capable than they ever imagined was really a powerful thing. And so that was about 3 months ago and now that is the new norm at Coertility which is really cool.

Speaker 1: It's such a good idea. It's so great and you know it's it can't always come up with the strategy but bringing in those people with those years of experience and trying to get that that strategy and see what outcomes come out. It's so smart. Let them solve their own problems, right? Like that's and and I think also admitting from the top down that [clears throat] these tools are new to leadership too. None of us know how to use this either. we're learning right alongside you makes it more digestible and something that we're doing together to like adopt companywide change as opposed to us forcing it down.

Speaker 2: You made it fun.

Speaker 1: Totally. There were prizes. It was like a whole thing.

Speaker 2: Reproductive health is deeply personal and an increasingly politicized topic. How are you thinking about co-fertility's visibility and

Speaker 1: positioning? We will always stand on the side of reproductive options and choice. That is an unshakable thing for me. We want families of all types and sizes to like have access to the resources and needs of what it takes to have a baby and to grow their family. And I think one of the most exciting things is the fact that both sides of the aisle are in fact concerned about the birth rate in our country and they want to do things to increase access. I'm leaning into that. If we can get everybody to agree, let's move forward in that direction. There are some concerning things that pop up in different states and we just keep an eye on it. And we're working with an organization called Resolve that is an advocacy organization for increasing access to IVF and treatment for military families and others who need more access. Cost is the number one barrier. And so if we can increase coverage for IVF for more families who need it, the better for everybody. So yeah. And I would think with technology it's getting easier. I would at least hope. That's the hope. I think sometimes the time it takes for technology to have an impact and to like really trickle down to ultimately reduce cost is the thing that I find most frustrating. Takes too long, but we're getting there. I'm optimistic.

Speaker 2: What is your biggest growth challenge right now and how are you thinking of solving it?

Speaker 1: You only have so much time to get your message across. If you're you're in watching a 30- secondond ad on Instagram, how much can really be communicated in 30 seconds knowing that it's the first 3 seconds that someone actually like [laughter] paying attention say I was going to say or five, right? Like it's you don't have a lot of time. And so for an a company like Coverertility that is insanely nuanced, it's complicated to to explain what we do, why we do it, how we do it. that 3 to 5 seconds, not enough time. And so that to me is a challenge. And so we're thinking about new ways that we can reach people with education and learning about their fertility and maybe getting to know us at a from a larger scale across different platforms. So we're testing a lot of different platforms and trying to communicate in different ways. Podcasts are great because you have someone listening for more than 5 seconds, which is ideal, but finding more opportunities like that where we have a little bit more real estate and time to get the message across is something that we're focused on. Yeah. And video is important. Also, audio. I mean, I go for walks or a run and I listen. Yeah. and when I have to try to navigate um keeping it o an app open so I can listen that's that frustrates me. So it's interesting to think about how to take in all of that content. Yes. The other challenge that we have too is that we don't have a physical product. You know, most companies that are trying to reach people have a visual that you're used to seeing, whether it's packaging or an actual product. And when you are trying to communicate something that's like a service or doesn't have that physical recognizable thing, it's an added challenge that I don't think I was expecting. But after 9 years at Uber, I guess you could show a car, but similar in that it was a service.

Speaker 2: Yeah. And that's my next question. You

Speaker 1: founded Uber Health and now Co-fertility, two different companies solving access problems to healthcare. What has changed the most in your leadership from one to the other? Interesting. With Uber Health, it was a business or it is a business inside a larger business, right? So my move there was what I call entrepreneurship, right? Being an entrepreneur inside a large organization. So sort of like Uber was our largest and only investor. And so you're kind of being an entrepreneur with the safety net of a larger company. So that comes with its own pros and cons, but the level of risk takingaking is quite different than when you're starting your own company and doing it yourself. And you realize that you are the person who is responsible for everything at the end of the day. any action anyone on my team takes or doesn't take is my fault, is my [clears throat] responsibility, or is my gift is like, oh yeah, I was responsible for that cuz I hired that person who did that great thing. I've realized with becoming an entrepreneur that there are higher highs and lower lows as a result because it's entirely on you. And that's something that I've had to adapt my nervous system to if I'm being totally honest. I don't know that I was ready for that when I started this company. And so I've adapted realizing that like I still really like to feel the high highs, but I can't let the low lows hit me as hard. And so I think that that's something that in my four and a half years of building co-fertility I've really worked on quite a bit is not letting the really hard days or hard things that happen impact how I show up for my team and especially for my family. Having, you know, now a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old, I don't want them to be able to tell when I had a bad day at work, you know.

Speaker 2: Yeah. So true. I miss those ages. They bring so much happiness cuz they have no idea what happened in your day.

Speaker 1: Well, they have no idea what hap Act actually, I will tell you, my 5-year-old, I've tried really hard to like bring her along on this ride for me.

Speaker 2: I love that.

Speaker 1: And she knows all of my co-workers, even though they're we're fully remote. She knows who they are. She knows who has kids, who doesn't. She likes to keep track of how many co-fertility babies have been born. She likes to likes to know their names. Um, and so I think that's helped. Um, but I think more than anything being their mom has helped me make it so that my entire identity is not wrapped up in co-fertility and that if god forbid all of this evaporated tomorrow, I'm still their mom and I'm still me and I won't evaporate if coertility does. And I think in a world before they were born, I allowed my entire identity to be the work that I was doing. And that's another change that I've I've really come a long way with for sure. And they

Speaker 2: It's interesting how a family and kids change that. And I was smiling when you mentioned nervous system. I do five minute meditations, 10-minute meditations in the morning. And that's become a ritual. And if I don't do it, my nervous system isn't as calm. And it's amazing what you can do in five minutes to regulate your nervous system.

Speaker 1: What do you use? Because I I'm like, I need to do this.

Speaker 2: So, I actually I just use Pelaton and I do the same one every day and it's become more about the ritual and I also like I work out so I stretch and foam rolled. While admittedly I don't sit there and do the typical meditation, I've learned that I just have to do what works for me. But, you know, they're talking about deep breathing and so it causes me to breathe and then I'm stretching and foam rolling and it just sets the day up in the right way and it's been really changing working out and lifting weights and strength training and all those things. But it's those five minutes if I don't have those I really feel it.

Speaker 1: Wow. you've inspired me because I think that's something at different points in my life I have tried and dabbled but I haven't really like committed enough to a practice in a way that it's made a difference and that's something I should do. I'm smiling because a friend I a friend was traveling and I said do you want to do my five minute meditation and I think she was kind of like what are you you know because I mean it's not a true meditation and but I said it's more about do the ritual of doing it. It's more about taking that five minutes every day. Number one that you do.

Speaker 2: Yes, I will. You might laugh because it's not cuz I think she was expecting a typical meditation and it's not that at all. But and some days I just want to go directly to my office and start in on everything. But I know if I don't go to my workout area and do that I'm going to approach things not in the way I would if I did.

Speaker 1: That's huge. And also like five minutes is five minutes. Like that's not

Speaker 2: Yeah, I I know. I think and I have five minutes. Like I definitely have five minutes. We all have five minutes. Even the busiest amongst us have five minutes.

Speaker 1: Yes. Yes. What is one honest lesson about building in a space that is as sensitive and complex as fertility that you wish more founders talked about more openly?

Speaker 2: You just have to keep making the next right decision. You have to be proud of the work that you do and make decisions that you're proud of that you want to tell your kids you made someday or that could be on the cover of the New York Times. You just have to make the next right decision. And there are as a founder hundreds of decisions on any given day and you can't take too long to make a decision cuz then you're bottleneck for other people. And so I this is an area where I actually often will listen to the way my body feels. If I'm thinking about a decision, I'm like, how do I feel about this? Listen to that. Your gut instinct is something that has developed over years of experience. The gut instinct is not something you just like were born with. It is developed with experience. So trust it and just make the next right decision.

Speaker 1: Yeah. As an entrepreneur, I mean, you feel those moments where you think I should do this or maybe I shouldn't do this. And it's the moments that you don't trust yourself when usually the issues occur.

Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. It's so true. I

Speaker 1: So that's really good advice.

Speaker 2: Look back and pinpoint moments where I like didn't listen to my gut and I have regret, you know, and that's I learn from that.

Speaker 1: We've talked a lot about business today. What is one way that you make sure to

Speaker 2: find and protect your joy? I really am very boundaried with my calendar right now. My kids are a huge source of joy for me. My office space is my backyard. Dance parties in our backyard. Even when they're like 10 minutes is is a true source of joy for me. And so I really like to make sure that from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. I am with my kids. I'm dancing in the backyard. We're eating dinner. There are other things that I can't do because of how hard I'm working or busy with whatever, but I really try to protect that time because it's fun. And sometimes from 5:30 onward, my husband and I will go on a date. I think at different points, I've thought being an entrepreneur was a sprint. And in reality, I'm playing the long game. So, this is a marathon and I have to be able

Speaker 1: to make it throughout the whole thing. It has to feel sustainable. And enjoying my life is part of what will make this company succeed. If I'm miserable, this isn't going to work.

Speaker 2: That's so true. And going the distance and having those small moments of happiness is only going to extend it. And your kids are at such a fun age where there's just so much joy.

Speaker 1: Totally. Good for you for enjoying those moments. I'm trying. You know, if they make it pretty easy.

Speaker 2: Thank you for joining us today and for helping to bring families into the world. It's incredible what you're doing. Please share with us how and where we can find you.

Speaker 1: I'm on all social platforms, Lauren Mler, and we are co-fertility coertility.com. Check it out. Whether you are someone who is interested in freezing your eggs or looking to grow your family via egg donation and third party reproduction,