Ling Lin
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Learning about your fertility was only available to women who were trying to conceive for one year or six months for women 35 and older… Until now. Meet Grip Fertility, an at-home hormone and fertility test.
As a 35-year-old woman myself (who’s not trying to get pregnant in the near future), having an option to check in on my fertility and hormones BEFORE I’m ready to start trying is a relief.
Knowing that we have more options so we can plan for the future — even when we’re not ready — can help to eliminate a lot of the pressure women face around being in your 30’s and deciding whether or not you want to take the plunge into parenthood.
Read on to learn more from Grip Fertility co-founder Ling Lin about how she and her team have handled launching a business during COVID, and Ling’s top tips for aspiring entrepreneurs.
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Hustle Amsterdam (HA): Where are you from? And what brings you to Amsterdam?
Ling Lin (LL): I was born in China and moved to the States when I was 10. In the past six years I have spent my time in London, France, Luxembourg, Singapore, and now Amsterdam.
HA: Tell me about your business? What is your mission?
LL: Grip believes women’s health should be tailored to you. Our current product is an at home hormone and fertility test. With the existing healthcare system, a woman can only get her fertility tested if she and her partner have been trying to get pregnant for a year (or six months if the woman is 35 or older). I think it’s insane that we only get information about our body and fertility if you’ve encountered issues.
I am 32, not going to have kids yet — but how long can I wait? It’s crazy to leave it to chance and wait till I am ready and start trying. I want to have kids one day, so if I know today that my risk profile for infertility is high — even though I don’t plan to have kids today — I will change my plans.
HA: How are you handling our new “normal” due to the coronavirus outbreak? What impact has it had on your business? How has the transition to working remotely been for you? Are you being strict with a routine or taking it day-by-day?
LL: Our business was built as an e-commerce model from day one. The harder part about starting a business during COVID is that everyone’s primary concern was COVID — so their bandwidth for looking into other matters in their life has decreased.
Anne Marie (my co-founder) and I followed protocol to work separately and remotely — but the first day the rules were relaxed, we were working together. It wasn’t because we don’t work well together remotely — it was so we get to know each other much better.
HA: Can I ask you how you feel or if there’s something you want to share or say about current events in the United States? About racism? About equality?
LL: I grew up in NY and it’s one of the most diverse places in the world but racism still exists. The issue with today’s world is that racism might not always be obvious to you as you might not have experienced it. You might not think it exists, but it does. Something I read and really like is, "White privilege doesn’t mean your life hasn’t been hard. It just means the color of your skin isn’t one of the things that makes it harder.”
Infertility hits women of all ethnicities. In the US, 15% of white women have sought medical help to get pregnant, whereas only 8% of black women did so, despite having equal or higher rates of infertility than white women. When they do seek help, the outcomes of fertility treatment are often less favourable in black women; they have lower pregnancy rates and lower live birth rates after IVF treatment than white women. IVF research is mainly conducted in white women, but this needs to change to be able to individualize treatments for women of all backgrounds!
Source: Bron: Humphries et al. 2018, AJOG & National Health Statistics Report 2014
Maternal deaths are not spread evenly across the population. Although maternal deaths are very uncommon, the differences between ethnicities are large. Black women are five times more likely to die from complications in pregnancy than white women. Black women are not entering pregnancy with five times more comorbidities, so more research is needed to discover the reasons and find solutions.
HA: Why Grip Fertility? What brought you to fertility?
LL: I like how we put it in our About us section. "It should be easier to plan when to have kids."
This might sound familiar: we’re women in our early 30s. We know we might want kids someday, but ideally — not yet.
We have all seen the terrifying graphs that show how average fertility steadily declines between 30 and 35, and then goes rapidly downhill after that. This data is better than no data at all, but we don’t just want to know when the average woman becomes less fertile, we want to know where we sit on that graph.
We know that fertility specialists in hospitals and clinics often prescribe women who struggle to get pregnant a series of blood tests that help exclude the most common fertility problems. That of course doesn’t mean the test can tell you if you can have a baby, but it’s a great place to start understanding where you sit. If you know you have issues with your ovulation or a less than average amount of eggs, then you can plan accordingly while you still have time.
But here’s the problem: you can only see a fertility specialist if you have either unsuccessfully been trying to get pregnant for a year, or if you are in pain. As healthy women, who are not trying for kids just yet, why can't we do the same tests as fertility specialists do in the hospital?
That’s why we started Grip. We want you to be able to get the same hormone blood tests that a fertility doctor would prescribe you in a clinic, without needing a referral from your GP, and without needing to be sick. Your body, your data, your decision. And the best part — you can do the Grip fertility test in your pajamas from the couch. We believe every woman should have access to data about her body, so you can make better decisions.
“Just start trying, and see if you’ll get pregnant," is no longer good enough. It’s time to be proactive about our fertility, rather than to wait until something is wrong.
HA: What is the current state of Grip Fertility? Do you have six and 12-month goals for your business?
LL: We want to continue to improve our product and learn from our customers.
HA: What kind of obstacles do you face in your company? How do you handle them?
LL: There are so many things to do but hard to do them all plus sometimes things require certain skills and knowledge but neither I nor my co-founders have done them — so we either learn them or ask our network and friends for help.
Ling Lin & Anne Marie Droste, Co-Founders Grip Fertility
HA: What has been your most successful moment so far? And how do you celebrate your wins?
LL: We like to celebrate small wins and major milestones — when we got our first order, 10 orders, 100 orders, etc. When we brought on our first contractor, first intern; when we got published on Linda and Nu.nl. We don’t have any specific celebration rituals — we do team drinks, high fives, get ourselves Grip sweatshirts, etc.
HA: How have you accomplished what you have? Did you go to business school? Did you wing it? Fake it till you make it? Get really lucky?
LL: I have done quite well in what I did before and worked for a number of big and successful tech companies. Grip is in the beginning stage — so hopefully it will become my next big thing. I am very excited.
I did go to business school — INSEAD. I am a firm believer that you are where you are today because of the work you put in, luck plays a role, but hard work and determination are what put you in a position to capture lucky opportunities that might come your way.
HA: Did you fundraise for your business? If so, tell me about your experience.
LL: My co-founder came from the venture capital world so she knows the ins and outs. We raised our pre-seed fairly easily and even have to turn away some investors.
HA: How big is your team? And where are your team members located?
LL: Half the team is located in Amsterdam and we have about 9 people now — interns, part timers, and the co-founders.
HA: Do you have a favorite motivational quote?
LL: Not sure if it’s something I have heard or I came up with it myself, “When you are unsure of which path to go — choose the one you would regret less.”
HA: What 3 tips would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs? What do you wish you had known before you started?
LL:
If you have thought of doing something entrepreneurial, do it, because it would be sad 50 years from now, you look and back and be like “I should’ve done or tried that.”
Find a good co-founder. Doing it solo can work but will be a lot tougher.
Sometimes you might fall into the trap of spending hours thinking whether you should try something new for your company — you’d never know — so it’s better to just make the decision quick and test it out.
HA: How would you describe your working style?
LL: I am a bit of a workaholic when it comes to doing things I love. I am a hustler — so I don’t normally take “No” as an answer.
HA: When you’re not working on Grip Fertility — where can we find you?
LL: At the gym or hanging out with my dog Una.
HA: How do you find work-life balance while being an entrepreneur?
LL: You are a lot more flexible with your hours when you are an entrepreneur. Sometimes you might have to work a little bit over the weekend but then you can also take one of the weekdays off.
My co-founder and I are both late risers so our office hours start at 10AM.
HA: What is your passion?
LL: Doing something that has an impact on people’s lives.
HA: What inspires you most about Amsterdam? Do you have any favorite spots to work or hangout?
LL: I love the city, even when it’s raining. It’s just so charming. I love the street markets — the Albert Cuypmarkt is right next to my apartment.
Find Grip Fertility at www.gripfertility.com and follow along on Instagram.
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