Why we invested in Mylo

W Health Ventures is proud to lead the $ 17 Mn Series B for Mylo with ITC, and Endiya Partners. The round also saw participation from Riverwalk Holdings, Alteria Capital, and Innoven Capital.

“Babies don’t come with instruction manuals, and when you are the first of your friends to have a baby, there is really no one to turn to.” A mother of a 2-year-old remembers how confused and anxious she felt during her pregnancy. She spent countless nights waking up at 2 am unable to shake a feeling that she had eaten or exercised wrong which would adversely affect the baby. She did sometimes, turn to the guidance of her mother and mother-in-law but most often, felt uncomfortable bothering them for small things. She felt alone.

In a country where 25 million women become mothers every year with many more pregnant or trying to conceive, the journey to motherhood is lonely and scary. In India, 1 in 10 women struggle to conceive. 2 in 3 have difficulty breastfeeding. 1 in 7 suffer from post-partum depression. While the mother and childcare industry in India has grown to $ 50 B, it is yet to truly positively impact motherhood.

Problems faced by women through the parenting journey

Innovation to solve these problems remains at a nascent stage in India. But this is set to change! And we have witnessed similar trends in the US.

Venture-backed mother and childcare companies in the US attracted nearly $1.4 Bn of investments in 2021. This amount is larger than the total investments combined in the 4 years prior. Their digital approach allows them to tailor their healthcare services for women, taking a massive step towards health equity. The space saw its first unicorn in 2021 with Maven Clinic, a female-founder-led startup providing a virtual clinic for women and families offering care for fertility, pregnancy, and family planning. The success of Maven and many others in the space bolster investors and innovators across the globe to believe in the merit of building for women.

We are excited to see and support such models in India which will benefit Indian women. Thus, we are thrilled to join Mylo as it raises its Series A.

It takes a village to raise a child and Mylo is providing this village to every mother and baby in the country through its web and mobile app platforms. Mylo achieves this lofty goal by providing a hyperactive community of parents, targeted content, great quality products, and expert health services for mothers and babies at affordable prices.It has understood each of the problems a woman faces as she becomes a mother and aims to provide a one-stop solution for her.

Apart from the huge impact, Mylo is making on Indian women, 4 points solidified our conviction on Mylo’s future success.

The tremendous adoption of internet and eCommerce among Indian women is a huge catalyst for Mylo’s growth.

• More women use smartphones and mobile internet than ever before. 200 million households have one or more women using mobile internet, a massive increase from 40 million in 2012.
• Internet usage among female users is high. 40% of Indian women said they cannot function without the internet for more than a few hours, and 30% cannot do without it beyond an hour.
• The majority of women who use mobile internet (72%) use it to access social media and shop online. After that, they use it for emails (65%) and online chatting (61%).
• Women constitute 44% of online shoppers and account for 42% of the eCommerce expenditure, a huge increase from 10% four years ago.

Mylo has engaged over 4 million women through a supportive community and personalized content.

Adding 300 thousand users a month, Mylo has adopted a social+ model with an engaged vertical community of women in their parenting journey. Mothers can post their questions and within 7 minutes, they will have validation and support from another parent facing a similar problem and a solution from an experienced one who has dealt with it in the past. When we spoke to Mylo mothers, many expressed how they loved answering questions and helping other mothers.

Based on the stage of parenting, Mylo is using data algorithms to create an exactly-what-I-was-thinking experience for mothers. A Mylo mom from Gujarat loves this feature because, “When I face a new problem, I already know how to deal with it because I have read about it on Mylo.”

The community and content allow high user engagement and retention. Moms find Mylo addictive and engrossing. They check the app multiple times a day and spend significant time on it. This has powered a growth loop based on trust and loyalty that acts as a linchpin for the sale of products and services.

Mylo has over 100 high-quality SKUs and health services for mothers and their babies.

With an active community of mothers who trust the Mylo brand, no one understands mothers’ needs better than Mylo. Mylo leverages its community by taking valuable feedback on new products and services through polls and questions. In turn, it ensures the products are of the highest quality while being affordable.

Following its vision of creating a one-stop-shop for mothers, Mylo’s next area to conquer is that of healthcare services. It has already made headway by providing doctor consultations with gynecologists and pediatricians, health packages for weight loss and PCOS, and hospital recommendations for delivery. We are excited about what this could mean for women’s health, even beyond reproductive health.

The Mylo team led by Vinit is the perfect blend of skills and passion to make Mylo a household name.

Vinit brings valuable learnings from a prior stint as a Product Manager, especially on how to scale and monetize communities. His focus on using data to make decisions, however big or small, and product mindset are huge levers for Mylo’s growth. Also, he has built a stellar leadership team who bring years of incredible experience as professionals and as parents! The team’s energy and passion for improving the parenting landscape in India and providing mothers with a comprehensive solution for their often-ignored problems is inspirational.

When we spoke to a Mylo mom, on how her experience changed since Mylo, she said that now she has someone to share both her happiness and anxiety with, even at 2 am. She is never alone.

The entire W Health team congratulates Vinit and the entire Mylo team and is proud to join them to make Mylo a household name.