Startup Stash - Fast-talk, Full Bowl and Underserved 🥣

UTIs, leakage, post-natal continence - every woman has dealt with at least one of these issues. We talk about them in women’s groups, with gynaecologists and urologists, but rarely find a long-term solution to the problems. 

Why? Because bladder health isn’t the sexiest subject in the world, so it probably won’t surprise you there are so few startups/products focused on the area. There are catheters and bladder bags, but those are for extreme case. Preventative products are rare. 

In fact, there seems to be only one startup so far dealing with bladder problems — at least according to Jude founder Peony Li. 

Jude’s main product: a bladder strength supplement that doesn’t require a prescription since it contains only natural ingredients (the main ingredients are pumpkin seed extract and soy germ extract). Plus it offers a free advice from trained specialists on topics like bladder botox, menopause incontinence, and the “loo leash” phenomenon. They’ve even got tips on how to pee properly. 

But this is not just about one’s startup’s attempts. It is about the huge glut in attention for a big real-world problem that’s wildly underserved. 

The startup says there are 2.3 billion people experiencing some form of bladder problem, whether it’s an overactive bladder, leaking or incontinence, or recurring urinary infections.

But what about other health startups? 

It’s true that there are a lot of women’s health startups out there — health-tech being such a bubbling industry lately. But most of them tend to focus on more mainstream issues, such as period tracking or contraception and fertility. One U.K. startup Elvie, that began with a focus on pelvic floor exercises later put its emphasis on supporting postpartum women, rather than women of all ages and phases. 

Bladder health is a big market with few people talking about it. It seems for now, women have just made their peace with the idea of having to deal with UTIs and incontinence through short-term solutions. 

Currently, approximately 44.8 million workers, accounting for over 26% of the American workforce, benefit from pay range transparency legislation.

Indeed's data paints a clear picture of how states with salary transparency laws are leading the way. 

• In Colorado, the pioneer in compensation transparency legislation in 2021, a whopping 81% of Indeed listings now display salary information. 
• In New York, where recent transparency laws came into effect, visibility nearly doubled to 61%.
• Other states with a high share of salary info also have laws on the books, including California, where 70% of listings include pay details, and Washington state with 75%.

Get ready for a breakfast shake-up! Kellogg's, the cereal champion, is about to pull off a cereal-centric split. Starting October 2nd, shares in WK Kellogg, a brand-new spin-off all about cereal, will hit the market, while, the original Kellogg Company will rebrand itself as 'Kellanova'.

Kellogg's hasn't had it easy lately. They've had their share of factory fires and strikes, while the cereal market itself has seen better days. U.S. sales of ready-to-eat cereals took an 8.7% dip in 2021, followed by another 3.9% drop in 2022.

Navigating today's cereal market is trickier than it was in Kellogg's early 1900s heyday. The competition has exploded. From 2000 to 2009, we saw a whopping 333 new cereals on the shelves. Then, the 2010s introduced 341 more cereal varieties!

Despite all these cereal choices, a 2015 report from Mintel revealed that nearly 40% of millennials found cereal 'inconvenient' for breakfast, leading to a whopping 11.4% spike in frozen breakfast food sales in 2022.

🛸 Flying in Ohio - Hundreds of flying taxis, reaching speeds up to 200 mph, are set to be manufactured in Ohio, home of the Wright brothers.