When a Judge Says "I Don't Get Moody on My Period" – Our Startup Adventure
The Pitch That Made Everyone Uncomfortable (Including Us)
Picture this: You’re standing in front of three judges at a startup event in Switzerland, having just finished pitching your heart out about a period-tracking app for couples. You’ve presented your data from 20+ women interviews, user surveys showing that 70% of women say they get more emotional during their cycle, and you’re feeling pretty good about it.
Then Q&A time arrives.
One of the judges – a woman – launches into what can only be described as a passionate soliloquy about hormones, stigma, and witch trials. At one point, she turns to the audience and announces: “By the way, I have not my cycle now. I’m saying this with all my hormones right.”
Record scratch. Freeze frame.
She continues: “Not all women that have a cycle become crazy. You know that in the past, they called it hysteria, and we were considered witches.”
Yep, that’s us – the HappyWifeHappyLife team – experiencing what I now call the “Did She Really Just Say That?” moment at a Swiss startup weekend. And while it got intense, it ended up being one of the most valuable learning experiences we’ve had.
Our “Controversial” Idea (Spoiler: It’s Not That Wild)
Here’s what we pitched: HappyWifeHappyLife – a cycle tracking app that helps partners understand and support each other through hormonal changes. Revolutionary? Not really. Needed? Absolutely.
Want to see what we presented? Check out our web version of the pitch. Fair warning: this isn’t the exact presentation we used on stage at Startup Weekend (that one had more panic-induced hand gestures), but it’s pretty close. We threw this together afterwards when we realized we should probably document our “controversial” idea. It’s still a work in progress and a bit rough around the edges – we didn’t have time to polish it – but hey, that’s the startup life, right?
Pro tip: On slide 3 where you see the phone screenshot, try clicking on the menstrual calendar days. A popup shows up! Pretty cool, right? We’re particularly proud of that little interactive feature. 😎
The basic premise is simple: when partners understand what’s happening hormonally, they fight less and connect more. Instead of the classic “What’s wrong?” / “Nothing!” / “Are you sure?” death spiral, couples can actually communicate effectively.
But apparently, suggesting that hormones affect mood is controversial. Who knew? 🤷♂️
Plot Twist: Science Says the Judge Might Be in Denial
Look, I’m not calling anyone a liar, but… our actual research told a different story. Here’s what we found from our surveys:
- 70% of women said they get more emotional during their cycle (we asked them privately in separate forums)
- 60% of women wanted more support during their period
- 50% of women said they get close to no support during that time
- 40% of couples have more fights during “that time of the month”
- 90% of women said yes when asked “Would you like chocolate during your period?” (priorities!)
But here’s the kicker – we also surveyed men:
- 70% of men said they don’t have enough guidance to understand what’s going on
- 60% of men said they’d be open to learning more
- 30-40% of men can’t express their emotions well (cultural thing, apparently)
And when Vlad asked the room full of men to clap if they’d ever been in a fight that came out of nowhere? The applause was deafening.
Maybe our judge has superpowers. Maybe she’s achieved hormonal enlightenment. Or maybe – just maybe – she’s not as aware of her own patterns as she thinks.
The “Dudes Making Period Apps” Problem
Let’s address the elephant in the room: we’re guys making an app about periods. I get it. It sounds like the setup to a bad joke.
And it gets better – our team was four guys: Vlad (our pitcher), Daniel, David, and me. Not exactly the dream team for a period-tracking app, right? The funny thing is, when Vlad initially pitched the HappyWifeHappyLife idea during team formation, he specifically asked for women to join the team. Like, he literally said on stage when the judge asked: “That’s the only thing I asked for on Friday when I created a team!”
But surprisingly… no women joined us. Maybe they saw four guys huddled around talking about period tracking and thought “Nope, that’s gonna be awkward.” Can’t really blame them. 😅 We did have 3-4 women mentors who gave us feedback, and we interviewed about 20 women for our research, but yeah… our actual team was a total sausage fest.
The femtech world has… feelings about this. When the Flo app (founded by two brothers) became a unicorn, the internet had opinions. Turns out male-founded femtech companies raise about twice as much money as female-founded ones, which is both good news for us and deeply unfair to everyone else.
But here’s the thing: we’re not trying to explain periods to women. We’re trying to help clueless partners (like we used to be) understand what’s going on. We’re not the experts – we’re the target audience who needed this app to exist.
The Judge’s Intervention: A Teaching Moment
The judge didn’t just disagree – she challenged us to think deeper. Here’s how it went down:
Judge: “It’s difficult, because when you are a woman, a lot of people think they know what you feel.”
Fair point, actually.
Judge: “Not all women that have a cycle become crazy. You know that in the past, they called it hysteria, and we were considered witches.”
A powerful reminder of the historical context we were wading into.
Judge: “I’m sorry to say. You’re trying to fix a problem that you don’t know, guys.”
She had a point – we needed to approach this with more humility.
Judge: “By the way, I have not my cycle now. I’m saying this with all my hormones right.”
The audience shifted uncomfortably, but her point was clear – she wanted us to take her seriously regardless of her hormonal state.
Judge: “You are reinforcing a stigma!”
This hit hard, and made us really think.
To his credit, Vlad handled it professionally. He calmly explained that we weren’t saying women go crazy – just that hormonal changes are real and affect emotions (which, you know, science). He pointed out that 70% of the women WE surveyed said they experience emotional changes.
What made this exchange even more meaningful? After the event, the judge approached Vlad and apologized for being so harsh. She explained that this topic hits close to home for many women, and she wanted to make sure we understood the weight of what we were trying to tackle. That moment of reconciliation taught us more than any prize could have.
What We Learned (The Hard Way)
1. Data beats personal anecdotes
Our judge’s “I don’t get emotional” comment was one data point. Our 20+ user interviews were many data points. Guess which ones matter more to investors?
2. Some women don’t track their own patterns
If women themselves sometimes don’t recognize their hormonal patterns, imagine how confused their partners are. This isn’t a bug in our concept – it’s a feature. Education for everyone!
3. Privacy is everything
Post-Roe v. Wade, 87% of period tracking apps share data with third parties. That’s terrifying. Any new app needs Fort Knox-level security, not just pinky promises about privacy.
4. The chocolate notification wasn’t our brightest moment
When the judge called out our “buy her chocolate” notification example, I died a little inside. Yes, 90% of women in our survey said they’d like chocolate during their period, but maybe – just maybe – we should have led with the personalization features instead. Live and learn.
5. Humor helps (except when it doesn’t)
When you’re pitching something that makes people uncomfortable, a little self-awareness goes a long way. When Vlad asked the men in the audience to clap if they’d been in unexpected fights, it got laughs and engagement. When we showed chocolate notifications… not so much.
The Silver Lining in Our Judge’s Passionate Response
Here’s the beautiful thing: our judge’s intervention actually highlighted exactly why this conversation matters. She felt so strongly about the topic that she needed to clarify she wasn’t on her period to be taken seriously. Think about that for a second.
Her passion showed us:
- How deeply personal this topic is for women
- The real weight of historical stigma (witch trials aren’t ancient history in cultural memory)
- Why any solution needs to be built with genuine respect and understanding
- That even well-intentioned efforts can accidentally perpetuate harmful stereotypes
The fact that she apologized later shows something else important: this is a conversation worth having, even when it’s uncomfortable. She wasn’t trying to shut us down – she was trying to make sure we got it right.
This is EXACTLY why HappyWifeHappyLife needs to exist, but also why it needs to be built thoughtfully. We’re not here to tell women they’re crazy. We’re here to help couples understand each other better, normalize these conversations, and yes – remind forgetful partners to buy chocolate when it’s appreciated (though maybe we’ll make that feature a bit more sophisticated 😅).
Where We Go From Here
Did we win the startup weekend? Nope. Did we get a masterclass in gender sensitivity? Absolutely. Did one judge deliver a passionate speech about hormonal stigma during our Q&A? You bet.
But we also got:
- Solid data from 20+ women confirming our concept
- Support from women mentors who understood our vision
- A room full of men clapping in recognition of the problem
- An offer of help from a hormone specialist
- A judge who cared enough to apologize and explain her perspective
- An invaluable lesson about approaching sensitive topics with more nuance
The judge challenged us to work on “the couple more than only on the woman” – which is actually what our app aims to do. She pointed out that men struggle to express emotions (we know, that’s partly why we’re building this). She worried about stigma, and she was right to do so.
Sometimes the strongest objections come from the people who care the most about getting it right.
The Bottom Line
Sometimes the ideas that make people most uncomfortable are the ones worth pursuing. If talking about periods and relationships makes judges squirm, imagine how many couples are suffering in silence because they can’t have these conversations.
We’re building HappyWifeHappyLife not because we’re experts on women’s health (we’re definitely not), but because we’ve been the confused partners wondering what went wrong. We’ve had the fights that started from nothing. We’ve wished for a manual that doesn’t exist.
So thank you, passionate judge, for your memorable contribution to our startup journey. Your concerns about hormonal stigma made us think harder about how to build something that truly helps rather than perpetuates stereotypes. And thank you for that apology afterward – it showed us that difficult conversations can lead to understanding.
And hey, if you ever want to help us make sure we get it right… we’d love your input. No hard feelings, only gratitude for the lesson. 🙏
Victor Antofica was part of HappyWifeHappyLife team and survivor of a Startup Event. He’s still processing the whole experience and definitely not bitter about not winning. Follow him on x.com/victorantos.