INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
32, along with Y Combinator and Bain Capital Ventures, which led a $1.5 million seed round for the Boston startup last year.We talked
his radiation treatments, it just clicked for me that maybe I should also save my sperm
When I went into Cambridge to do this, the place was right next to the restaurant Dumpling House and it was just very awkward and expensive
and I thought, there must be a better way of doing this.TC: How do you get started on something like this?KK: This was before Ro and Hims
began taking off, but people were increasingly comfortable doing things from their own homes, so I started doing research around the idea
I joined the American Society of Reproductive Medicine
and they should be taking responsibility for it
[for their fertility struggles]
Sperm counts have gone down by 50 to 60% over the last 40 years, too.TC: Wait, what? Why?KK: [Likely culprits are] chemicals in plastics,
chemicals in what we eat eat and drink, changes in lifestyle; we move less and eat more, and sperm health relates to overall health
I also think mobile phones are causing it
that smoking was as dangerous as it is when the research was being conducted by companies that benefited by [perpetuating cigarette use]
business-to-business and expect that to be a huge acquisition channel for us
are four million couples that are facing fertility challenges and in all cases, we believe the man should be tested
So do [their significant others]
Almost half of purchases [of our kits] are by a female partner
We also see men in the military freezing their sperm before being deployed, same-sex couples who plan to use a surrogate at some point and
transgender patients who are looking at a life-changing [moment] and want to preserve their fertility before they start the process
But we see this as something that every man might do as they go off to college, and investors see that bigger picture.TC: How much do the
kits and storage cost?KK: The kit costs $195 up front, and if they choose to store their sperm, $145 a year
We offer different packages
You can also spend $1,995 for two deposits and 10 years of storage.TC: Is one or two samples effective? According to the Mayo Clinic, sperm
counts fluctuate meaningfully from one sample to the next, so they suggest semen analysis tests over a period of time to ensure accurate
results.KK: We encourage our clients to make multiple deposits
what are you looking for?KK: Volume, count, concentration, motility and morphology [meaning the shape of the sperm].TC: Who, exactly, is
For storage, we partner with a couple of cryo-storage providers in different geographies
We divide the samples into four, then store them in two different tanks within each of two locations
can imagine fears about these samples being mishandled
All [related data] is encrypted and anonymized and every customer receives a unique ID [which is a series of digits so that even the storage
possible, as well as ensuring the safety and privacy of each [specimen].TC: How long can sperm be frozen?KK: Indefinitely.TC: How will you
