“Hiring the wrong people teaches you more about your culture than hiring the right people...”Did you know a third of women in the UK do not have easy access to contraception?And 80% of those who are using contraception have reported side effects…Following her own experience of having devastating side effects of being put on the wrong contraception, today’s 40 Minute Mentor, Alice Pelton, decided to take matters  into her own hands. That’s why she started The Lowdown - the UK’s leading sexual and reproductive health platform, used by over 2 million women. Featured in the likes of Grazia and The Times, The Lowdown is a contraception review, advice and prescriptions platform, on a mission to change women’s health. In today’s episode, Alice shares candid insights into her own contraception journey and being a female Founder, including: ➡️ Her 10-year journey to find the right contraception [05:00] ➡️ The historical ‘un-sexy’ part of medicine and building the Lowdown [08:59] ➡️ Challenges of being a solo female Founder [10:30] ➡️ What nobody teaches you about fundraising [11:48] ➡️ Working with Angels vs VCs [16:18] ➡️ More about our sponsors, Alchemist [18:10] ➡️ Misconceptions about investors [19:20] ➡️ Building communities [22:11] ➡️ Learnings from hiring mistakes [25:23] ➡️ What she looks for when hiring for The Lowdown [27:53] ➡️ Navigating the ‘chat’ around contraception with children [32:33]  ⛳ Helpful links:➡️ More about Alice: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-pelton/➡️ Check out The Lowdown: https://thelowdown.com/ 💙 A big thank you to our Sponsors:Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/  to find out more.  🏆 Want to partner with us? Do you want to get your brand in front of leading Startup Founders, Investors and C-Suite decision-makers, and attract some of the sharpest talent in the Startup/Scaleup scene? Get in touch with our Head of Marketing and Producer, Hannah to find out more about how we can co-produce content that will help you stand out and engage with over 40,000 loyal monthly listeners. You can reach her on hannah@jbmc.co.uk ⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices