As a scientist, Amy Beckley was initially inspired by her unexplained infertility.
When her doctors were unable to give her a diagnosis, she took matters into her own hands and developed a cheap, hormone-based solution that made her second pregnancy a more smooth process.
And, nearly five years ago, she used that experience as the primary driver in founding reproductive health startup Proov. Now, Proov has developed a suite of products and brought on a $9.7 million Series A funding round that will bring more information to the reproductive health landscape.
The round was led by Hambrecht Ducera Growth Ventures and joined by SteelSky Ventures, WCC Partners, LightShip Capital, GingerBread Capital and Portfolia.
Proov’s original urine-based hormone test strip confirms ovulation quality, informing users when they have the best chance at successful pregnancy. Since the launch of that original test, Proov has added to its portfolio, including the recently launched “Complete” product.
Complete is a testing suite for the four most critical hormones verifiable in urine that provides customers with a hormone analysis and suggestions on how to better achieve balance. The product is used in tandem with Proov’s mobile application, which operates as a digital fertility coach.
Beckley said that this Series A was driven primarily by outside investor interest and that Proov wasn’t in fundraising mode when it was approached. Despite that, the company will use the additional funds to support the launch of Complete and continue adding products and staff members.
And Proov also wants to change the way society thinks and talks about fertility. Beckley said freezing eggs became the popular narrative around fertility in recent years, as people ignored the reality of hormone imbalances still impacting pregnancy success.
She’s out to provide more information to individuals as they embark on their fertility journey.
“We’re one of the few companies that have stepped out and said it's more than that, it’s more about your body being best set up to conceive and having the optimal chances for conception,” she said.
In the longer-term future, Proov is looking to expand its products to serve anybody that has a period, using its hormone tests to help individuals learn more about why they’re feeling the way they feel.
“We can use this system to detect and to balance and get a woman back to her normal life and being an amazing woman,” Beckley said.
