In this episode of The Business Gay Podcast, host Calan Breckon speaks with the Founder and CEO of Reya Health, Dallas Barnes.

Reya Health is a company founded by a birth control user for birth control users. After years of experiencing the gruelling trial and error process of trying to find a suitable contraceptive, founder and CEO Dallas Barnes set out to change the way people approach birth control. Building a birth control matching and tracking app that takes the guesswork and frustration out of the process, Reya Health aims to make your search for the right birth control more personalized, less painful, and maybe even a little fun.

Dallas has spent her career focusing on impact and innovation and she sits on the board of Femtech Canada, an organization that supports women’s health innovation in Canada. She’s also the co-president for StartOut Canada, a non-profit dedicated to supporting Canadian LGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs. Dallas is a passionate and vocal reproductive rights and sexual health advocate who has spoken globally at workshops, events, and keynotes.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

• ReyaHealth.ca





• Reya Research Recruitment





• Dallas Barnes on LinkedIn

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Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

• [03:06 ] Starting as a Non-Technical Founder: Dallas discusses how her lack of technical and medical background initially worked in her favor by driving her passion and determination to solve a personal problem.





• [05:33 ] Challenges as a Non-Technical Founder: Dallas talks about the steep learning curve and the importance of building a strong team to fill her knowledge gaps.





• [06:55 ] Lessons Learned: Dallas shares insights on the importance of understanding funding programs and being more assertive in a male-dominated industry.





• [08:39 ] Representation in the Industry: Dallas reflects on the challenges and barriers she faced as a female and LGBTQ+ founder in the medtech and health sectors.





• [11:33 ] Pitching Experiences: Dallas recounts a challenging experience pitching to a room full of male investors and how it shaped her approach to such meetings.





• [18:17 ] Building a Team with Limited Resources: Dallas explains how she assembled her team through networking, leveraging sweat equity, and finding individuals passionate about the mission.





• [24:12 ] Achievements of Reya Health: Dallas highlights the milestones Reya Health has achieved, including a 95% user satisfaction rate and the development of a new fully automated mobile app.





• [27:00 ] Future Goals: Dallas outlines the next steps for Reya Health, focusing on the upcoming app launch and expanding support to underserved communities.