Maria Wang-Faulkner is the co-founder of Fig, the company on a mission to empower all women to proactively own and manage their reproductive health through at-home health screening, digital coaching, and personalized supplements. Before establishing Fig, Maria worked at Google in New York, where she validated and launched early-stage B2C and B2B software products. She also worked with the Clinton Health Access Initiative in India, where she introduced drugs and diagnostics for infectious diseases in low-income countries across Asia and Africa. Previously, she was a management consultant, a lawyer, a human rights advocate, an adjunct professor on management and sustainable business, and a career coach.
KrASIA readers are gifted a Fig discount on women’s health screening (code: KRASIA20), valid until midnight January 22.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
KrASIA (Kr): Hi Maria, give us some background about yourself and what led you to the work you’re doing with Fig.
Maria Wang-Faulkner (MWF): I’m in my mid 30s, and hopefully it’s fair to describe myself as relatively successful, but it’s been a bumpy ride to get here. I went through several major career changes, have three degrees, and lived across 4 continents in that time.
I’ve seen firsthand that the path to getting “ready” for parenthood is long and windy. The average age of first-time mothers has increased from mid 20s to the early 30s in the last 40 years, and even when you’re finally “ready” for parenthood, conceiving and carrying a healthy baby to term can also be bumpy, all the more so because we delay the decision to start a family. I’m sure dozens of women have struggled with infertility or miscarriage, or otherwise had difficulty in navigating the healthcare system.
I’m lucky to have two gorgeous children of my own, but it wasn’t always easy. My first pregnancy four years ago ended abruptly in miscarriage. I was seven weeks along, and my appointment with my OBGYN wasn’t until the eighth week, which is standard medical practice in New York. When it happened, I had to scramble to see a random set of doctors to confirm it, which was horrific in itself. I had no one to turn to for answers, because I hadn’t yet met my OBGYN. These feelings of loneliness, confusion, and helplessness are really common, and it shouldn’t have to be this way.
To continue reading this, please hop to Oasis, by KrASIA.