Ruth Health, a tech-enabled maternal health startup founded in 2020, is shuttering.
The startup, intended to be an extension of a patient’s existing care team, offered a suite of remote patient services including doula care, pelvic floor training, lactation counseling, C-section recovery resources and intimacy and sexual support for new moms. Ruth’s partners over the years included Babyscripts, St. Barnabas Hospital (SBH Health System), Philips and Irth App.
In 2022, the startup raised $2.4 million in seed funding led by Giant Ventures, with participation from Citylight VC, Cleo Capital Scout Fund, Crista Galli Ventures, YCombinator, Gaingels and more. The round brought Ruth’s total funding to $3.1 million.
Co-founder and CEO Alison Greenberg posted about the closure on her LinkedIn. “This decision is backed by careful reflection on challenges ahead in a fragmented maternity care space where we failed to find scalable PMF,” she wrote, referring to product-market fit. She did not say much else about why specifically the business was shuttering. Greenberg declined to comment on the record for this story.
In her post, Greenberg cited several lessons learned from building out Ruth. “If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no,” she wrote. “The best customers, investors, and team members were the ones who proved themselves to be a ‘hell yes’ in weeks (not months), and consistently.” She encouraged peers in the maternal health space to lean on each other: “This ecosystem is full of generous, brilliant women … Ask hard questions. Join most WhatsApp and Slack groups.”
She also recommended founders avoid angel groups, saying they were mostly a waste of time. She said the same of “flashy” conferences. Instead, she recommended sticking to reputable angels and institutional investors. She alluded to how difficult it was to get customers.
“I am not a natural or prolific seller, and this contributed to the downfall of Ruth,” Greenberg wrote. “Relationship-building is crucial. Evidence and validation are essential. But sales is a relentless, exhausting, sometimes random matter of shots on goal. It rarely goes how you expect.”
Finally, when it comes to winding down a company, Greenberg wrote, “plan ahead. Reserve more funds than you think you need. Speak to your extended team early and often. This is the time for radical transparency and accountability.”