Founder spotlight: Meet the women building Science-for-Impact ventures at Zinc

We know that diverse founding teams drive commercial success, build higher performing teams, and deliver VC returns at a higher rate than male-only founding teams. However, women remain underrepresented, particularly in science and deep tech ventures, with only 7% of deep tech startups in the UK being founded by all-women teams. At Zinc, we are changing this.

We are proud to back a diverse group of exceptional founders who are building Science-for-Impact ventures with the potential to transform industries at scale. Fifty percent of the ventures in our portfolio have a woman in their founding team and in recognition of International Women’s Day, we have spotlighted some of these brilliant women’s journeys and the ventures they are building:

Dr Nataly Hastings, CEO and founder of Cellestial Health

Dr Hastings founded Cellestial Health, a Cambridge University spin-out pioneering innovative treatments for Parkinson’s Disease. Cellestial is approaching brain function from a novel angle by protecting previously overlooked networks of astrocytes – star-shaped brain cells – which play a crucial role in controlling multiple brain functions. We believe Cellestial Health provides a significant opportunity to transform the understanding and treatment of Parkinson’s Disease, leading to reduced symptoms, slower disease progression and ultimately vastly improved patient quality of life.

Zinc is excited to be partnered with Dr Hastings as the treatment of brain disorders is a core investment priority for us. Nataly brings a decade of expertise in clinical neuroscience with a vision of identifying the next major paradigm shift for advancements in brain health, rather than solely focusing on “neuro”-protection—an idea that challenges the prevailing beliefs in the Parkinson’s field. With this in mind, Natalie is working to develop a commercial product that can impact the lives of millions of sufferers.

Annelise Brbora, COO and Co-founder of Cordon Technologies

Cofounded by Annelise Brbora, Cordon is on a mission to transform the environmental impacts of viticulture by revolutionising vineyard technology with cost-effective, environmentally sensitive automation solutions to reduce pesticide use by 70 percent.

Annelise has always been passionate about using technology to create impact, having worked across edtech, medtech, and product development. Her real interest stems in improving the health of the planet and solving bigger challenges in the environment through the development and designing of products that create tangible outcomes. She has a truly customer centric approach to product development, iterating hardware at software speeds, resulting in Cordon going from idea to in-field proof of concept deployment in just one year.

Joanna Wiecek, CEO and Co-founder of GutSee Health

GutSee Health, cofounded by Joanna Wiecek, is on a mission to decode the human gut through its advanced AI discovery platform, revolutionising the diagnosis and treatment of gut disorders. Joanna and the team are starting with a focus on IBS, a chronic debilitating gut disorder that currently has no reliable diagnostics available, only through exclusion. Zinc is excited to back the development of a new platform that will combine microbiome analysis, metabolomic profiling, and patient data, to provide a unique fingerprint of the disease for a specific patient helping to better understand their condition. 

CEO Joanna, who holds a PhD in Molecular Biology & Microbiology from UCL, has made understanding and tackling gut health disorders her life’s mission. With over a decade of experience in biotech innovation and R&D, Joanna brings expertise in microbiome and in-vitro/digital diagnostics, drawing from her background in molecular microbiology, DNA sequencing, microbiome dysbiosis, and antimicrobial resistance.

Alvena Kureshi, CEO and Co-founder of Serpenta

Serpenta, cofounded by Alvena Kureshi, is developing an innovative robotic technology to revolutionise colorectal surgery. The team are working with technology created and patented by Alvena’s co-founder, Arnau Garriga Casanovas, at Imperial College London. It will be developed further to create a full robotic device that will enable high precision and dextrous surgery anywhere in the colon. The impact of this will be transformative, making procedures more accessible, reducing complications, shortening hospital stays, and enhancing patient recovery. 

Alvena is a scientist-turned-entrepreneur driven by the belief that bold ideas can transform lives. After nearly two decades specialising in surgical interventions and product development from research to clinical application, Alvena took the leap to co-found Serpenta and create meaningful impact in healthcare. In line with her motivations for creating life long impact, Alvena also uses her passion for science to inspire the next generation of innovations, particularly young girls through ‘Professor Lightning’, a science persona that uses storytelling to spark curiosity, break down barriers and inspire young minds to see themselves as future innovators. 

Anna Sandgren, CEO and Co-founder of UniBloom

UniBloom, cofounded by Anna Sandgren, is on a mission to empower large and mid sized organisations to meet their ambitious sustainability targets. Only 4% of companies currently have transparent and accurately financed climate action plans in place, posing existential risk with some organisations at risk of losing up to 50% of their operating income by 2030. UniBloom is solving this by equipping organisations with the tools they need to identify, scenario plan and optimise their climate projects, investments, and cost savings towards both business growth and climate impact.

Anna’s entrepreneurial mindset and deep-rooted passion for creating impact in various ways throughout her life and career led her to cofound UniBloom. Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, she began her career joining a startup at 16, contributing to its growth and journey to IPO. Most recently, Anna spent over a decade at Unilever, where she successfully led Nordic and global expansion from zero to 200 million in e-commerce. Together with her background in mechanical engineering and 25 years of experience driving business growth across industries such as finance, venture capital, FMCG, and more, Anna brings the perfect capabilities to build the team and technology in tackling a huge and complex challenge. 

Dr Emma Dyson, CMO and Co-founder of Mana Medical

Mana Medical, cofounded by Emma Dyson, is revolutionising care for the 700 million people worldwide affected by rheumatic conditions. Mana’s digital health platform establishes a new gold standard for monitoring and managing diseases like fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis.

As an NHS doctor, Emma witnessed critical gaps in rheumatic care that left patients without adequate support and agency. This experience drove her to challenge conventional treatment models by co-founding Mana Medical, where patient empowerment isn’t an afterthought but foundational to their approach. Her vision guides the development of inclusive-by-design technologies that put patients at the center of their healthcare journeys while enabling clinicians to deliver precision medicine at scale – creating a practical pathway to transform rheumatic disease management.

Alex, Liza & Veronika, Co-founders of Unravel Health 

Unravel is on a mission to transform women’s health with better data. Traditional diagnostic tools, like one-off blood tests, have only offered a snapshot of a woman’s hormone levels, failing to capture the dynamic changes that occur throughout the menstrual cycle. As a result, conditions like perimenopause and hormonal migraines are often misdiagnosed or ineffectively treated, affecting billions of women. This diagnostic tech startup is transforming how women’s health conditions are treated and diagnosed with its first at-home product, a hormone monitor, to make understanding hormones and symptoms quick and simple. 

The Unravel team is led by three co-founders who share a deep passion and dedication to transforming women’s health. Each brings a strong personal mission to the company, along with unique expertise.

CMO Dr Alex Oti is a medical doctor bringing expertise and academic knowledge from Oxford and Cambridge having also worked at an AI health data startup. She is building Unravel to scale her impact beyond individual patients, leveraging science, medicine, and technology to tackle the challenges she encountered daily in her medical practice. Liza Levy (CCO) is a marketeer who thinks global from day one, bringing 5 languages, an international network, and experience growing a healthcare startup from 10 people to IPO. CPO Veronika Bridgman has tactically taken global brands from problem, to vision to prototype and go to market, giving her rich experience in building businesses from the ground up. 

Kanu Batra, CEO and Co-founder of Speek

Speek is on a mission to provide world-class clinical care for families affected by teenage self injury. This is an incredibly complex but important mental health challenge that affects 1 in 5 teenagers and one which sits at the core of Zinc’s thesis. With multiple underlying causes, this challenge requires a multifaceted approach to solving, involving collaboration between families, schools and mental health professionals alongside innovative digital technologies. Speek provides clinical integrated care for families that is effective and accessible, combining algorithm-driven question sets, clinically developed content, affordable group therapy and a recovery focussed community.

CEO and cofounder of Speek Kanu Batru’s personal mission has always been to support those who are suffering from mental health challenges, particularly those from marginalised groups. Having seen first hand the impacts of this to loved ones, Kanu wanted to ensure that her and her team built the best necessary support which was accessible and reliable when required. Kanu brings strong knowledge and expertise as a commercial leader having worked in a high growth healthcare company. 

Zinc is proud to be backing exceptional women founders who are transforming the health of people and the health of the planet. You can learn more about these ventures and others in Zinc’s portfolio here.