This 27-year-old woman started menopause platform Surety. It was her mum’s own experience that convinced her (2024)

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Valery Tan was always interested in entrepreneurship but a school project took her on a journey of discovery about women’s health, menopause in particular. CNA Women finds out why this young Singaporean woman is so passionate about shining a positive light on menopause.

This 27-year-old woman started menopause platform Surety. It was her mum’s own experience that convinced her (1)

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Balvinder Sandhu

Many women shy away from talking about menopause, despite it being a natural and inevitable part of life. Valery Tan, the 27-year-old co-founder of Surety, a menopause platform in Singapore, wants to change that.

Menopause should be part of our daily conversations, she said. So what started as a venture builder programme for theSingapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) undergraduate in human resource management has become a business that is organising a Menopause Festival in November.

Surety is a social impact startup that Tan and her co-founder Elmer Yap, a final-year supply chain management student at SUSS, are looking to turn into a social enterprise.

The initial focus was on women’s health in general, particularly around contraceptives. However, Tan quickly realised that the field of contraception was saturated with many players and Surety needed a more distinct unique selling point.

It was around this time that Tan’s mother, now 53, shared with her how she hadn’t had her period for six months and was experiencing symptoms such as mood swings and hot flushes, which took a toll on her emotionally and physically.

“Watching her go through this was hard,” Tan, an only child, said. “Also, neither of us fully understood what was happening at first. It was not just about the physical symptoms – I realised how much it was affecting her quality of life, her self-confidence and even our relationship.”

This 27-year-old woman started menopause platform Surety. It was her mum’s own experience that convinced her (4)

It made Tan realise how little we talk about menopause and how important it is for families to be part of the conversation. “It impacts nearly half the population, yet it is rarely discussed openly, especially in Asia,” she said.

She set about reading up on menopause and perimenopause but these were mostly Western resources. The cultural nuances and specific challenges faced by women in Asia, particularly in conservative societies like Singapore, were often missing.

“This gap was a huge motivator for me,” Tan told CNA Women. “I wanted to create something that felt culturally relevant for Asian women, something that could offer the same level of support and information but in a way that resonates with our cultural context.”

That conversation with her mum was the spark that inspired her to pivot Surety to menopause care, she added.

“By the end of 2022, we had fully committed to building a platform that focuses on supporting women through menopause, which is now Surety’s core mission.”

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FROM VENTURE BUILDING TO MENOPAUSE CARE

Surety offers a range of services, from community events to corporate wellness programmes, and is in the process of developing its app, PausePlay, to provide digital support for women navigating menopause.

The platform’s events cover topics such as relationships, holistic wellness and medical advice. This is because menopause is not a one-dimensional issue and it affects every aspect of a woman’s life, from physical health to mental well-being, and even how she functions in the workplace, said Tan.

While there are doctors who discuss the medical aspects of menopause, including hormone therapy, symptom management and overall health during this phase of life, Surety’s events also touch on less clinical but equally important topics such as workplace wellness and holistic midlife wellness.

“This ensures that we’re addressing the whole woman – not just focusing on symptoms but also on how menopause affects their relationships, careers and mental health,” Tan explained.

Surety began as part of a venture builder programme at SUSS. When Tan received the Ngee Ann Kongsi - SUSS Impact Grant in 2022, Surety had to be turned into a company, as part of the rules.

The company later received a start-up founder grant from Enterprise Singapore in 2024. The two co-founders have taken a leave of absence from university since June 2024 to work on Surety full-time. Tan has one semester left to complete her degree.

This 27-year-old woman started menopause platform Surety. It was her mum’s own experience that convinced her (7)

Tan has always had an entrepreneurial streak. In secondary school, she sold limited-edition Air Jordan sneakers on community marketplace Carousell. During the pandemic, she launched an Instagram page to showcase home-based businesses.

While she admitted she doesn’t have first-hand experience with menopause – being in her twenties – Tan stressed her personal connection to the cause, having seen what her mother has gone through.

She sees having a young team as an advantage in getting the message across and make the conversation around menopause more approachable.

“By integrating a more modern, tech-savvy approach, we’re also reaching the daughters, colleagues and younger family members of women going through menopause, helping them understand how they can offer support,” she said.

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STARTING IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS ABOUT MENOPAUSE

Tan revealed that the general reaction to Surety’s work has been overwhelmingly positive, “but there’s still a long way to go in terms of open dialogue”. One thing that has surprised her is that middle-aged women are not as shy as she perceived.

“In Singapore, many women still find it uncomfortable to talk about menopause, largely because it’s seen as taboo or as something too private to discuss publicly,” she said. “However, once we start these conversations, I’ve noticed a sense of relief among many women – they want to talk about it, they just don’t always know how to start.

“The younger generation, too, is becoming more receptive to discussing women’s health issues but, overall, there’s still a lot of learning and unlearning that needs to happen. Surety’s mission is to help foster that dialogue and remove the stigma surrounding menopause,” she added.

Surety is gearing up for its biggest event yet – the Menopause Festival 2024, which takes place on Nov 9. It brings together experts, healthcare providers and women from all walks of life to talk openly about menopause, with panel discussions, interactive sessions and networking opportunities.

“This event is for women going through menopause and for their families, friends and colleagues,” Tan said. “It’s about normalising the conversation and providing the tools and support systems women need to navigate this stage of life.”

Tan’s vision is for Surety to become the go-to platform for women’s health in Asia, starting with menopause.

“I see this venture as a long-term one; we won’t change all of Asia with one menopause festival, but Elmer and I have been heartened by the response and we’re really excited to continue with this,” she said.

So what does her mother think of the cause she inspired? “Part of her doesn’t understand why I’m into venture building because she feels I should be graduating from school and just getting a job,” she said. “I’m sure she’s proud of me but it’s definitely a career trajectory she didn’t think I’d get into.

“My mother has been such a huge inspiration for me and the work I’m doing with Surety. Surety exists because of her story and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

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CNA Women is asection on CNA Lifestyle that seeks to inform, empower and inspire the modern woman. If you have women-related news, issues and ideas to share with us, email CNAWomen [at] mediacorp.com.sg.

Source: CNA/pc

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Women's Voices Women's Health female entrepreneurs menopause SUSS

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This 27-year-old woman started menopause platform Surety. It was her mum’s own experience that convinced her (2024)

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