In this episode of The Capital Flex, I sit down with Somer Baburek, President and CEO of Hera Biotech, a women’s health company building AI-powered diagnostic tests and devices to transform how conditions like endometriosis are identified and treated. Somer and I talk candidly about what it really looks like to fundraise as a female founder in hard-science women’s health—beyond the polished narratives and into the uncomfortable, often infuriating, realities of venture.

We get into the dynamics of corporate VC, the importance of having a board that truly has your back, and the subtle (and not-so-subtle) bias that shows up in both male and female investors. Somer also shares why she believes the real opportunity in women’s health lies in serious life science and B2B models, not just direct-to-consumer period apps—and why knowing your financials inside and out is non-negotiable for any founder heading into a raise.

Key Topics Discussed in the Episode:

• Founding Hera Biotech and developing AI-powered diagnostics
• A corporate VC lowball offer and how her board backed her
• The “Elizabeth Holmes” question and investor bias in biotech
• Why many femtech funds overlook hard-science women’s health
• Somer’s key fundraising advice for female founders

My Reflection & Challenge

Listening back to this conversation, what stayed with me wasn’t just the absurdity of the stories — it was how predictable they were. The napkin valuation. The “I like you” framing. The decision to bypass the CEO and go straight to the men on the board. The Elizabeth Holmes question that somehow still finds oxygen in rooms full of “smart” people. None of this is rare. What is rare is watching a founder hold the line without contorting herself to make others comfortable. Somer didn’t just survive these moments, she learned how to read them faster, name them sooner, and move on without apologizing. The throughline here isn’t outrage. It’s discernment.

Fundraising doesn’t just reveal who will fund your company. It reveals who will try to control it, diminish it, or test your tolerance for nonsense. The real work is recognizing which is which and trusting yourself enough to act on it.

This Week’s Challenge

Before your next fundraising conversation, write a one-page non-negotiables list.

Include:

• Minimum acceptable valuation logic
• Board behavior you will not tolerate
• Questions you will not answer
• Signals that mean “this is not the check we want”

Review it before every pitch. Your job isn’t to endure every room, it’s to choose the right ones.

Connect with Somer Baburek and Hera Biotech:

www.herabiotech.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/somerbaburek/

If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to follow The Capital Flex, leave a rating, and share the episode with a founder who needs to hear it. You can also connect to me on LinkedIn.

And if you’re looking for a deeper, more candid space to talk about fundraising, investor dynamics, and the realities of building something from scratch, hit the link and join The Founder’s Coven. It’s where we go beyond the podcast, share real stories, and help each other build the companies and the capital stacks we actually want.

We’re codifying the capital playbook—because no founder should have to learn the hard way.

Hosted by Naseem Sayani, VC and unapologetic truth-teller, The Capital Flex unpacks what really happens when female founders raise money inside systems not built for them. From bias in the room to predatory term sheets, these are the stories we usually hear in DMs—not headlines.

Each episode offers unfiltered insight, real strategies, and a new playbook where we write the rules. Because the system won’t fix itself. But we will.

If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to follow The Capital Flex, leave a rating, and share the episode with a founder who needs to hear it. You can also connect to me on LinkedIn.

And if you’re looking for a deeper, more candid space to talk about fundraising, investor dynamics, and the realities of building something from scratch, hit the link and join The Founder’s Coven. It’s where we go beyond the podcast, share real stories, and help each other build the companies and the capital stacks we actually want.