ABOUT THIS EPISODE
WeNatal co-founders Ronit Menashe and Vida Delrahim explain trimester zero: the three months before conception when both partners can improve egg and sperm quality through targeted nutrition, bioavailable supplements, and cutting alcohol, smoking, and vaping. Male factor influences roughly half of miscarriage and infertility outcomes, and men regenerate sperm continuously, which means the window to improve is real and short. On this episode of The Breadwinners, Ronit and Vida also share how they built a bootstrapped prenatal supplement company after two miscarriages a week apart, why the supplement industry runs on smoke and mirrors, and what burnout, a health crash, and losing a home in the Palisades fire taught them about time.
Ronit and Vida were best friends and Nike colleagues who lost pregnancies within a week of each other in spring 2020 and were told by their doctors that it just happens. They refused that answer, dug into the research, put their husbands on antioxidants for three months, and both went on to have healthy daughters. That experiment became WeNatal, which has now helped 30,000 people become parents. In this conversation, Alexis Contos talks with them about building a company while postpartum, growing for three years on nights and weekends and no salary, why they turned down the paid-ads playbook, and what their daughters see when they watch their mothers work.
What you will hear:
- Why "just happens" is not an answer, and what to ask your doctor instead Trimester zero and the specific antioxidants that support sperm and egg quality
- How to read a supplement label: third-party testing, bioavailable forms, and fillers
- "Balance is like a hoax": what a health crash and a house fire taught them about non-negotiables
- Bootstrapping against competitors with $40 to $50 million in venture money
- The Google Doc called "Bestie Co" and why you should write letters to your future self
Timestamps:
00:00 Why WeNatal chose podcasts over paid ads
02:23 The club of women told they were too old
04:09 Two miscarriages a week apart
09:18 Trimester zero: what they put their husbands on
13:16 How men show up in the fertility conversation
18:20 Supplement industry smoke and mirrors: third-party testing and bioavailability
25:05 Building the company while postpartum
30:35 Burnout, and why balance is a hoax
36:32 The Palisades fire and the wake-up call
38:20 Don't wait for rock bottom
43:09 What their daughters see
48:29 Bootstrapping and the cost of patience
55:34 The legacy question
56:38 Breadwinner Artifacts: the Bestie Co Google Doc
59:31 Letters to your future self and trusting your gut
62:39 Breadwinner Bites
72:06 Where to find WeNatal
Start your WeNatal routine today by going to wenatal.com/BREADWINNERS and receive a free Rest+Digest Magnesium supplement ($30 value) with your first prenatal subscription.
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