TechPoutine: The Ten-Year Overnight Success Behind Eli Health

Recorded live at Startupfest, this episode of Tech Poutine explores what it really takes to transform breakthrough research into a successful health technology company. Marina Pavlović Rivas, co-founder and CEO of Eli Health, joins Ian Jeffrey, Nectarios Economakis and Catherine Ouellet-Dupuis to share the remarkable journey behind Eli's instant, saliva-based hormone-monitoring technology. Marina explains how a personal frustration with the lack of accessible hormonal data became an ambitious company operating at the intersection of women's health, artificial intelligence, hardware, life sciences and consumer health. She discusses the decision to build Eli's laboratory, intellectual property and manufacturing capabilities internally—and the patience required to develop a product where moving quickly must never come at the expense of scientific rigour. The conversation also covers the challenges of raising capital for FemTech and hard technology, communicating major strategic changes to investors, building a resilient team, expanding into the United States, and learning to pursue global ambitions from Montréal. A candid discussion about entrepreneurship, conviction and the difficult work of creating a future that does not yet exist. This episode was recorded in French at Startupfest 2026.