Mainebiz

V O L . X X X N O. V § 2 M A R C H 4 , 2 0 2 4 8 I N N OVAT I O N "W e're here to pump you up." Such is the wel- come message on the pumpspotting app, a breastfeeding support platform for nursing mothers launched by AmyVanHaren in 2015. A one-stop shop for expect- ant and new parents, pumpspotting comes in multiple versions starting with a free locator directing users to "mom-approved" places to nurse and pump. By upgrading to a premium subscription, users gain access to lac- tation consultants, personalized con- tent and deeper levels of daily support during a time that can be isolating and scary for many first-time parents. "We're on a mission to increase breastfeeding confidence and improve maternal health outcomes, one feed at a time," says VanHaren, a Kittery- based entrepreneur honored on the Mainebiz Next List in 2021. e inspiration for starting the business grew out of her own frus- trations as a new mom with a full- time job, from finding places to pump while travelling to packaging and sending breast milk home. Her lightbulb moment came while sitting on a dirty bathroom floor at the San Francisco airport, wishing for a nicer place to pump and tex- ting friends for advice: "Both the app, and the name, came to me in that moment," she recalls. "I started imagining how we might use tech- nology to create space for women on a feeding journey, and the play on words stuck." With more than 90,000 users to date in 16 countries, pumpspotting was a pioneer in the nascent femtech niche, even before Danish internet entrepre- neur Ida Tin coined the term. Technol- ogy geared to women's health is pro- jected to becoming a $1 trillion market by 2027, and VanHaren is pumped to expand her business as the market grows. "In some ways, we still feel like a startup because we're in the right space to fit the right time and the market," says VanHaren, who leads a team of seven employees, including four in Maine. e team sells the service to employ- ers on an annual subscription basis and Pumped up Breastfeeding support platform pumpspotting is a fast-growing 'femtech' startup B y R e n e e C o r d e s We're on a mission to increase breastfeeding confidence and improve maternal health outcomes, one feed at a time. — Amy VanHaren pumpspotting P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R F O C U S AmyVanHaren, founder and CEO of pumpspotting, leads a team of seven employees, including four in Maine.

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