Dallas Barnes: Reya Health Is a Digital Contraceptive Counselling Platform That Helps Birth Control Users Find Their Match

Reya Health is a digital contraceptive counselling platform that helps birth control users find their match.

Reya provides personalized information to connect users to the right birth control option, help them track their side effects, and support them all throughout their experience with contraceptives. Reya is your personal birth control guide!

Tell us about yourself?

First and foremost, I think of myself as a Reproductive Rights and Sexual Health Activist/Speaker. I’ve always been passionate about reproductive health and the struggles that birth control users face.

I graduated from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia with a bachelor of Commerce. I started my career coaching marginalized entrepreneurs on business plan strategies with a specialization in impact-driven companies.

Currently I’m mentoring through StartUp Canada Women and I sit on the board of Femtech Canada, a government supported organization that supports women’s health innovation in Canada.

If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

I would tell myself to expect the unexpected and be prepared to pivot at any point in time. So much of being successful as a startup is recognizing that owning/starting a business is not a linear plan.

I think one of the most important steps finding people you can trust in your corner. Being a solo founder can be extremely rewarding and difficult, it’s great to have those you rely on to be a sounding board.

What problem does your business solve?

75% of birth control users aren’t satisfied with their birth control. It also takes approximately 2 years and $1000 to find a birth control you’re content with. We think it’s been far too long that the birth control counselling process hasn’t changed.

For young birth control users especially, there’s so much misinformation and a general lack of education when it comes to sexual health. We want Reya to be the go-to support system for all your birth control needs.

What is the inspiration behind your business?

As a birth control user myself, I’ve had a pretty difficult experience with my own journey. I started using birth control when I was just 17, throughout my experience with birth control I felt unprepared and unsupported.

It took me trying 6 different contraceptive options, years of debilitating side effects, dozens of doctor appointments, a few trips to the ER, before I got to a comfortable place with my birth control.

After all those negative experiences with my prescribed birth control, I finally took matters into my own hands and spent countless hours researching birth control options.

I soon realized that my experience is a shared experience amongst many birth control users, because of that I decided to create a solution that I felt was missing for me during the contraceptive counselling process. Reya Health is for all birth control users to bring back autonomy to their health and wellbeing.

What is your magic sauce?

We definitely think of ourselves as a unicorn in some ways! Currently, we’re not aware of any birth control platforms that are support-based on a membership model.

The difference between us and some telehealth companies is that we’re really trying to put the educational/support component on the forefront.

We’re *currently* not in the business of prescribing and delivering, so our focus is supporting our members through their birth control journey on their own terms.

What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?

We have some exciting partnerships in the works! More to come later in the year. But as far as the next 5 years go, we really want to see a cultural shift in how we view birth control and a change in the current system.

At some point, we would LOVE for Reya to become every birth control user’s first step in the birth control counselling process. We want to get to a place where Reya’s accessible and approachable for all.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?

Short answer: starting a business. Founding a company and sticking with it has been the hardest thing I’ve done. I’m constantly learning and being put into situations where I have to learn more about myself and grow. I’m proud of that.

However, I think the ultimate accomplishment for me has been connecting with people and being able to provide them with a solution that enables health autonomy and supports their journeys.

How do people get involved/buy into your vision?

We would love for everyone to join our community on our social network channels.

You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, Linkedin all @reyahealth. We’re happy to chat whether you’re a birth control user or a potential partner! Get connected with us at [email protected]

Finally visit us at reyahealth.ca to learn more about our membership!