Claudia Radu pitched Circe at Women's Health Week and walked away with more than recognition. Since then, she has secured £100,000 from Innovate UK through the Founders Factory Biomedical Accelerator and is preparing to launch Circe's first pilot, focused on postpartum stress and depression. We sat down with Claudia to talk about the broken economics of mental healthcare, what it really takes to build in this space, and why she believes founders are stronger together.
What problem is Circe solving and why did you feel it needed a new approach?
The mental healthcare system is broken in two directions. Go private, and you're spending hundreds of pounds a month. Go through the NHS, and you could wait up to 18 months, in part because we're facing a nationwide shortage of 2,000 therapists. Circe matches ten times more people per therapist, which means we're not just making therapy more financially accessible, we're solving for the bottleneck itself.
But there's a more personal reason too. I've been in both individual and group therapy, and while individual therapy helped me understand myself, my biggest breakthroughs happened in peer settings. In a world where we're spending more time on screens and less time with each other, group therapy feels like the antidote to the loneliness epidemic, not just the mental health one.
What was the pivotal moment that put you on your current founder path?
I don't think I've had one moment, it's just always been what I wanted to do. I grew up in an entrepreneurial family. I'm actually the fourth generation in my family to run a business with my spouse! My father in particular has been a huge influence, as he's not only encouraged us to aim for values-based careers but also to take risks and follow our passions.
What are the biggest challenges you've faced as a founder? Is there anything you'd have done differently?
To me, the biggest challenge is always the gap between theory and practice. Entrepreneurship is something you can only really learn by doing, and most of my biggest lessons have come from mistakes.
That's why I think it's so important to always start by building relationships in the industry you want to work in. In the beginning, it's what makes the biggest difference.
Can you tell me more about your funding process?
We've been mostly bootstrapped, with some non-dilutive funding through grants, and we're now starting to raise from private markets. It's early, so I won't pretend I have a verdict yet, but what I will say is that you need to grow a thick skin for it and just keep going.
What has been the greatest source of help and guidance along the way?
My network, without question. My journey so far has been hundreds of invisible hands opening doors and nudging me forward, because they believe in what we're building. I can't thank everyone who's taken a call, made an introduction, or given me some tough love enough.
What concrete opportunities came directly from pitching at WHW?
It gave us a platform to talk about what we're doing in a space people already trust, which matters enormously when you're early stage. It also gave me the courage to become more visible as a founder, and to speak more openly not just about what I'm building, but about why.
What advice would you give another founder in the industry?
In healthcare, and as women, we're stronger when we work together. Seek out other femtech founders, find ways to compete that are healthy and productive, and join spaces like WHW where collaboration can actually happen. There's more to gain from each other than from going it alone.
What are the strategic priorities for Circe over the next 12 months?
We've launched our pilot this March, focused on postpartum stress and depression. Over the next year, we'll be building out our clinical content and protocols, our tech platform, and our organic community. And underpinning all of it: fundraising. That's where most of our energy is right now.
Claudia pitched at Women's Health Week and used it as a launchpad.
Applications for the WHW Europe 2026 Pitch Session are now open. If you're building in women's health, this is your stage.
