Trimester Zero, Male Fertility, and Why Balance Is a Hoax with the Founders of WeNatal | The Breadwinners Podcast

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. Join The Breadwinners community: Subscribe on Substack: wearethebreadwinners.substack.com Follow on Instagram: @wearethebreadwinners Rate and review wherever you listen. It helps more women find this show. #breadwinner #fertility #trimesterzero #womeninbusiness #femalefounders #prenatal #motherhood #entrepreneurship Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices