Building a Company While Defining a Category.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Sioned Fôn Jones co-founder of BoobyBiome and award-winning scientist with a PhD in Biophysics. Alongside co-founders Dr Lydia Mapstone and Dr Tara O'Driscoll, Sioned is doing something truly rare: building a science-led company in a space that barely existed before they arrived.We get into the breast milk microbiome, the staggering research gap (we know more about tomatoes, coffee and wine than breast milk), and why that gap is not accidental. It sits at the intersection of women's health and infant health, two of the most historically underfunded areas in science, and BoobyBiome is determined to change that.The episode covers the origin story of both products: the live microbiome drop developed to give every baby a foundational microbiome regardless of how they are fed, and the preservation device born out of a serendipitous discovery about oxygen's impact on stored breast milk. Sioned walks us through the full funding journey, from a £750k pre-seed in 2022 led by VenRex, to a £2.5M seed in 2025 led by Empirical Ventures, alongside six Innovate UK grants totalling £2.6M after five failed applications first.We also explore the very real challenge of not fitting neatly into any investor category: too consumer for deep tech VCs, too science-heavy for consumer VCs, and not quite femtech enough for women's health funds. Sioned shares how they navigated that, built conviction without a launched product, and used community, surveys, waitlists and strategic board members to prove product-market fit.This is a brilliant episode for any founder who is having to educate the market as much as build for it.Topics covered: The science of the breast milk microbiome and why it has been so overlooked How BoobyBiome's two products came to exist and why both matter Fundraising at the intersection of biotech and consumer Winning Innovate UK grants and what that took Building a board and advisory network from day one Community-led development without lived experience as founders Navigating partnerships with potential competitors Keeping focus when progress feels invisibleGet involved with BoobyBiome: BoobyBiome are actively looking for mothers to join their beta testing and pilot launch for the preservation device, as well as ongoing breast milk donations to support their research. Find out how to donate breast milk and join the study here.Connect with Sioned: LinkedIn BoobyBiome info@boobybiome.comOur podcast sponsor is Progyny Global. A company that provides best-in-class fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and menopause benefits for the modern global workforce. Progyny Global offers an inclusive platform that connects employees with top experts, clinics, and treatments around the world. To learn more visit: https://progynyglobal.com/#contact or to get in touch with our team directly via email (Sasha.tory@progynyglobal.com) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.