A Chat with Sonja Rincón, CEO and Co-Founder at AI-Powered Menopause Companion: Menotracker

“We’re transforming menopause from a taboo topic shrouded in medical dismissal into an informed conversation backed by science, community, and the world’s most privacy-focused health tracking technology.”

Tell us about Menotracker

Menotracker is an AI-powered menopause companion that transforms symptoms into personalised insights and support. We’re not just another tracking app – we’re addressing a critical gap in women’s healthcare where 58% of medical textbooks worldwide contain no reference to menopause.

What makes us different is that we combine comprehensive symptom tracking with AI-powered analysis, medical-grade educational content, and community features. We’ve built the world’s most accessible menopause app, available in 177 countries and launching in 41 languages, with blockchain-based data protection that ensures complete user anonymity.

Our platform captures the full spectrum of menopause symptoms – from the well-known, like hot flashes, to the under-discussed, like word-finding difficulty or a burning mouth sensation. We’ve developed features including a low-contrast design optimised for women experiencing migraines, larger text ideal for women aged 35-60, and doctor-ready reports that help women advocate for themselves in medical appointments.

Fundamentally, we’re turning symptom tracking into practical medical advocacy. Women can ask our conversational AI questions like “Has my sleep improved over 3 months?” and get clear, actionable insights based on their personal data.

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

The idea came from my own frustrating experience with perimenopause. I was a lawyer at the time, working in an environment that was already challenging for women – I was literally told I wouldn’t get promoted because I was a single mother. But when I started experiencing unexplained symptoms in my early 40s, the medical dismissal was even worse.

I was experiencing brain fog, sleep disruption, and other symptoms that were affecting my work and life, but doctors kept telling me I was “too young” for perimenopause or that I was “imagining” things. When I finally got a diagnosis and HRT prescription at 43 – earlier than the average age of 47 – I realised how broken the system was.

I started looking into technology solutions and discovered that most of the apps available were either focused on fertility tracking or were generic health apps that didn’t understand the complexity of perimenopausal symptoms.

The moment it all clicked was when I heard a podcast discussing how few products developers build specifically for women. Within ten days of that realisation, a friend shared her menopause experience with me, and I knew I’d found my purpose. I wanted to build the product I wished had existed – one that translates symptoms into insights and equips women to advocate for themselves without requiring them to become medical experts.

Tell us about your core product or service: Menotracker

Menotracker is designed around three core pillars: intelligent tracking, personalised insights, and privacy protection.

Our intelligent tracking captures over 40 different symptoms that can occur during perimenopause and menopause. We’ve worked with a medical advisory board including gynaecologists, endocrinologists, and cardiologists to ensure we’re tracking the right data points. The app learns patterns and triggers – for instance, identifying that caffeine consumption correlates with hot flash intensity for a particular user.

The personalised insights component uses AI to analyse this data and provide actionable recommendations. Users can soon query their data conversationally and get visualisations showing when medications take effect or how lifestyle changes impact their symptoms over time.

But what I’m most proud of is our privacy protection. We’re implementing blockchain-based data security, making us literally the first menopause app with this level of protection. In our database, users only exist as fake names with fake email addresses. All real user information is encrypted and distributed across multiple locations. Even if our database were breached, hackers would only find dummy data that can’t be traced to real people.

We’re also building community features that connect women with similar experiences. Our basic features and educational content remain permanently free because we believe every woman deserves access to menopause support, regardless of her financial situation.

What most excites you about the women’s health technology industry?

What excites me most is that we’re finally having conversations that should have happened decades ago. The women’s health tech industry is experiencing unprecedented growth, with over $1.2 billion invested in femtech companies in recent years, but we’re still barely scratching the surface of what’s needed.

I’m particularly excited about the shift towards evidence-based solutions. For too long, women’s health has been dismissed or under-researched. Now we have the technology and data capabilities to build products that can actually prove their impact and contribute to legitimate medical research.

The menopause space specifically is exploding. We’re seeing major corporations implementing menopause policies, governments launching national strategies, and investors finally recognising this as a legitimate healthcare market representing half the population.

What’s most encouraging is seeing the community aspect of this industry. Women are supporting other women, sharing experiences openly, and demanding better from healthcare providers. We’re breaking down stigmas that have existed for generations.

But I’m also excited about the global opportunity. While the conversation is advanced in countries like the UK and US, there are millions of women worldwide who have even less access to menopause information and support. Technology allows us to reach them in their own languages and cultural contexts.

The intersection of AI, privacy technology, and women’s health is creating possibilities we couldn’t have imagined even five years ago. We can now offer personalised health insights while maintaining complete privacy – something that’s crucial given the current political climate around women’s reproductive health data.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome along the way?

The biggest challenge has been the intersection of being a female founder in a male-dominated tech industry while working on a topic that many people – including investors and advisors – don’t fully understand or take seriously.

When I was seeking grants in Austria, I had investors ask questions like “How would a woman know she has night sweats and couldn’t sleep because of that? Maybe her cat woke her up.” These weren’t just dismissive questions – they revealed a fundamental lack of understanding about the experiences of half the population.

I’ve also faced the challenge of building credibility in a medical space as someone with a legal background. While my legal experience has actually been invaluable for navigating healthcare regulations and data privacy requirements, I’ve had to work extra hard to build relationships with medical professionals and prove that our technology meets clinical standards.

The technical challenges around privacy have been enormous too. Implementing blockchain-based data protection while maintaining a user-friendly experience requires a level of technical sophistication that most health apps don’t attempt. But given the political climate and the way period tracking data has been used against women, we knew privacy couldn’t be an afterthought.

From a personal perspective, the biggest challenge was leaving the financial security of my legal career while supporting myself and my daughter. There were moments when the uncertainty felt overwhelming, especially when facing rejection or dismissive attitudes.

But every time I doubted myself, I’d receive a message from a user saying how Menotracker had helped them get better care from their doctor, or enabled them to identify a pattern they’d never noticed before. Those messages reminded me why this work matters and kept me going through the difficult periods.

What is your number one piece of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Find a problem that you’re genuinely passionate about solving, not just a market opportunity you think might be profitable. When you’re building something you truly believe in, it shows in everything you do – from product development to investor pitches to customer conversations.

The entrepreneurial journey is incredibly challenging, especially as a female founder. You’ll face rejection, criticism, and moments where everything feels impossible. If you’re only motivated by potential financial returns, you’ll likely give up when things get difficult. But if you’re solving a problem that keeps you up at night – in a good way – you’ll find the resilience to keep going.

Also, don’t wait until you have all the answers or feel completely ready. I left my legal career with only a basic understanding of app development and had to learn everything from programming to user experience design to medical device regulations. The willingness to learn and adapt quickly is more valuable than having all the expertise up front.

Build your network intentionally, especially with other founders who understand the journey. The isolation of entrepreneurship is real, and having people who can offer both practical advice and emotional support is crucial.

Finally, trust your instincts about your market and users, even when well-meaning advisors suggest changes that don’t feel right. I’ve had countless people suggest we should focus on fertility tracking or general wellness instead of menopause specifically. But our users tell us repeatedly that they need solutions built specifically for their experience, not generic health apps that try to serve everyone.

What can we hope to see from Menotracker in the future?

We have some incredibly exciting developments ahead. We’re in discussions about some exciting partnerships, which would be a game-changer for our credibility and reach. We’re also working towards ORCA certification and medical device approval, which will open doors to NHS partnerships and other healthcare system integrations.

From a product perspective, we’re developing advanced AI features that will provide even more sophisticated pattern recognition and personalised recommendations. We’re also expanding our telemedicine integration to connect users directly with menopause specialists, addressing the shortage of trained healthcare providers in this area.

We’re exploring how blockchain technology can enable secure data sharing for research purposes while maintaining complete user anonymity. The goal is to contribute to the largest dataset on perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms ever collected, which could revolutionise research in this field.

There will also be a tech solution focusing specifically on a privacy-first approach to menstrual health – but that’s all I can say about that for the moment! Given the current political climate, especially in the US, secure period tracking is becoming a human rights issue.

Internationally, we’re focused on expanding our language offerings and cultural adaptations. Menopause experiences and cultural attitudes vary significantly around the world, and we want to ensure our platform is truly inclusive and accessible.

Longer-term, I envision Menotracker becoming the definitive platform that bridges the gap between women experiencing menopause and the healthcare system. We want to be the tool that ensures no woman has to go through what I went through – being dismissed, misdiagnosed, or left to navigate this life stage alone.