·S1 E39

Building Better Support for Breastfeeding Mothers with Lileo | Blush and Bloom Podcast | Ep. 39

May 10

18 mins

Episode Description

#FemTech #Breastfeeding #MaternalHealth

In this episode of Blush and Bloom, Gigi Kenneth speaks with Jerome Derycke, co-founder of Lileo, a Belgian maternal care company helping mothers continue breastfeeding with better support, comfort, and guidance.

Lileo combines an innovative breast pump, a lactation app, and a subscription-based service model designed around what mothers actually need during the early motherhood journey.

Jerome shares what it took to build and test Lileo over four and a half years before their first sales, including testing prototypes with more than 160 mothers, learning from their feedback, and staying motivated through years of development, fundraising, and problem-solving.

They also talk about building hardware in FemTech, why maternal health products need to go beyond functionality, what founders should know before building in women’s health, and how Lileo keeps mothers at the center of its product development process.

The conversation also explores what it means to be a man building in FemTech, why storytelling matters in breastfeeding support, the role of startup communities in Belgium, and what keeps the Lileo team motivated through the challenges of hardware, fundraising, and product development.

This episode is for mothers, FemTech founders, health innovators, and anyone interested in breastfeeding support, women’s health, and the realities of building a product that truly serves women.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Intro

00:08 Meet Jerome Derycke

00:24 What Lileo does

01:23 Building for 4.5 years before first sales

02:17 The prototype moment that changed everything

03:05 Why maternal health needs more than a good product

03:49 What testing with mothers revealed

05:50 Advice for founders building products that take time to test

06:50 Keeping women at the center of FemTech

07:06 Why Lileo started a breastfeeding podcast

08:44 Sifted recognition and investor visibility