Male fertility has often been overlooked and has been traditionally deemed a rather taboo topic; however, this stigma is gradually being lifted, in part, due to men’s reproductive health companies like Dadi. This Brooklyn-based startup has developed an FDA-licensed, at-home male fertility test and sperm storage kit that cost a mere $99 annually. The sperm samples are sent to a lab, where the fertility test is conducted, and then the sperm is sent to Boston to be stored at NE Cryogenics, one of the largest cryogenic centers in the world. A fertility report that contains information about the volume, concentration, and sperm count is sent to the customer.
AlleyWatch caught up with cofounder and CEO Tom Smith to learn more about raising awareness for male fertility, Dadi’s impressive growth, and latest funding round, which brings its total funding to $7M.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
Dadi raised an additional $5M as an extension of our seed round, where we initially raised $2M. This portion of the round was led by TCG, an affiliate of The Chernin Group. TCG Partner Marco DeMeireles will also join Dadi’s board.
Tell us about the product or service that Dadi offers.
Dadi is a men’s health company that’s reinventing the fertility industry. With our FDA-licensed, at-home male fertility test and sperm storage kit, we provide a secure solution that is 10x cheaper and easier to use than traditional clinics. By creating a simple and accessible way for men to learn about their reproductive health, Dadi ensures that couples can use healthy, younger sperm when they’re ready to start a family — putting them in charge of their own futures.
What inspired you to start Dadi?
Dadi was inspired by the belief that all men who might want to start a family in the future should have the ability to store their young healthy sperm today. Nearly four years ago, a close friend shared a story of visiting a sperm bank to ensure the ability to have a future healthy family. From this story, I learned how fertility clinics are widely outdated and expensive. In addition, they make it very uncomfortable for men to talk about their fertility and what they can be doing.
Shortly after, Dadi cofounders Mackey Saturday, Gordon von Steiner, and I researched fertility, finding that the rates of infertility are worsening and society is ignoring the fact that this is a problem shared by both men and women. We wanted to reinvent the industry and started to think about ways to make sperm storage more personal, less intimidating, and affordable for all men. Together, we launched an FDA-licensed, at-home male fertility test and sperm storage kit to provide the option for couples to have the ability to start a healthy family, in a more accessible way.
How is Dadi different?
Dadi is different in that our goal is to provide a service that can be accessible to everyone. The current sperm storage industry is archaic and inflexible. In order to move the industry, we had to redesign the experience and product from the ground up and change the entire industry’s business model.
What market does Dadi target and how big is it?
There are 88 million American men between the ages of 20-60 years old, of those 44 million have children and 3 million store their sperm. What’s more is that today, 1 in 6 couples are having trouble conceiving, and of all known infertility cases, 50% can be attributed to the man.
Dadi is for every man – whether he’s 18 or 40. The perfect time to learn about your fertility is now. We are seeing men in their early 20s to mid-40s and 50s start to express interest in Dadi.
What’s your business model?
Dadi is a subscription-based recurring revenue model. We offer $9.99/month or $99.99 annual subscriptions, giving men a low-cost, long-term option for storing their sperm.
How has the business changed since we spoke after Dadi’s Seed round earlier this year?
Since launching, Dadi has supported thousands of customers from different ages and life stages, across all continental states, and this new funding will allow us to expand our customer service capabilities. This new funding is for our customers, as we want to continue to improve the support we offer to them and become even more involved in their family planning journeys. It will allow us to further develop our technology – we will be creating new augmented capabilities for before and after sperm collection to be sure we’re meeting all of our customer’s needs.
In addition, we’ve created a Science and Technology Advisory Board, aimed at advising the latest breakthroughs in fertility testing and sperm storage. This is comprised of leading experts in the industry — including Dr. Michael Eisenberg, Associate Professor of Urology at the Stanford University Medical Center; Dr. Jacques Cohen, Laboratory Director at ART Institute of Washington at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, who joins Dadi as Clinical Laboratory Advisor; and Dr. Grace Centola, PhD, Science Director at Dadi. This new board is aimed to advise on the latest breakthroughs in fertility testing and sperm storage.
What was the funding process like?
Ultimately, it was a straightforward process. Unlike other companies that are pitching investors, every meeting we went into had someone who could relate to the struggles of male infertility. Whether it was a family member or friend, they understood how difficult the process could be. We know how the funding process can be. Since raising earlier in the year, we’ve seen a rapid evolution over the last 6 months that demonstrates how the industry is growing and VC’s are taking notice.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
The biggest challenge is finding the right partners to work with. What’s unique about Dadi is that we’re not your regular direct-to-consumer service. We wanted to find an organization that follows our standards and beliefs. We’re excited to work with TCG because they understand the long-term opportunity in the fertility space and align with Dadi’s goals.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Our investors are people who believe in our mission and believe that there is more that men can do when it comes to their fertility. They’re motivated to help us transform the industry by driving down the costs of family planning and advocate for a future where the dialogue around fertility issues can be normalized and better understood.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We’re looking to expand our fertility offerings and customer service capabilities. We want to provide more fertility education, become even more involved with customer needs, and provide greater support during the entire family planning journey.
We’re looking to expand our fertility offerings and customer service capabilities. We want to provide more fertility education, become even more involved with customer needs, and provide greater support during the entire family planning journey.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
As a NY based company, we had the opportunity to meet with great partners in the area. There are sophisticated investors in NY that are worth meeting with. When raising, it’s important that you meet with teams that have the same personality and values. Nevertheless, it’s worth exploring personalities externally as well, such as California.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We see Dadi becoming the top choice for men when it comes to proactively learning and caring for their reproductive health. As we continue to reinvent the industry from the ground up, we want to give everyone the resources they need to learn about their fertility and plan for the future.
What’s your favorite rooftop bar in NYC to unwind?
I don’t really drink. But you can find myself and the Dadi team enjoying different food spots in Williamsburg. One of our favorite spots is Sweetwater. It’s a casual space with the right vibes
