Flo is the #1 app for female health, supporting women through every stage of their reproductive lives. From first period to menopause, Flo helps users track cycles, understand symptoms, and feel more in control of their bodies. It also offers support with things like planning and tracking pregnancy. At its core, Flo aims to make female health less confusing, more informed, and more empowering.

I’m part of Flo’s marketing team, working in the Creative Studio — the team behind the marketing content that helps people discover and connect with Flo. That includes everything from ad campaigns to in-app messages and visuals on the App Store. I lead a small but mighty team focused on creative strategy and process. We work closely with the product team to find the best ways to promote Flo both inside and outside the app.

Most of my time goes into research, writing briefs, finding inspiration, and talking to people across Flo — mostly from the product, medical, and legal teams. Some days are focused: reading product updates, exploring user insights, or spotting trends that could spark ideas. Other days are full of Zoom calls, Slack threads, and spontaneous idea-sharing.

Lately, I’ve been working with the product team on upcoming features, helping shape how we communicate what we’re building. It’s not just about launching — it’s about connecting with what people are already thinking about or searching for. That’s where marketing really makes a difference.

• Jira, even though I’m more of a basic user
• Google Workspace is everywhere, of course
• Miro for mapping ideas
• Figma to check designs or leave feedback
• Looker for reporting
• Slack for everything
• Zoom — hours each day
• ChatGPT for quick writing and research tasks
• Claude — when I need help with copy
• Perplexity for exploring topics or trends
• Notes app — full of half-formed ideas I’ll organize later; it’s like my digital scratchpad

And to stay on top of things, nothing beats my Moleskine and a pen. Paper to-do lists still work better for me than any productivity app.

First things first — you need to be a marketer, or at least understand how marketing works: how messages move across channels and how different parts of the funnel connect. That’s the foundation.

Hard:

• Creative brief writing — Turning product updates, user insights, and business goals into something clear, focused, and useful for the creative team.
• Insight hunting — Digging into user research, product context, or market trends to find what matters and bring it into the work.
• Cross-functional thinking — Thinking beyond marketing: understanding product, legal, and medical requirements.
• Tool fluency — Learning new tools quickly and knowing just enough to keep things moving.

Soft:

• Curiosity — This job starts with asking questions. What do people care about? What are we missing?
• Communication — You’re always translating between teams, priorities, and mindsets, especially across product, legal, and creative.
• Flexibility — Priorities shift fast. You have to adapt without losing focus or momentum.
• Collaboration — The best part of the job: connecting people, ideas, and perspectives to build something smarter than anyone person could create alone.

I was really surprised by how little women — including myself — actually know about their own bodies. Working at Flo, I’ve learned so much about female health that I genuinely wish I’d known earlier.

One moment that stuck with me was when my mum started going through perimenopause, just as we were exploring it in the app. She felt confused, scared, and unprepared. That made me think more deeply about how we speak to women and how we can support them better through both product and marketing.

I’ve also met many men — even ones I’ve dated — who didn’t know basic things about female health. Like how fertility changes across the cycle, or how long it can actually take for a woman to feel aroused or reach orgasm. Not because they didn’t care, but because they’d never thought to learn. That says a lot about how little space there is for open, honest conversations around women’s health and sexuality.

One of the hardest parts is when someone has a strong idea for marketing, but they’re not a marketer. You want to respect their input, but you’re also responsible for hitting real goals. So you have to stay open, keep the energy positive, and still guide things in the right direction — and do it fast. It takes patience, quick thinking, and a bit of strategic negotiation.

Talk to people in marketing, ask questions, and see what they actually do. You don’t need a degree — the field moves too fast for that. Learn by doing: read, take a good course, and work on small projects. You’ll learn more by practicing than anything else.

A mix of old traumas and curiosity. Part of me wants to prove something — to do things right, to make things better. But I’m also just curious. I love figuring out how things work, how people think, and how to say things in a way that really lands. That mix keeps me going.

Right now, I’m exactly where I wanted to be. I’ve reached the goal I was aiming for, and I’m really enjoying it. Now I’m figuring out what’s next. I’m not in a rush — just giving myself space to see what feels right when I’m “grown up,” whenever that is.

The big ones for me are communication, empathy, and patience. I can learn fast, solve problems, and connect the dots. But as you grow, it’s less about doing everything yourself and more about helping others move with you. You need to stay calm, supportive, and able to navigate things together — and that’s where those three qualities really matter. They're what makes real leadership possible.

I don’t think I’ve ever gotten career advice that really stuck. I’ve always trusted my own instincts and followed what feels right. No one knows me like I do. That doesn’t mean I don’t listen to others — but when it comes to big decisions, I follow my own direction.

Don’t rest on your laurels.

Reaching a goal doesn’t mean the work is done, it’s just a new starting point. Each year, I think I’ve figured out my role, and each year, I find something I missed. And that’s okay. I’m happy to keep learning — it means I’m not stuck. The moment you think you’ve got it all figured out is usually when you stop growing — and I’m not interested in standing still.

One moment I felt really proud was when we were working on how to talk about perimenopause in our marketing, and my mum was going through it at the same time. She shared how confused and unprepared she felt, and I brought some of that into our messaging. It made the work more real and empathetic — and reminded me that what we do can truly support women when they need it most.

I don’t really regret anything, but I do wish I’d been a bit kinder to myself. I used to work a lot — often overtime, because I enjoyed it. But maybe if I’d slowed down, I could’ve avoided some burnout. I’m still learning that loving your work is great, but not if it costs your energy or well-being.

Don’t do things just for the sake of it. I believe in meaningful work, not busy work. If there’s no clear goal or reasoning, I’ll challenge it.

Stay curious. Even if it’s outside my scope, I want to understand it. Curiosity leads to better ideas, better teamwork, and fewer mistakes.

Protect your energy. I used to overwork, thinking it was a strength. Now I try to remember that rest is part of the process too.

I usually postpone it as long as I can — let’s be honest. But once I have to face it, I block a few hours, dive in, and start figuring it out. It’s rarely as scary as it seemed. I just need space, no distractions, and permission to not get it right on the first try.

I don’t go to conferences or actively try to “build a network” — it’s just not how I operate. I build connections through the work itself: collaborating, solving problems, being reliable. That feels more real to me.

My tip? Do great work and be someone people want to work with again — that builds its own kind of network.

I’m not sure I believe in the term "work-life balance" — it sounds too neat for how things really are. But I do believe in not letting work take over. After years of overworking and burnout, I’ve learned to stop when the day is done. I don’t aim for perfect balance — just time to live: run, read, sleep, drink wine, stare at the water. There’s always something left for tomorrow, and I’m okay with that.

I used to really value being right. I wanted to be the one who had the answer, who figured it out first. Now, I’m (mostly) okay with being wrong or not 100% sure. I’ve learned that curiosity and collaboration lead to better outcomes than trying to be the smartest person in the room.

I think I’d still do the same work, just four days a week instead of five. I genuinely love the thinking, building, and problem-solving. If money weren’t an issue, I’d simply give myself more space to rest in between.

I won’t say AI, even though it’s clearly a big shift. What excites me more is how it’s changing content and speeding up creative work in meaningful ways.

I’m also really interested in how tracking tools are evolving, with apps and devices like Oura and Garmin starting to integrate and give people a fuller view of their health. It feels like the start of something powerful.

Don’t rush. You don’t need to figure it all out at once. Don’t chase everything — growth, approval, doing it all. It’s okay to slow down. Be kind to yourself. Loving your work doesn’t mean you don’t need rest. Trust your instincts, take breaks seriously, and remember: you’ll still get where you want to be, just with more energy and less damage.

Strava – They’re doing a great job. They just acquired Runna, they’re all over my feed, and I’m paying for it, which says a lot. The product keeps getting better, and they’ve nailed building a community around movement.

Oura – I’m really impressed by how the product is evolving. It feels premium and intentional, and they translate complex health data into something simple and meaningful.

Charli XCX, Addison Rae, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé – Not products technically, but their teams are masters of marketing, storytelling, and timing. They’re everywhere — and everyone’s talking, whether they love them or not.

I’ll name a few recent reads (and re-reads) that stuck with me:

• “Good Material” by Dolly Alderton
• “The Tartar Steppe” by Dino Buzzati
• “Reborn: Journals and Notebooks, 1947–1963” by Susan Sontag
• “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” by Richard P. Feynman
• “1913: The Year Before the Storm” by Florian Illies

And two films that really stayed with me recently:

• Sing Sing
• The Holdovers