Show Notes
In episode #153 of Sweat Capital, we sit down with Grace Toombs, Founder of Hey June, to unpack why she walked away from a hard-won place in medical school to rebuild women's healthcare in Australia.
After ten years of chronic pain being dismissed by doctors, Grace was finally diagnosed with stage three endometriosis while studying medicine.
During that surgery, her gynaecologist performed a cervical screening test and it returned high-grade pre-cancerous cells. She'd only caught it because of her proximity to the healthcare system, and she couldn't stop asking: what happens to the women who don't have that access?
That frustration became Hey June, a Medicare-backed platform turning the most shame-filled experience in women's healthcare, STI testing and cervical screening, into care women actually want to use, now reaching thousands of women in every state and territory in Australia.
We dive into the early days of cold-calling and door-knocking pathology labs as a med school dropout with no piece of paper, landing $120k through the Startmate Accelerator when June had been in market for barely six weeks, the Forbes 30 Under 30 cover that suddenly got her emails answered, and why she's turned down VC after VC while holding out for mission-aligned, patient capital.
We also explore the state of women's health in Australia, why women weren't included in Australian clinical trials until 2010, the toxic wellness culture flooding social feeds with advice that isn't evidence-based, why diagnostics (including a new saliva test for endometriosis) are racing ahead of continuity of care, and what it will take to reach women in rural, remote and Indigenous communities.
For founders, clinicians, or anyone who's ever been told "there's nothing wrong with you", this episode is a lesson in turning rage into your unfair advantage.
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This episode was recorded on 13 July 2026.
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