E10: Simmone Taitt of Poppy Seed Health

“You have to be able to have the stomach to take on venture, to take on angel checks, to take on money from people to help you build.”

Simmone Taitt became a founder because she found herself, like so many other birthing people, totally let down by the existing healthcare system. In 2016, she experienced her first pregnancy loss and left the doctor’s appointment shocked by the complete lack of medical and emotional support offered to her — this type of first-trimester loss was normal, the doctor said, and then the appointment was over. She turned to the internet, finding the warmth and support she needed on a doula message board. A few years later she would launch Poppy Seed Health, drawing on her years of experience as a sales leader and startup consultant to change the support paradigm she found so lacking. Poppy Seed exists to restructure pregnancy and postpartum care with an emphasis on emotional and mental health support that puts accessibility, equity and radical empathy at the center of the care model. Shane sat down with Simmone to discuss how she became a doula, why it’s so important to be intentional about choosing investors, and creating resources that weren’t available when she needed them.