Meet Sammie Hasen: Young Change Maker & FemTech Innovator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sammie Hasen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sammie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have had my fair share of corporate world experiences, and I started to realize that large corporations typically lack innovation. And, if they don’t lack innovation, the process to bring innovation to market is very slow. I know where my passions lie, and I understood that I wouldn’t be 100% happy sitting at a desk doing the 9 to 5 everyday. Once I came to this realization, I started to dive into other career paths that would be a better fit. The best way for me to move quickly and innovate is to run my own company, so that is exactly what I did. During my sophomore year of college, I co-founded medsur Inc. with the vision of creating a suite of innovative products for uterus owners. As soon as I founded medsur, I knew that was going to be my future. I set it up in a way that allows me to innovate whatever products I want to, so my passion of product development can constantly be utilized.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

I founded medsur Inc. in 2019 with the purpose of innovating products that are made for uterus owners. Something that initially sets us apart from others is the fact that I created medsur my Sophomore year of college, and I have been running it on top of a full course load ever since. I am in my fourth year of college at Georgia Tech, and I graduate in December with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. Since founding medsur, I have worked through two major pivots, and in May of 2020, I came up with BCase™. BCase™ is a first-of-its-kind birth control pill storage that attaches directly to the back of your phone. With BCase™, forgetting to take your birth control pills will be a problem of the past because all you have to do is flip your phone over as soon as your alarm goes off.

I have three proudest moments:

1) When I first held a complete BCase™ prototype in my hands.
2) When my Kickstarter campaign was fully funded less than 24 hours after launching.
3) When I completed a temperature study proving BCase™ it is as safe as current storage solutions, if not safer.

I am the most excited to receive the manufactured product in June, so I can finally ship it to customers and get their feedback!

Getting to where I am today was not easy, but I chose to make the most out of a not-so-good year. I came up with BCase™ in the thick of the Covid-19 stay-at-home orders. For some, those months were anything but productive, but I wanted to make the most of time I had essentially doing nothing. The hardest part about that was talking to customers because no one was really accessible during this time. Once I was able to accumulate enough feedback from potential customers, I knew I was on the right track. The next step was to focus heavy on product development and beta testing. Around December, I had a finalized design and was ready to move forward in the manufacturing process. My first big lesson I learned was to bootstrap as much as possible to avoid giving away equity. This lesson is what led me to launch a Kickstarter campaign to finance BCase™ production. That was a challenging journey because it takes money to make money, but I didn’t have all the funds in the world to run advertisements. I had to hustle hard to get the campaign in front of people’s eyes, and eventually the hustle paid off. As of today, the tooling for manufacturing is almost done, and the product is expected to ship to me in June of this year.

I want the world to know that my passion lies in innovating products for uterus owners. My vision is to create a suite of innovative products for uterus owners that increase the functionality and usability of products on the market today, and BCase™ is just the start. For too long, men have dominated the women’s product space, and I am here to change that. If your passion aligns with mine, please follow us on social media and sign up for our mailing list to stay up-to-date on all things BCase™.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

I would definitely dedicate a whole weekend to explore the Belt Line because the restaurants and bars are unmatched.

My favorite restaurants on the Belt Line are:

Barcelona Wine Bar
Delbar
Victory Sandwich Bar
Fritti and Sotto Sotto
Nina and Rafi
Anywhere in Krog Street Market!

My favorite places to grab a drink on the Belt Line are:

Park Tavern ($1 beers whenever it rains!)
Kroger Bar
Delbar
Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall
Pour Taproom
Anywhere in Krog Street Market!

Other things to do on a visit to Atlanta would be to bring a blanket and hang out at Piedmont Park, go to The Nook for fish bowls, go to the Piedmont Park Farmer’s Market, and grab dinner at La Fonda Latina or Taqueria Del Sol!

I have spent most of my time in the midtown area, so my recommendations would lie primarily in that area. I would also recommend exploring the local music scene once vaccinations are completely rolled out, and it is safe to do so!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

Although I have progressed throughout my journey as a founder, I have received endless support from my friends, family, and mentors along the way. I have so many people to thank, but I want to take the time to give a shoutout to my advisor, Fallon Ukpe. I have encountered many unforeseen obstacles in my journey to get medsur Inc. off the ground, and whenever I feel lost, I always turn to Fallon for guidance. Fallon has been a support system for me through the most integral parts of bringing BCase™ to life. I am so thankful to have her as an advisor, and I can’t wait for medsur Inc. to grow with her by my side.

Website: www.medsurinc.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/medsurinc

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/medsur-inc

Twitter: www.twitter.com/medsurinc

Facebook: www.facebook.com/medsurinc

Image Credits
Arabelle Berman Kayla McReery