Turning a Personal Challenge into Change

Sam Juraschka’s own health care journey convinced her more had to be done for women’s health. By creating BCG’s InnovateHer team, she built a space for her colleagues to help tackle pressing issues.

2024-02-27

By Sam Juraschka

Reading time: 5 min

Sam Juraschka is a partner in BCG’s Manhattan Beach, California, office. She is a driving force within BCG X—the firm’s technology and design unit comprising nearly 3,000 experts across 80 countries. Sam is passionate about launching health care software and startups. At BCG, she started InnovateHer, which is dedicated to developing new solutions to improve women’s health—and wealth.

I’ve always loved building, and I embraced that passion when it came to choosing a career path. I was drawn to software because of how quickly you could go from 0 to 1 and create value with a few lines of code.

In 2012, I co-founded MobiCare, a software platform for Alzheimer’s caregivers, and the company was acquired shortly after. With that introduction to the startup world, I was hooked. I continued to put myself in positions where I could innovate and develop new ideas using software.

In 2018, BCG came knocking. They were scaling up the health care practice within the Digital Ventures division (now BCG X). The opportunity to bring new businesses to market in partnership with top health care organizations was one I couldn’t turn down. And it has since given me the opportunity to work with some of the best strategy and software builders in the world.

My journey in the health care sector took a personal turn when I decided to undergo egg freezing treatments, offered by BCG. In the process, doctors discovered a cystic tumor on my ovary that led to surgery. Being a patient throughout the surgeries and egg retrievals was eye-opening. I came to realize that few health care experiences are catered to the modern woman.

This firsthand patient experience inspired me to start writing about women’s health and investigating spaces that uniquely affect or disproportionately impact women. The response was overwhelmingly positive. So I approached BCG and said, “Look, there’s a lot of traction here, and our clients have the power to make meaningful change in this space.”

It began as a grassroots operation—hosting quarterly events with clients and emerging femtech founders. Today, InnovateHer has thousands of people following our discussions and a database of research and opportunities within the femtech space. This passion project has grown into something we actively work on with clients.

InnovateHer hasn’t stopped at women’s health; it’s expanded to the finance sector as well. We’ve also seen how the women’s health journey overlaps with their wealth journey. A lot of decisions women are faced with, such as having a child, impact their earning and income potential. Taking time off work to raise that child or care for a loved one pauses everything.

InnovateHer recently stood up a team to focus on identifying opportunities within the wealth and financial services sector to better meet women’s needs based on where they are in that journey.

What I’m most excited about is the team. It has been amazing to see how many people within BCG want to contribute and build new ideas that impact women.

We’re paving the way for a more inclusive and personalized approach to women’s health and wealth and improving the quality of life for others. It is a dream come true.