Founders Everywhere: Lauren Berson Sugarman
Lauren Berson Sugarman is the CEO and founder of Conceive, the first always-on connected care layer for fertility and pregnancy.
Welcome to Founders Everywhere, where we highlight the incredible people behind the companies we’ve backed at Everywhere Ventures, a global pre-seed fund supported by a community of 500 founders and operators.
Fertility challenges are deeply emotional and complex, often leaving individuals and couples feeling isolated and overwhelmed. Despite advancements in medical technology, the fertility journey remains fraught with uncertainty, emotional strain, and logistical hurdles. Not to mention the clinician burnout and operational inefficiencies in the industry. Conceive is a platform dedicated to transforming fertility and pregnancy care by offering a personalized, always-on connected care layer that integrates medical expertise with emotional support. They are primarily scaling though fertility clinics, but have a direct to consumer offering as well. Their model not only improves patient outcomes—such as reducing anxiety and accelerating time to treatment—but also enhances operational efficiency for fertility clinics.
Founder and CEO Lauren Berson Sugarman is an executive turned entrepreneur. Prior to Conceive, she was an executive at Citi, Weight Watchers, Google and Andreessen Horowitz. Her decision to focus on solving fertility challenges is deeply personal. After spending three challenging years filled with heartbreak, misinformation, and failed treatment, she conceived and welcomed her daughter into the world. Conceive was born out of this experience as the solution she wished had existed during her own journey.
What inspired the creation of Conceive?
It feels like everything in my life—professionally and personally—set me up for this moment. I’ve spent nearly 20 years building products, communities, and brands in tech and had a front-row seat at Andreessen Horowitz when we started investing in biotech and digital health. Later, at Weight Watchers, I built digital health products and learned about creating digital communities. Personally, my infertility journey made me realize how isolating the experience can be. Sharing my story opened floodgates of connection with others navigating similar struggles, highlighting the widespread need for a supportive, personalized solution. . These experiences inspired me to build a solution that not only provides personalized, scalable fertility care but also addresses the pressing issues of clinician burnout and operational inefficiencies plaguing the industry.
What’s Conceive’s North Star?
Our mission is to be the first always-on connected care layer for fertility and pregnancy. Our North Star is improving outcomes—not just achieving pregnancies and live births but also fostering emotional resilience by reducing anxiety and improving optimism and gratitude for patients throughout their journey. We provide emotional support alongside clinical guidance, helping people navigate everything from clinical questions to emotional challenges.
What sets Conceive apart?
One of our clinic partners said it best, that we have “heart and technology.” What sets us apart is our unique blend of empathetic care and advanced technology. We deliver personalized 24/7 nurse support and reinforce clinical protocols while offering emotional support inspired by the principles of Danny Meyer’s "enlightened hospitality," ensuring every interaction feels like a compassionate embrace. Coaches empower individuals by helping them unlock their decision-making abilities while making them feel supported during challenging times. Additionally, we created curated community groups of 8–10 people based on specific needs, stages of their journey, and locations, fostering safe, relevant connections. These groups meet regularly, often forming lasting bonds.
Tell us about some milestones that Conceive has crushed.
Conceive has achieved several notable milestones that showcase our impact on fertility care:
5x return on investment (ROI) for partnering fertility clinics.
61% improvement in clinic margins.
40% faster time to treatment for patients.
3 hours are saved per patient monthly.
Questions are answered in under eight minutes during the day, surpassing the commitment of under 20 minutes.
A new pregnancy is celebrated every five days and a Conceive baby is born every 15 days.
Do you have any advice for other founders?
Entrepreneurship has no one-size-fits-all playbook; success often depends on context, timing, and a willingness to adapt. My founder network has been invaluable for real conversations and insights when I need them most. I also recently started a column called Conceived where I share evergreen pieces of advice distilled from my experiences.
Fun fact:
I’ll share two:
I love improv! I took classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade, which helped me think creatively, build on ideas collaboratively, and inject humor into my work—skills that translate well into business.
I’ve been involved with JCCA, a child services agency in New York that supports foster care families, provides therapy, tutoring, and helps children with learning disabilities or those rescued from sex trafficking. This work became deeply meaningful during my infertility journey as it connected me with children needing parents while I was longing to become one myself.
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