Rachel Braun Scherl: Driving Revenue Growth through Strategy, Marketing and Customer understanding

Rachel Braun Scherl has spent her career as a results-driven, respected entrepreneur and charismatic business leader, deeply passionate and committed to her work in the business of women’s health. As the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of SPARK Solutions for Growth, a boutique strategy and growth firm, Rachel has successfully led global consulting engagements with major global corporations such as Johnson & Johnson, Allergan, Bayer, Church & Dwight, Merck, and Pfizer, among others. She has created companies and driven growth for numerous startups, with an emphasis on women’s sexual and reproductive health. Her focus on insights, customer acquisition, customer lifetime value, and retention has significantly contributed to driving exponential revenue growth for her clients.

The Inception Story

SPARK Solutions for Growth was created out of a commitment to help companies navigate through the often chaotic phase between idea conception and successful execution. SPARK was established specifically to address these challenges by providing strategies, insights, and results-driven solutions that help companies move from stagnation to growth. As the go-to expert for growth built on years of collaboration with world-class companies and brands, Rachel’s work spans across businesses of all stages and has included launches of global healthcare brands, portfolio expansion, and strategic partnerships. As a leading voice, business builder, and thought leader in women’s health, Rachel’s leadership is seen as a key driver of the increased understanding, awareness, medical coverage, and capital raising in the space.

Customized Solutions Built on Understanding of Patterns

Every business problem is unique, and so is each business. “At SPARK, we start by truly listening to customers, leadership teams, and the broader market context,” says. Rachel. “Whether we are working with a global healthcare corporation or an early-stage FemTech startup, we identify what’s holding them back and develop actionable, data informed strategies that match their resources, risk appetite, and growth ambitions.”

Rachel believes that while frameworks and processes are helpful, empathy and agility are essential, but the ultimate measure of success is tangible business results.

The Vagipreneur®

Throughout her career, Rachel has worked on businesses that affect women from the “tops of their heads to the tips of their toes”. Rachel has always believed that a deep understanding of the buyers (whether they are consumers, patients, healthcare professionals, payors, investors, etc.), fact-based storytelling can enhance brands, inspire consumers, and transform industries. She is an entrepreneur who is not afraid to confront societal taboos. When co-founding Semprae Laboratories around Zestra, a product that improved desire, arousal, and satisfaction for women of all ages and lifestages, it became evident that speaking directly about women’s health products faced some unique challenges. Semprae, and other companies in the space, encountered some idiosyncratic obstacles, ranging from restricted funding and cautious investors to societal unease and lack of access to social media channels regarding women’s intimate health. The combination of strong unmet needs, deeply personal concerns, significant systemic cultural barriers, limited conversations, and vocabulary created a “perfect storm” of opportunity for the creation of a new category and conversation.

Rachel is a mainstay at industry conferences, companies, and universities focused on business building in women’s health, entrepreneurship, leadership, and fundraising.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling

Building Semprae during a period when public discourse on the subject was largely avoided or treated with disdain or discomfort represented (and still does) both the most challenging and fulfilling phase of Rachel’s professional journey. In the process of building Semprae, Rachel’s leadership, decrying the disparity between advertising for women’s health vs. men’s health products, was seen as transformative. When 95% of media outlets (network, cable, website, radio) refused Semprae’s money to run high quality, professional advertising, Rachel and her team brought their case to the media – appearing on leading networks and publications. Equally important are the discussions Rachel held with women who expressed that the ability to have a conversation and have access to solutions for their sexual and reproductive health, which empowered them to articulate their needs openly for the f irst time. This exemplifies a form of leadership that creates an impact that transcends mere financial gains.

By being a prominent advocate and business builder of women’s health companies, Rachel has continued to destigmatize important discussions and catalyze conversations that benefit all companies in the sector – whether that involves launching products, creating compelling brand narratives, or securing financing.

Revolutionizing Women’s Health through Technology

“Technology is expanding access and personalization in unprecedented ways,” says Rachel. “AI-powered symptom tracking, telehealth platforms for sexual wellness, and wearable devices for menstrual and fertility health are giving women more control over their care.”

The speed of new product development, technology, and knowledge is revolutionizing the pace and the impact of changing women’s health outcomes. Solutions only make sense if they are able to strike a critical balance between problem-solving, ease of use, privacy, equitable access (geographic and financial, among others), and clinically measured outcomes. It is widely accepted that prevention and/or early intervention lead to better outcomes across various therapeutic areas.

Advice to the Future Entrepreneur

“Focus on solving real problems that matter. Particularly in healthcare and women’s health, the opportunity lies not in creating one more “nice to have,” but in addressing unmet, meaningful needs. You want to build the solutions that people can’t live without.

Taking bold actions may (and often does) lead to opposition from investors, gatekeepers, and skeptics. Never take no for an answer. What works to stay motivated: “Stay resilient, remain curious, and surround yourself with people who believe in your mission.”

Leaving a Lasting Legacy

Through her decades of business building, thought leadership, public speaking, and writing, Rachel Braun Scherl has emerged as a vocal and visionary champion for women’s health. As the author of Orgasmic Leadership, Profiting from the Coming Surge in Women’s Sexual Health and Wellness, Rachel has created the opportunity for honest discussions about female sexual health, igniting industry wide conversation and offering a roadmap for entrepreneurs navigating taboo terrain. Her acclaimed podcast, Business of the V, co-hosted with leading physician, Dr. Alyssa Dweck, focuses on the intersection of patient care, unmet needs, unanswered questions, and the business being created to recognize these founders, investors, and changemakers who are revolutionizing women’s health and wellness. Behind the scenes, Rachel engages in vital advocacy and regulatory efforts to “fix” a healthcare system historically unresponsive to women’s needs. As a dedicated mentor to emerging women’s health entrepreneurs, she continues to break down barriers, initiate vital conversations, and help launch businesses that not only grow but truly improve lives.