Iman Clark, CEO of Prickly Pear Health, says it was an inspiration that ultimately led her to TechCrunch’s startup battlefield at TechCrunch’s TechCrunch Disrupt 2025.
That was about nine years ago. She moved from Tunisia to graduate school in the United States and joined a company that created gaming experiences for people with neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia. This was done by providing a tablet or computer and allowing the game to be played.
“We’ve noticed that most people over the age of 75 have two or three chronic illnesses. No matter what we do, it’s always going to be difficult,” she told TechCrunch. “Then I went back to research and saw that 70% of the Alzheimer’s population is women.”
She digs deeper and finds that women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and three to four times more likely to be diagnosed with migraine. “That’s when we realise that we’re not really solving it for women’s biology, and it’s at the expense of our lives and our dollars.”
So she created Prickly Pear Health. It medically supports the brain health of women, their voice-driven AI-driven fellow AI-driven helping women in their 30s and 50s navigate hormonal changes that affect brain health. This product allows people to record quick reflexes throughout the day using their voices. PricklyPear’s AI technology analyzes language and context to track cognitive changes.
Prickly Pear Health shows Tech at TechCrunch Disrupt from October 27th to 29th in San Francisco.
It also draws in sleep data, heart rate activity and other metrics from trackers such as Apple Health, Oura, and Garmin to provide personalized insights on how to better care for your health.
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Clark said women’s health is a ripe space for innovation, and there is a collective agreement that women want to be founders, want to be the best voice, and get tired of being in the backseat of their lives.
Clark officially launched a free version of her product in May and is preparing to launch a premium offering in October for Mental Health Awareness Month and Menopause Awareness Month.
She began a focus group at Arizona State University and found that women in their late 30s to early 50s reported many brain fog and mental fatigue, but found it to be linked to hormonal fluctuations, menopause, and even the onset of something deeper, until the 60s. This is where Clark realized he wanted to focus on this age group.
“When symptoms such as brain fog, mood changes, or irregular cycles first appear, they are often rejected or misdiagnosed,” she said of women in their 30s and 50s, adding that while these middle ages are important for brain health, traditional care cannot connect dots.
“We’re working on that gap, helping women recognize and act on early signals before they escalate to more serious health challenges,” she said.
Arizona is also where the inspiration for the company’s name came into being. She was fascinated by cacti and despite the heat, how she stood and produced healthy fruits. “It was when the spiny pear came to life because it was the fruit that grows on cactus trees and it was the inspiration that it would thrive in harsh conditions and enjoyable resilience,” she said.
She believes that competitors in the same field are existing menopause apps. “We believe it’s important to understand symptoms, but we believe that those approaches are reactive, but for us we are able to detect things.”
She raised a $350,000 pre-seed round and said it was “really difficult” especially as a woman of colour. “We had to be so good that you couldn’t ignore,” she said. She tried to develop relationships with investors before seed. “That’s what we say is popular: ‘You get business, you get business, you get advice from time to time,” she said.
Some of the advice she received was to apply to Startup Battlefield. My friend was loudly and proud to be part of the latest startup during the competition.
“Confusion is the ultimate stage of a new idea,” she said. She highlights women’s brain health, learns from other founders, and of course, “connects with investors and partners who believe that women’s health innovation is not just a niche, but a future in healthcare, like us.”
If you’re learning directly from the cute pears, see dozens of extra pitches, valuable workshops and create connections that drive business outcomes, learn more about this year’s Disrupt, which took place in San Francisco from October 27th to 29th.
