Meet Vanessa Ting, a Fractional CMO building a community of FemHealth founders and investors
I’m a corporate dropout, startup enthusiast, Fractional CMO for health & wellness brands, and pickleball-addict.
I’m in the midst of:
Writing my third act. Channeling my professional work and passion projects towards initiatives that positively impact women’s (and all those with uteruses) health and figuring out how I want to shape my midlife journey.
- Building a community of FemHealth startup founders, investors and enthusiasts in Southern California to accelerate the investment in, and consequently growth of, startups advancing women’s health care. It’s been hard to build, but I keep going for the few who joined early and believe in the mission.
- Hitting the books again! Purely for my own edification, I’m taking a menopause coaching certification course to learn what I’m in for and how to prioritize my health and well-being. Because no one talks about it! I want to be that person who can answer questions about menopause with evidence-based information and champion others to be just as informed.
The best thing about my current age (47):
I have less F*s to give and say “no” a lot more. It’s liberating to enforce your boundaries and stick to your convictions. While you’d think saying “no” reflects a scarcity mentality, it actually creates abundance.
The best thing I’ve done for myself in this stage of life:
Commit to daily movement. I didn’t practice strength-building or stretching regularly before my 40s. I never realized how powerful and in awe of my body I was until I began weightlifting. Plus, it’s an enjoyable way to support our muscles, bones, and joints as we age. I highly recommend it!
My current must-haves in life:
Pickleball
Early to bed, early to rise
Easy access to nature – the mountains, oceans, or any open space.
A hobby, client, or project that expands me mentally or physically.
Whoop Band. It’s fascinating to see how lifestyle factors affect recovery.
What brought you to The Midst?
Midlife is a tricky time between caregiving, career, health changes and more. Media is youth-obsessed, so it’s helpful to have a resource dedicated to our stage of life and our unique experiences.
What do you want most for/from the community of women you surround yourself with?
Honesty, kindness, empathy. And the fire and determination to stand up for what’s right for our community.
My Grown-Ass Lady heroes:
Susie Wolff. This may be a familiar name among Formula 1 fans. She is a trailblazer in the very male-dominated Formula 1 racing series. I love a woman who defies gender roles while embracing her femininity. You don’t have to act like a man to hold your own with men.
What progress do you hope to see in society for future generations of women?
It pains me to even have to start here. First, I hope to see a future where we don’t have to claw back rights that have been chipped away like in the times we are in now—rights that are really the bare minimum.
But for the distant future, I hope to see women have a very different experience than my own. I hope there are more successful women investors who invest in the next generation of female founders. I hope there is equal gender representation in leadership roles in corporations, academia, government, and anywhere currently lacking diverse representation. I hope there is equal gender representation in medical research (women are not just small-sized men’s bodies!) and less gaslighting of women, especially women of color, in doctor’s offices, hospital rooms, and ERs. And less mansplaining. Please let there be less mansplaining.
What’s next for you:
One of my passion projects is understanding women’s attitudes, feelings, and education needs surrounding perimenopause and menopause. To collect these insights, I am surveying women in midlife nationwide and holding focus groups throughout Q4 2024 and Q1 2025. Anyone interested in being notified when I launch the survey and focus groups can sign up using this form.
