We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Oriana Papin-Zoghbi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Oriana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

My co-founders and I decided to start a company (AOA Dx) focused on early detection for ovarian cancer due to the critical need to address ovarian cancer’s high mortality rate. To date, there is no way to detect ovarian cancer in the early stages. This is largely attributed to lack of education on ovarian cancer and the fact that it can be hard to recognize symptoms early on, coupled with widespread misconceptions such as the notion ovarian cancer is a “silent killer.”

It is in fact, not a silent killer. We actually did a campaign featuring several women who had ovarian cancer to address this. Almost 90% of women with ovarian cancer experience symptoms early on. However, these symptoms are often misinterpreted as other conditions like endometriosis, irritable bowel syndrome, a UTI, etc.
It’s time ovarian cancer patients have the right tools they need to make quick and informed decisions for their health.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My entire career has been in women’s health to some capacity. From my time launching a nationwide HPV screening in East Africa and novel diagnostics in maternal-fetal medicine, working with companies who address unmeet needs for women’s health, to now starting my own company, it’s been a dream to be able to work on a field I care so deeply about.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

From the outset, we made social media a top priority, even before we had significant news of our own to share. We focused on creating content around relevant industry news, advocacy, education, and amplifying patient and clinician voices. This proactive approach allowed us to build a robust social media presence before introducing our own updates. Without spending a dime on sponsored posts or earned media opportunities, we have amassed a following of thousands. Our early emphasis on social media has resulted in numerous investor introductions, talent acquisition, partnerships, clinical trial recruitment, media coverage, speaking opportunities, and more.

It’s crucial to establish a social media presence early on, ensuring that when you do have news to share, you already have an engaged audience ready to receive it.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When my co-founders and I embarked on starting a company, we dedicated immense time, research, and effort to our initial idea. After months of trying to secure a key meeting, we finally got on this person’s calendar, only to be turned down within minutes after flying six hours to see them.

It was one of the most disappointing experiences I’ve ever had. The entire team felt defeated, having invested so much into preparing for this meeting. We allowed ourselves a day to sulk, then collectively decided it was time to move forward. You can’t dwell on things beyond your control. It’s crucial to work with a team that shares this resilient mindset. If we didn’t share that mindset, we wouldn’t be where we are today!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://aoadx.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/orianazh/