Every year, hundreds of millions of pregnancy tests are discarded, adding to the billions of plastic waste produced annually. For entrepreneur Lara Solomon, this environmental impact became a personal concern when she was trying to conceive in 2021 and saw firsthand the sheer volume of waste generated by pregnancy tests.
It’s big business — in 2022 the global pregnancy test kits market was valued at US$1.49 billion and is expected to reach US$1.91 billion by 2029. But until now, the only options available to consumers have primarily been pregnancy tests manufactured from plastic.
“Globally, approximately 840 million pregnancy tests are used each year, which is about 840,000kgs of plastic going into landfill. The problem is that there are no alternative products out there,” says Solomon.
Determined to change that, she started a new business called Hoopsy, which produces a midstream Eco Pregnancy test, which is 99% plastic free and made from 99% paper. The name comes from hoop — the Dutch word for hope — with a nod to the hope associated with getting pregnant and the hoops women need to jump through when trying to conceive.
The next plans for the business are to get to 100% plastic free, which is not far off, says Solomon.
“I’m really passionate about the planet,” she says. “When I was going through IVF I realised just how many pregnancy tests people use, and I realised no one is doing anything about it, although they could easily change the amount of plastic they use. There’s nothing, there’s no solution.”
It’s not Solomon’s first business. After a career in corporate marketing, she started her entrepreneurial career with the launch of her award winning Mocks mobile phone sock brand in 2004.
“I always knew I wanted to run my own business. My dad had a business, and he’s always encouraged me to do my own thing,” she says.
From Mocks she went on to start four other businesses, (two sold at exit) and wrote a best selling business book. She says while Hoopsy may not be her first startup, it is the most impactful and the one with the biggest potential.
Getting the business off the ground involved reaching out to her networks for advice and engaging in conversations with fellow entrepreneurs. “I think one of the first steps of starting a new business is finding out if there’s actually a need for it. You can come up with what you think is a brilliant idea, but nobody else might want it,” Solomon explains.
For example, with Hoopsy, she took the time to speak directly with pregnant women about the tests they had used to better understand their needs and preferences. “I listened to what they were looking for and what they wanted, and I went from there.”
The response has been overwhelming. “When I started attending trade shows, people came up to me and thanked me for doing this for the planet—which I didn’t expect at all,” she says.
In addition to customer feedback, Solomon also found valuable support through joining communities like Climate Salad, a network of climate tech entrepreneurs and investors, and participating in the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) program.
DWEN is particularly impactful, connecting female entrepreneurs worldwide with essential networks, knowledge, and insights. Since 2012, Dell has made a significant commitment by spending over US$3 billion annually with women and minority-owned suppliers and small businesses.
The program also includes a mentoring initiative that pairs emerging entrepreneurs with subject matter experts, offering guidance, advice, and support to help them navigate challenges and seize new opportunities.
“The DWEN program has provided a great way to interact and chat with other entrepreneurs in the space. It’s been a wonderful support network,” Solomon adds.
It’s a piece of advice she offers to anyone thinking about starting a business – as well as making sure you are passionate about your idea.
“If you’re not passionate about it, then you will give up when it gets hard. I now know you also need to have a network because things can get difficult at times, and that’s when you need to spend time with people that are doing a similar kind of thing,” she says.
For more than a decade, the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) has brought women entrepreneurs together from around the world to help them connect with each other, scale their businesses, and ultimately succeed. The DWEN community welcomes all levels of entrepreneurs, from start-ups to scale-ups. Joining DWEN will give you access to women entrepreneurs from around the world and valuable resources to grow your business – including the latest technology, access to funding resources, and best practices from a global network of members.
