First Builders
The First Builders Podcast from The Council dives into the stories of those who go first—founders, funders, and early operators who helped build category-defining companies before they were household names. Hosted by General Partner Amber Illig and Partner Rachel Tsui, each episode brings a candid, practical conversation with someone who has helped shape companies before there was a playbook.
First Builders
Empathy at Scale: Lauren Makler on Building Cofertility’s Unique Model for Families
What if freezing your eggs could also help another family grow theirs?
In this episode of First Builders, hosts Amber Illig and Rachel Tsui sit down with Lauren Makler, Co-founder and CEO of Cofertility—a groundbreaking fertility company where women can freeze and store their eggs for free if they donate half to a family in need.
Lauren spent nearly nine years at Uber, scaling from marketing to leading strategy at Uber Health before turning her attention to one of the most personal and impactful challenges: fertility. With Cofertility, she’s building a model grounded in empathy, transparency, and community.
In this episode, Lauren shares:
– How her personal journey shaped the vision for Cofertility
– Why empathy is a founder’s superpower in healthcare and family-building
– Lessons from nearly a decade at Uber, from hypergrowth to healthcare strategy
– The power of building mission-driven teams tackling sensitive problems
– How Cofertility is changing the economics and access of fertility care
It’s a story of scaling with purpose, centering humanity in healthcare innovation, and building a company designed to last.
Follow Lauren Makler
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenmakler/
- Cofertility: https://www.cofertility.com/
- Cofertility Careers: https://www.cofertility.com/careers
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