Product Thinking Podcast

Episode 251: From CERN to FemTech Innovation with Magda Armbruster
Host: Melissa Perri
Guest: Dr. Magda Armbruster, Head of Product at Natural Cycles
Date: October 8, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Melissa Perri sits down with Dr. Magda Armbruster, Head of Product at Natural Cycles—the world’s first FDA-cleared birth control app. Magda brings a fascinating blend of scientific rigor, systems thinking, and user-centered product management, shaped by her early career at CERN where she worked on the Nobel Prize-winning Higgs Boson discovery, to pioneering innovation within the FemTech space. The conversation covers Magda’s career journey, the intersection of science and product leadership, data privacy in sensitive domains, building trust, and emerging trends in women’s health technology.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. From CERN Physics to FemTech Product Leadership

• Magda’s Background & Transition:

  • Started in particle physics at CERN, where she was part of the team discovering the Higgs Boson.
  • Developed strong skills in data science, systems thinking, cross-functional collaboration.
  • Transitioned to Natural Cycles, initially as a data scientist, contributing personal data to the app’s first algorithm, and quickly found a passion for solving user problems in product management.
  • Quote:

    “I actually had no idea that product was a thing because if you’re like working in physics for like almost 10 years, there’s like little knowledge of what’s outside. So it was a completely new field for me and I absolutely fell in love in like solving user problems, building products for them.” (00:00)

• Unique Value from Scientific Training:

  • Emphasis on analytical thinking, breaking complex problems into small pieces, and maintaining both detail and system-level perspectives.
  • Importance of structured, systems thinking and balance between deep dives and big-picture impacts.
  • Quote:

    “It’s a lot about solving problems, a lot about analytical thinking, it’s a lot about dividing a huge problem into smaller chunks and tackling it one by one... and also having an overview like how it actually connects and how does my work impact like the bigger vision.” (06:18)

2. Natural Cycles: More than a Birth Control App

• Expanding beyond contraception to cover the entire reproductive journey, including pregnancy planning, postpartum recovery, miscarriage, perimenopause, and menopause.
• Empowerment through education and choice, focusing on non-hormonal methods and building trusted relationships with users.
• Quote:

  “We aim for it to be entrusted companion for women across their whole fertility journey… It’s really a lot about giving choice for women and for them to take care of their bodies and for them to take control of their bodies.” (08:16)

3. Trust, Transparency, and Data Privacy in Women’s Health

• User Trust as a Core Principle:
  • App is paid to avoid data sales, puts control in users’ hands—“they are in charge of it, they can delete it, they cannot add any data, they don’t need to do anything. They’re absolutely 100% in control.” (10:41)
  • Options like “Go Anonymous Mode” ensure even the company cannot match data to individual users, protecting privacy against subpoenas.
• Regulatory Safeguards:
  • FDA clearance and medical device regulation mean rigorous, validated processes.
• Radical Transparency:
  • Open about app limitations, unintended pregnancies—addressing taboo or difficult topics head-on to build trust.
  • Quote:

    “We do not claim that we are a method of birth control that’s 100% effective. We do talk about the unintended pregnancies, even on our social media. We want to be open about this so that women are aware… It is about tackling those difficult discussions head on and not shying away from it.” (14:07)

4. Customer Onboarding & Educational Mission

• Deep personalization in onboarding and adaptive algorithm settings (e.g., post-hormonal use, recent pregnancy).
• Strong focus on educating users about their bodies, hormonal cycles, and effective app use.
  • Quote:

    “Our product aims to work with the woman and not against her. It’s meant to help women notice the signals and changes that are happening in their bodies... our users [say] they had no idea what their bodies were doing prior to joining us… I think this aspect of education, of building trust through honest comms in the app is quite valuable.” (15:26)

5. Breaking Taboos & Expanding Research

• Magda discusses the cultural challenge of taboos in women’s health and perimenopause, highlighting the historically male focus of medical research.
• Natural Cycles uses anonymized user data (with consent) to publish peer-reviewed research and fill knowledge gaps—“It was mostly done on men historically and then it just should translate or apply to women. So this is also something we are trying to change by performing research on our users data… to advance the knowledge in women’s health.” (19:06)

6. Collaboration Between Product, Science, and Quality

• Product managers collaborate closely with scientists, data scientists, and medical advisors from ideation, through data collection, to feature rollout and post-launch studies.

• Quality Assurance (QA) and regulatory compliance are built into every stage, not siloed or “thrown over the wall.”

  • Quote:

    “We have quality assurance members within our team that work alongside product development and they do flag to us early if we try to do something too risky or out there... Our quality assurance is like inbuilt into product development processes… We don’t work in silos.” (29:52)

• Company culture encourages contribution and innovation from all team members—regulation is embraced as a framework enabling innovation, not as a blocker.

7. Prioritization: Customer Feedback vs. Scientific Roadmap

• Balancing user feedback, market research, and medical advisory board guidance, with a willingness to experiment and iterate quickly using the software product’s flexibility.
• Especially relevant when addressing issues users may not be aware of (e.g., perimenopause).
• Quote:

  “We do need to find the balance like the user experience versus the medical data collection... maybe launching a very small feature at first and seeing how it’s going to play out… We can experiment a lot.” (24:32)

8. Innovation in FemTech—Emerging Trends

• AI for personalization and contextual insights—complementing, not replacing, science.
• Wearables: Integrations with Oura Ring, Apple Watch, and others to improve user experience and data collection.
• Holistic Women’s Health: Moving beyond fertility to address the full spectrum of women’s health, considering lifestyle, mental health, and overall well-being.
• Quote:

  “AI has a great potential when it comes to personalizing the app experience, to bringing insights to the users in a more contextual way… but trust and safety is non-negotiable for our users.” (31:46)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Magda, on bringing systems thinking into product:

  “The balance also of like diving into details, seeing the bigger picture, combined with an analytical mindset—those are the biggest things that I brought from my scientific background into product leadership.” (06:18)

• On building trust and tackling taboo topics:

  “If we cannot be open and true to ourselves, then how can our users trust us?” (10:41)

• On embracing regulation as an enabler:

  “It just provides us with a framework that enables innovation… We bring in compliance and regulatory teams early on and they also help us shape the product.” (27:12)

• On confidence and leading as a self-taught PM:

  "Lead with openness, be transparent, communicate often and about anything, and trust your gut… Being confident and open—and in some cases, also vulnerable, because if you talk about your failures, it resonates a lot more with your team and your users than always trying to be perfect." (35:10)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 – Magda on falling in love with product and user problem-solving
• 02:50 – Journey from CERN and Higgs Boson to Natural Cycles
• 06:18 – Scientific thinking and systems perspective in product management
• 08:16 – Overview and mission of Natural Cycles; Not just a birth control app
• 10:41 – Handling data privacy and trust in sensitive health tech
• 14:07 – Example of transparency: discussing unintended pregnancies
• 15:26 – Onboarding, personalized education, and user empowerment
• 19:06 – Expanding into perimenopause; research value and combating historical gender bias
• 21:01 – Product and science team collaboration
• 24:32 – Balancing user feedback, market trends, medical input
• 27:12 – Navigating regulation, experimentation, and quality management
• 29:52 – Cross-functional integration: product, QA, regulatory
• 31:46 – Exciting trends: AI, wearables, holistic women’s health
• 35:10 – Magda’s advice to her younger PM self

Episode Takeaways

• Science and product management mutually reinforce each other: Structured, analytical, and systems thinking from a scientific background can drive innovative, resilient product organizations.
• Privacy and user trust are mission-critical in FemTech: Proactivity, transparency, and giving users control underpin trustworthy products.
• Regulation can be empowering if embedded in culture: Integrating QA and compliance into product development unlocks safe innovation rather than stifling it.
• Holistic, user-centric visions matter: Addressing all aspects of women’s health, and having honest conversations—including the difficult ones—wins user trust and advances industry standards.
• Continuous learning and vulnerability are strengths for product leaders, not weaknesses.

Relevant Links:

• Natural Cycles
• Magda Armbruster on LinkedIn
• Product Thinking Podcast