Marlena Hien is the co-founder of BEARS WITH BENEFITS, one of the most successful femhealth start-ups in Europe. Together with her co-founder Laurence Saunier, she set up the company completely self-financed – without investors, without a network in the start-up world, but with a clear vision: to take women’s health out of the niche and rethink nutritional supplements – functional, high-quality and, above all, easy to integrate into everyday life.

After more than ten years in a Munich advertising agency and brand consultancy, where she looked after consumer goods brands, she decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship. She took the plunge at a time when women were still significantly underrepresented in the start-up scene – and proved that things could be done differently. The successful exit to the French healthcare group Havea followed in 2022.

In addition to building her brand, Marlena has also had two children – and knows the challenges of balancing family and entrepreneurial responsibility from her own experience. Today, she consciously uses her visibility to talk about realities that often get lost in glossy start-up stories: Mental load, structural hurdles, lack of role models. As a speaker, mentor and business angel, she advocates for more female voices in business – and that success can have many faces.

She lives with her family in Munich and is particularly committed to topics such as female leadership, work-life balance and access to capital for female founders.