Interview: Sława Madelska & HUGUP

The interview with Sława Madelska, Founder of HUGUP from Poland.

HUGUP: Revolutionizing pregnancy wellness with advanced support wear, HUGUP is a deep tech startup dedicated to enhancing the journey of expecting mothers.

You can listen to the episode with Sława Madelska in EmpoWomen Podcast on Spotify:

Or read the interview.

Pitching HUGUP

Nine years ago, severe pain turned my pregnancy into bed rest, resulting in a string of complications. This is a problem many women face—two out of three suffer from severe back pain during pregnancy, and the solutions out there do not address this complex issue. That’s why we created HUGUP, a pregnancy support wear using advanced 3D knitting technologies similar to what NASA uses for astronaut suits.

HUGUP is a lab-tested power suit that evenly distributes weight and offers better balance than its competitors, enabling an active and joyful pregnancy. Just last week, we were excited to begin testing with the renowned Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw. We also premiered our suit on the Next Web Conference stage, aiming to launch HUGUP in 2025.

Our next step is adding sensors to monitor health. Our goal is simple: I believe that together, we can make pregnancy a pain-free and joyful experience for all women.

HUGUP Story

Drawing from my personal experience, I conceptualized a pregnancy suit.

I knew firsthand the challenges of a growing pregnancy belly and the potential health issues associated with it. The idea came to me while I was already leading another medical project, also inspired by my lived experience. However, as someone new to the medtech sector, I sometimes felt frustrated by the slow pace of progress.

Despite this, I saw an opportunity for another venture. Although the two startups cater to completely different needs, they are synergistic in what’s required to lay solid foundations for future success. That has been my journey so far.

HUGUP Innovation

Most importantly, we are using a holistic approach and have engaged various specialists. As a result, we’re building a multidisciplinary team that includes network engineers, medical specialists, and producers from Italy, who have helped us create a completely new type of product.

This knitwear combines elastic and non-elastic components in a single thread of material, allowing it to accommodate a growing belly.

HUGUP Team

We have a network of material specialists and engineers, and we collaborate with medical experts. Some of them are also working with NASA to create suits for the next moon mission. We’re using the same approach and technologies to benefit pregnant women.

The biggest challenges

My biggest challenge so far has been the mental aspect—transforming fear and worry into curiosity and openness. Focusing on “what if” takes attention away from the process, and the outcome isn’t predetermined. What I’m practicing is staying open to the outcome. From my experience, breakthroughs happen when there is readiness; pushing for results before that readiness doesn’t bring more benefit.

As for the project’s challenges, I think we’re racing against time, like most startups. We have milestones, goals, and our most ambitious goal is to start selling next year, in 2025.

Being within the EmpoWomen Programme

Joining the EmpoWomen Programme is a fantastic opportunity to exchange ideas and multiply the joy of making a mark in the lives of others. When discussing female-led innovation, it’s almost impossible not to mention the asymmetrical challenges of gender, the sacrificial work often involved, or simply going against the grain.

This shared experience is something all participants can relate to, and EmpoWomen creates a safe space to talk about it. Hearing these stories has given me deeper insights into the journeys of others.

I would definitely recommend the EmpoWomen Programme, especially to young women entrepreneurs, because it combines the right mix of mentorship with business support and perspective, thanks to collaborations with Startup Wise Guys and Business Angels Europe. It can bring immense value to those pursuing and chasing their business goals.

Business Environment for Women Entrepreneurs in Poland

Poland is becoming an exciting ground for women entrepreneurs, with more and more doors opening for those who want to make a mark. However, when I was starting, I didn’t feel that wave of change — it only began a few years ago. As with many things, awareness is key, and I believe that rising awareness is creating more opportunities. 

Poland is a great place for women entrepreneurs, look at Entrepreneurs’ organization. I feel confident about the evolving environment for women in Poland. I’m meeting more and more women at conferences and events, and I hope that with all the experience I’ve gained, I’ll be able to give back to younger women entrepreneurs at some point.

HUGUP Goals

I was initially driven by frustration and anger about the status quo of the pregnancy experience, but over time, that anger burned out and transformed into the joy of the process itself.

We received our first public grant, and as the project has been developing well, we’ve been enjoying the freedom to realize our mission and purpose of uplifting women through HUGUP, both literally and metaphorically. As a team, we are mindful of avoiding the pitfalls of our own narrative and the naivety of certain views. Our work is truly motivated by purpose and the potential impact it will bring.

We’re already growing as a team, and our mission is not just to deliver a product but to shift the perspective on women’s wellness during pregnancy. 

2025 will be a big year for us, as we’re planning to launch sales. In the meantime, this year we are conducting user tests with the Institute of Mother and Child and are already receiving feedback. This feedback will be integrated into our product, as the goal of this collaboration is to ensure that we perfect it to best meet the needs of pregnant women. 

That’s our focus for this year. We’re hoping to stay on schedule and manage multiple goals in parallel, as is often the case in a startup. We will also be growing our team.

So keep an eye out for our recruitment announcements. This is where we are, and we’re very excited about the future.