5. Gaia Family: meet the founder using his IVF journey to help others

Founder: Nader AlSalim
Year founded: 2019
Website: gaiafamily.com

IVF can be a stressful, isolating, and psychologically exhausting experience. Those who are going through fertility treatment have to undergo invasive procedures, while constantly worrying about the outcome. And then, of course, there is the cost.

IVF treatment fees can be astronomical; adding significant financial burden for those who can afford the fees, and making the process effectively off limits to low-income applicants. In fact, 80% of IVF patients earn over $100k a year. The rest often turn to crowdfunding.

Nader AlSalim knows these challenges only too well. He and his wife spent $50k across years of IVF treatment in multiple clinics and countries before their son was born. Even this, he knows, was a privilege. “For most, cost puts IVF simply out of reach,” AlSalim says.

Certain there must be a way for everyone to be able to access IVF, AlSalim founded Gaia Family to remove the financial barriers and ensure that anyone who wants a family can try for one.

The company’s ethos is about offering a flexible, supportive way to pay, with full transparency about the costs involved. Members pay an upfront protection fee, then Gaia takes over to pay the clinic for up to three cycles of treatment.

If successful, members will pay for completed cycles in smaller monthly instalments over eight years. If unsuccessful, they’ll pay nothing. And if they decide to stop earlier, they’ll receive a discount on all cycle costs.

We are the solution I wish had been available during my own journey.

The simplicity of that model belies years of hard work trying to convince underwriters to back the service. But, having lived it firsthand, AlSalim knew how important insuring against the risk of failure is to hopeful parents. He is justifiably critical of existing opaque models.

“Patients often don’t know how much they will actually spend until well into the process, with essential procedures and medications regularly excluded from quotes,” says AlSalim. “When the surprise bill comes, patients can either take on a huge debt, or abandon treatment.”

Empathy might be Gaia’s biggest USP. Unlike competitors, it gives all members access to six sessions of complementary counselling, as well as nutritional and embryologist experts. Plus, it hosts regular webinars to encourage peer-to-peer support among members.

Many Startups 100 healthcare companies are life-saving. None have ever been life-making. Gaia has helped birth 100 babies, with another 100 on the way. Having launched across the pond in 2024 (enabled by a $20m Series A funding raise), its next goal is for 1,000 babies to be born through Gaia Family.

AlSalim has birthed his own little miracle in Gaia, the startup making parenthood accessible to all. “We are the solution I wish had been available during my own journey,” he says. With a passionate, value-driven leader at the helm, we think it’s a top five startup for 2025.