Hoopsy helps You and the Planet
Lara Solomon, Hoopsy Founder
Hoopsy is a journey that I (Lara Solomon) started after going through two failed embryo transfers. When I looked at the challenges of getting or not getting pregnant, I realised that there are so many plastic pregnancy tests being thrown into landfill each year that it is horrifying. In the UK alone there are 12 million plastic tests that go into landfill each year.
Life, in general, can be challenging, whether you are trying to get pregnant or trying not to there is a lot of hoping and finger-crossing along the way. This is why I named the business Hoopsy – hoop is the old Dutch word for hope – for me the journey of wanting a baby was full of hope and for others they hope that they aren’t pregnant! The word hoops I also feel really describes life – jumping through hoops to get what you want.
I always thought that I’d find a man and have a family, but it just didn’t happen and time just got away from me. At 45 I did IVF and harvested my eggs, but unfortunately, none made it to day five blastocyst stage. I then decided to go for an embryo transfer with a donor embryo and traveled to Spain (from Australia) for the transfer. After two transfers back to back, the second one resulted in a pregnancy but I miscarried. I know the struggle.
With Hoopsy my goal is to provide sustainable healthcare products that help women, their partners, and the planet. I want to reduce the amount of plastic going into landfill from pregnancy tests and know that every test we sell means one less plastic test thrown in the bin – that is what makes me JUMP out of bed each morning!
Our midstream Eco Pregnancy Test is just the start of our story, I can’t wait to see how it turns out! – Lara
Meet Our Team
Dr. Cortina McCurry
Director
Dr. Cortina McCurry is a passionate women’s health advocate, coach and entrepreneur and is driven by finding simple solutions to complex problems. She is a former Partner at the Boston Consulting Group & works with founder teams and Boards to scale their businesses and impact the world. She is also a Neuroscientist with a love for all things holistic wellness and ensuring that she leaves the planet a better place than she found it.
Sarah Iqbal
Blog Manager
Sarah is an experienced marketing executive and copywriter with over 15 years of experience. She has worked with a range of small start-ups through to large corporations as a freelancer and employee over the years. She is blessed with two children, both conceived naturally and completely understands the emotional ups and downs that come with trying to conceive.
Verity Clarke
PR Consultant, Aubergine Communications
For the past 15 years Verity has driven award-winning tech food, health and hospitality campaigns for an international spectrum of clients.
She is at home coordinating a head turning PR stunt or social media campaign with a shareability, she loves, lives and breathes PR!
Verity has experienced the good and bad side of taking a home pregnancy test after 5 years of TTC before having her son Rowan in 2018. She knows the feelings of hope, nerves and love that come with waiting for that little pink line.
Emma Gardner
Co-founder/Director, Aubergine Communications
Emma’s vast experience as a national digital and broadcast journalist makes her a formidable force in the world of PR and content marketing. She worked for eight years as a journalist at outlets such as Channel 4 News, BBC Radio 5Live and BBC’s The One Show meaning she has unique insight into how the media operates.
Now a passionate and dedicated PR consultant, Emma puts brilliant storytelling, passion and creativity at the forefront of all her work.
Emma’s TTC journey began in 2015. After two years of trying and following a miscarriage, she decided to go down the IVF route. She did two embryo transfers which unfortunately didn’t work out – the doctors diagnosed her with “unexplained infertility” which wasn’t good enough for her, so she took a year off TTC to look for answers. After various tests and treatments as well as going on a fertility nutrition plan, Emma conceived her son who was born in December 2019.