Natallia says the team interviewed more than 50 US doulas, and 68% of women who tested the first flows finished them.
On July 29, 2023, Starter Story published an interview in which Soula founder Natallia Miranchuk explains how she built Soula, an AI-powered assistant that supports women through pregnancy and motherhood. The page lists Soula as based in Limassol, Cyprus.
How Soula Started
Natallia tells Starter Story she had worked on maternity-related projects for over 15 years before launching Soula. She is originally from Belarus. She says she brought newborn photography to post-Soviet countries and ran projects that grew into a platform with 300,000 female users.
Her own postpartum depression, she says, was the catalyst for Soula. Her friends noticed she was unwell, and she sought help.
Testing the Idea With Doulas
According to Natallia, the team began work on Soula at the end of July 2022. They first interviewed more than 50 doulas from the US, a market they were targeting. The doulas confirmed that women wanted 24/7 support and wished Soula were available for their own clients, she says.
Before adding AI, the team built the first 40 flows with expert videos for the third trimester. Natallia reports a result from that test:
"Sixty-eight percent of women who tested them completed the flows to the end, which was a sign we were moving in the right direction."
Adding the Chatbot
After the test, the team put the OpenAI model at the core of Soula. Natallia says the chatbot recommends content such as TikTok reels or blog posts without leaving the chat. She wanted it to act like a doula:
"I wanted it to resemble a doula and become a big mama for mothers, someone who is always there for you and always on your side."
The chatbot is proactive and can follow up on earlier questions. For medical questions, the team trained it to give guidance on how to act and whom to ask.
Launch, Investors and Google
Natallia says Soula launched in Dubai in February 2023 with Natalia Vodianova, who also became an investor and mentor. In its introduction to the interview, Starter Story names Natalia Vodianova and Katsia Domankova among Soula's celebrity investors. It also says Soula partners with Google to use its latest large language model in the medical domain.
Soula Will Not Show Ads
Natallia describes Soula as an impact startup. Chat turned out to be the app's number one feature, she says. On advertising, she states:
"Soula does not and will not show ads in the app, because it’s hard to build a true connection with users if you interrupt your communication this way."
At the time of the interview, the team was fundraising. It planned to test a chat with a real doula from the US and a partner mode.
About Soula
Soula is a care solution for all stages of maternity, according to its founder. Its main feature is an AI-powered assistant that supports women with pregnancy and maternity issues. Natallia Miranchuk is Founder and CEO of Soula.
Media contact: n.miranchuk@soula.care · soula.care
Sources
- How I Built An AI-Powered Assistant For Women On Pregnancy And Maternal Issues, Starter Story, July 29, 2023.