Jack Fertility Secures Over £500k Pre-Seed Investment to Launch Groundbreaking Home-to-Lab Test Kits
Written by Christina Levada
Jack Fertility, the Oxford-based men’s healthtech startup founded by Nick Shipley and Lily Elsner, is on a mission to reframe sperm testing as a proactive part of men’s health and wellness. Fuel Ventures led the pre-seed round, which has attracted over £500k since last year, enabling the company to bring its innovative solutions to market.
The pre-seed round included angels from Microsoft, Alma Angels, and The Beam Network, marking an important step in Jack Fertility’s purpose-driven mission. They join existing investors Moonstone Venture Capital, FemTech Lab, Founders Factory’s Reckitt Benckiser Accelerator, and the Oxford Seed Fund.
The company's first product, Snip Check™, directly addresses a critical and often-overlooked need. Research shows that more than 40% of men miss vital follow-up appointments after a vasectomy often due to embarrassment or the inconvenience of attending a clinic1. Jack Fertility’s postal kit removes these barriers, enabling men to check the success or failure of their procedure discreetly and conveniently from home.
This investment not only accelerates the launch of Snip Check™ but also the development of Jack Fertility’s flagship offering: a first-of-its-kind, fully postable semen analysis kit. Built in Jack Fertility’s Oxford lab and powered by a proprietary sperm preservation solution, the test kit will deliver accurate, clinic-grade results straight to customers’ doors.
Lily Elsner, Co-founder of Jack Fertility, commented on the significance of their innovative technology: “By using the Royal Mail postbox network and our proprietary tech, it’s like putting a male fertility clinic on every street across the UK. We're empowering men to take control of their reproductive health and get actionable insights about their fertility, all without ever setting foot in a clinic.”
Male fertility is a significant yet often-overlooked factor in reproductive health. Despite common misconceptions, male factors are an equally common cause of infertility as female factors and are the number one reason couples undergo IVF treatment 2 . Yet, men are far less likely to get tested. Jack Fertility is directly addressing this critical gap by providing a stigma-free way for men to conveniently and proactively take control of their reproductive health from home.
Nick Shipley, Co-founder of Jack Fertility, commented:
“The stigma around male fertility has meant too many men avoid getting checked. That's why we've put the customer experience at the heart of our mission to make testing accessible. Our first product, a postal vasectomy kit, removes the traditional barriers and awkwardness of a clinic visit, giving men a simple and accessible way to engage with their reproductive health. We're not just offering a test; we're empowering men to proactively and conveniently take control of their sperm health.”
Mark Pearson, Founder of Fuel Ventures, commented:
“At Fuel, we back ambitious founders who are addressing real, everyday problems with innovative, scalable solutions – and Jack Fertility is a prime example. Nick and Lily are tackling an often-overlooked issue that affects millions of men and couples across the UK. While they are just at the start of their journey, it’s already clear that the funding is going directly into solutions that can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Male reproductive health has long been hidden behind stigma and awkwardness, and Jack Fertility is changing that by making testing accessible, private and normalised.
We’re proud to support Nick and Lily as they bring their first product to market and build a category-defining healthtech business.”
About Jack Fertility
Jack Fertility is a UK-based healthtech company focused on breaking the stigma around male reproductive health. Its mission is to make male fertility testing simple, accessible, and stigma-free through home-to-lab testing kits and actionable insights, empowering men to take charge of their sperm health and wellness.
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