Evere origin story, part two: how my sister's cat made me found Evere (yes, really)

In the life of an entrepreneur, building a venture can sometimes feel like a gamble.

You have lots of ideas, and you try things out. Sometimes you really want an idea to happen, but the momentum fades away. You can feel it in your gut and in the back of your head: this is maybe not it.

Other times, a problem keeps showing up in your life. You consider tackling it, but you hesitate, thinking you might be lacking something, or assuming there must already be solutions out there.

Then, the universe keeps sending you signs. And at some point, the last drop overflows the cup, and you realize: I just have to do this now.

Once you commit, that fire, passion, and flame just keep going. You find ways, things start falling into place, and it becomes clear as glass. There is no denying that this is destiny.

For me, that destiny is Evere Health.

In my younger years (not that I'm old now!), I struggled relentlessly with urinary tract infections (UTIs).

I was trapped in a familiar, exhausting cycle: getting an infection, rushing to the emergency clinic on a Sunday or late evening, and walking out with a prescription for antibiotics. I was never told about the risks they carried. I just thought, this is how it is, and I accepted it.

Little did I know what was actually happening to my body. By washing myself with regular soap, I was stripping away my healthy, protective shield flora. Add friction through sexual activity, and E. coli bacteria could travel easily and undisturbed up my urethra, into my bladder, and—in really bad situations—all the way up to my kidneys.

Little did I also know that through repeated rounds of antibiotics, my microbiome and natural flora never stood a chance to replenish. Beyond losing my intimate natural shield, my gut microbiome was completely wrecked.

For years, I struggled with acne, bloating, hair loss, and lactose intolerance. It took me over a decade to figure out that my gut was in terrible shape, driving numerous health issues I had been battling for so long. (I will write more about that later—and how I now finally fixed these issues in my early 30s.)

Back then, the only prevention advice I knew was to drink loads of water and hope and pray for the best. No doctor ever warned me about the systemic health risks of antibiotics, explained where these recurring issues actually came from, or suggested proper, alternative intimate care.

And they certainly never mentioned the consequences of building up antimicrobial resistance (AMR)—something I am now starting to feel firsthand. Today, when I take antibiotics, they aren't as effective as they used to be. That is a terrifying reality to face when thinking about situations later in life when I might truly need antibiotics to survive, and they simply won't work.

Swallowing that truth was tough. And then, I realized this hasn't just been happening to me—it has been happening for decades to almost every woman (and every man with a girlfriend) I've spoken to. And I've spoken to many.

Then came the final drop that made the cup overflow. My sister's cat got a UTI triggered purely by stress. One of her kittens had swallowed a little twig that got stuck in its throat (though, by a miracle, the kitten managed to spit it out thanks to the care of my brilliant sister), but in the meantime, the ordeal threw the mother cat into extreme anxiety. For a while, my sister didn't know what was wrong with her and thought the symptoms would pass. But the cat kept acting in distress and started peeing everywhere, just a few drops at a time. When my sister told me about it and mentioned she found a little bit of blood, I knew immediately what it was. I told her to bring her poor cat into the vet right away because I knew it was a painful UTI. In this case, treating it with antibiotics was absolutely necessary; and since it was a first-time infection, we didn't have to worry about antimicrobial resistance.

Seeing how deeply urinary tract infections impact well-being—even crossing species lines—and realizing how hidden and misunderstood this pain is solidified everything. But I wanted to be sure, so I teamed up with my sister, El Zahra, a medical student specializing in gynecology, and we started digging into the research. We surveyed nearly 300 women in a very short period about their experiences, and the results were both shocking and completely unsurprising. To take it further, we dove deeper and interviewed 19 women to get a crystal-clear picture of what the real problem is, its urgency, and what is currently missing in intimate and female healthcare.

That brings us to where we are today with Evere Health.

We are here to break the cycle, shatter the stigma, and pioneer an inclusive, effective, and convenient approach to intimate health. And it starts with education—not just for women, but for their sexual partners, too.

Read our manifesto.