Black Millennial Sexual Healthtech Founders Aren't Waiting For DEI To Save Them

Forbes

29-04-2025

HealthyMD, Kimbritive, Kyndred
In the face of mounting attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts across corporate America, a new generation of Black millennial founders is refusing to wait for permission to innovate. Instead, they are building healthtech companies that center Black sexual wellness — a space where need has always outpaced investment.
At the forefront of this movement are founders like Clifford W. Knights II and Steve Vixamar of HealthyMD, Kimberly Huggins and Brittany Braithwaite and Tesiah Coleman of Kyndred, a foundational expansion of Kimbritive, a platform that prioritizes the sexual wellness and pleasure of Black women through resources and education. Through culturally relevant platforms and community-first care models, they are tackling the sexual health disparities that traditional health systems have failed to solve — and doing it with or without DEI backing.
'We didn't start HealthyMD because it was trendy,' said Knights. 'We started it because no one else was showing up for our communities.'​
HealthyMD, founded over a decade ago, was built on a radical yet simple idea: meet Black and underserved communities where they are. With mobile clinics offering free STI, HIV, and Hepatitis C testing — and no stigmatizing signage — Knights and Vixamar eliminated some of the biggest barriers to healthcare: access, cost, and shame.
'Our focus is on sexual health because that's where the gaps are greatest,' said Vixamar.
Despite the barriers, HealthyMD generated $82 million in revenue in 2023 alone and is now expanding into Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio. Their impact is equally striking: HealthyMD has cured more Hepatitis C patients than major local hospitals​— a feat that underscores the power of culturally competent, mobile-first care.'
Regardless of the life-saving work, securing funding was an uphill battle. "We bootstrapped HealthyMD for over a decade," Knights shared. 'We met with banks, VCs, private equity — and either they undervalued us or looked at us like a charity case instead of a business opportunity.'
The numbers didn't lie: HealthyMD generated $82 million in top-line revenue in 2023, with consistent year-over-year growth. "We grew 20 to 40 percent every year — without outside help," said Vixamar. "Now, ironically, everybody's coming to us."
Meanwhile, founders like Huggins, , and Coleman are leading another crucial front with Kimbritive and its offshoot, Kyndred — digital platforms built by and for Black women to address the profound gaps in reproductive and sexual healthcare.
'Too often, Black women's health is framed solely around death and dying,' said Briaithwaite. 'There's rarely space for conversations about joy, pleasure, and longevity in our care narratives — and when we tried to build solutions around those ideas, funders told us the market was too small.'​
Huggins added that traditional health tech spaces — even progressive FemTech startups — often marginalized Black women. 'I worked with top FemTech brands, but it became clear that their definition of 'women' didn't include Black women. We needed our own platforms,' Huggins said.​
Kimbritive's success is rooted in centering education, storytelling, and culturally safe clinical care. Through community events like Paps on Tap, a sex education happy hour and soon-to-launch clinical services at Kyndred, the founders are reclaiming Black women's health narratives — and forging paths to care that prioritize dignity over statistics.
Their timing is urgent. As DEI programs are slashed across industries and reproductive rights face renewed political attacks, access to unbiased, culturally grounded health resources is becoming even scarcer.
'Whether DEI is in fashion or not, we're still here — because Black communities still need access,' said Vixamar. 'And the truth is, underserved doesn't just mean Black anymore. We serve rural white communities too. It's about building for anyone the system has left behind.'​
For Kyndred, the political headwinds only reinforce their commitment. 'Black women are hungry for trusted spaces where their experiences aren't dismissed,' said Coleman. 'We deserve to be heard — and that's the foundation we're building on.'​
While traditional venture capital often pressures founders toward fast exits or mass scaling, these healthtech leaders are measuring success differently: lives saved, stories heard, communities empowered.
'At HealthyMD, our metric is simple,' said Knights. 'How many lives did we save this year? That's the real bottom line.'​
Kyndred's team echoed that sentiment. 'Impact isn't just how many users sign up,' said Briathwaite. 'It's whether a Black woman feels seen, understood, and properly cared for — maybe for the first time ever.'​
Despite systemic barriers, the momentum is undeniable. Black millennial founders are no longer asking permission to center their communities in the future of healthcare — they're building it themselves.
And their timing couldn't be more urgent.