International Women's Day: The stories of Caspar's female employees

This International Women’s Day, we want to introduce some of many inspirational women of Caspar Health. Gender equality, diversity and inclusion is an integral part of Caspar Health’s culture and we are constantly working on improving ourselves and celebrating diversity in every part of the company.

With us from the start - Anna Haber

Anna was only 24 years old when she first learnt about Caspar Health. At the time, she was working as a program manager for the Microsoft Accelerator in Berlin. Like all other participating startups, Caspar Health moved into the office at “Unter den Linden” in Berlin. From now on, only two desks separated Anna and the Caspar founders. “I was there for all of their first steps”, she remembers. “I heard their first pitches and met their first clients and thought this was all very exciting.” Anna was intrigued by the startup spirit. That’s why she seized the opportunity to bring her experience to Caspar and joined the company as one of the first employees. Since her first position as a Key Account Manager for Caspar Health, the 29 year old has gone through an amazing journey. By now, Anna is Head of Operations and specializes in Business Analytics. But it was only later that the Ukrainian native realized she had achieved something big. “Thinking about it now, it was definitely special that I have been able to contribute to Caspar’s growth from five to over 70 employees. I have gone through such a broad range of responsibilities: from defining the product to taking care of marketing & sales and eventually business analytics. The more time I spent at Caspar, the more I realize how special this journey is.”

The HR Allrounder - Laura Haase

Laura always dreamed of a job with an interpersonal component, but never knew she would one day realize this dream as a HR Manager. After studying at the European academy of economics and languages, she worked in a consulting agency. Several steps on the career ladder later, she moved into office management and took over staff responsibilities. “Right from the start I loved the onboardings. I really enjoy being there for new employees on their first day and showing them the new job.” In 2016, Laura became a mother and started working part-time after her maternity leave. Unfortunately, she has experienced that part-time models are often not accepted very well. This is something she wants to change. "Being successful in part-time and working in management positions is absolutely doable. That applies not only to women, but also to men. I want to support this and make it possible in organizational terms." With a changing work environment, it is important to Laura that part-time models are accompanied and supported by HR. For one year now, she has been working as HR Manager at Caspar Health and wants to engage in this topic and act as a role model. In her position, Laura is able to advocate for team members, inspire them and familiarize them with their job. From talent acquisition, to onboarding, to talent management. "I can make sure a lot of people understand how great it is to work for a company with purpose," she tells us. Good thing we have our HR expert Laura.

The versatile one - Ivana Draco

“When I was 20, I believed that psychology was my true calling”. Working as a successful psychologist and researcher in her 20s, Ivana would have never thought she would be working in a completely different job 10 years later. But Ivana wasn’t only a psychologist, but also a feminist and an activist. Having lived in Sarajevo all her life, she decided to move to Berlin at the age of 32. “At that stage, my path could have changed in many ways. I wasn’t exactly sure, what I wanted to do - I could imagine working as a researcher but was also ready to try something new, so I joined the female mentoring group “Frauenloop”. I would recommend this to any woman who is interested in something new! “Frauenloop” and other groups dedicated to supporting “Women in tech” are very inclusive and informative communities where you can dive into completely new topics”, she explained. With the group, Ivana learned to code and found out how to handle big data. A masters in behavioural data science in Amsterdam and a few years later, Ivana works as a Data Scientist for Caspar Health. “After my studies, I was really interested in health tech. I wanted to improve people’s access to health, so Caspar Health was a great company to go with.” Juggling numbers and looking at a screen all day might seem far away from what she did in her twenties, but: “Without my background in psychology and gender studies, I wouldn’t be as good at this job. They help me understand what drives user behaviour, and how to be aware of unfairness and bias in data analysis." What Ivana says when asked for her profession? “I like to call myself a blender.” She laughs. 

On a new planet - Cordula Siepmann

Since she was 10 years old, Cordula wanted to become a physiotherapist. She fulfilled this wish by studying physical therapy. But she quickly realized that many of her skills were falling short. When her husband went to China on business, she followed him and trained therapists for several years. On June 13, 2017, the key moment occurred: one of her colleagues knew Max von Waldenfels and told Cordula about Caspar Health. "I still have my cell phone note from back then saved today, that I have to take a look at this rehab app.” One evening, Cordula was sitting in her hotel room in China after a busy day and thought, "I need something new." Then she remembered Caspar and everything happened very quickly. After an application and several interviews, she then started on September 01, 2018, and supported the product team with her therapeutic perspective. "In the first 2 weeks I felt like an alien on another planet. I didn't know what they were talking about, but I liked the planet very much and wanted to understand everything." When Caspar Health was restructuring, Cordula learned about the Product Owner position and thought, "I want to do that. As a product owner, you have the overview, set the direction and bring together all the different perspectives - therapeutic, technical and business." She ended up in that position and is still very happy with it today. Dear Cordula, thank you for your constant inquisitiveness and your great commitment.

Thanks to her everything runs smoothly - Willimag Dachkovski

"Actually, I'm a people and culture manager who is now all of a sudden an administration lead." But let's start at the beginning. While studying to be a teacher, Willi realized that she didn't want to teach children, but rather adults. At that time, she spent a lot of time in the gym and wanted to teach her own classes. No sooner said than done. After several training and further education courses, Willi finally started a dual study program in fitness economics. This allowed her to combine office management with working in the gym. But Willi didn't want to spend her whole life in the gym. From her studies, she switched to an apprenticeship as a businesswoman for office management and soon found herself in the startup world. When she learned about Caspar Health, Willi was working in e-commerce. Since she actually wanted to pursue a profession related to the healthcare sector, she applied for a vacant position at Caspar. Starting as Office and Culture Manager, Willi took on the important role of the Administration Lead. "I guess that came from my love for tools and technology" she explains. As Administration Lead, Willi provides our team with all important access as well as the necessary equipment and optimizes internal processes across all departments. Furthermore, she is responsible for finance and is always available to give advice and support. “My mission for the admin team is to make sure that every employee has the best workplace experience, at any time and any place.” Thank you Willi - you make our daily work life easier.

From Fitness to Finance - Karoline Scherlipp

For twelve years, Karo worked as a group fitness manager for a Berlin gym chain. Then, in mid-2020, she took a big step into a new world. This world was called Caspar Health. Her current colleague Willi approached her at that time and said, "Karo, I have the perfect job for you." The two had previously worked together at the same gym for some time, and Willi knew her structured and focused approach. "I was convinced by what Caspar was doing", Karo explains. "No matter what position you work in at Caspar, we're all doing something good. We make people healthy." As Team Assistant Office and Finance, she is a major contributor to this vision. Karo majorly contributes to a smooth flow in the admin department. She is responsible for billing of individual clinics and self-paying patients. She also makes sure that all employees at Caspar have everything they need and are doing well. Karo is happy to have taken this step after such a long time in the fitness sector. "I now experience a completely different way of working than in my previous job and that's why I feel super comfortable. Everyone is able to contribute, it's also more open and you're being heard more - that's what's great about Caspar." We are also very grateful for your valuable support, dear Karo.

Focussing people - Inka Wolfermann

Our Head of People & Organization, Inka, brings an incredible wealth of experience with her. Born in Thuringia, she studied languages and psychology in the GDR era, then went on to study law after the Berlin wall came down, followed by an education in mediation and systemic coaching. Change is a topic that has always driven Inka, be it socially, personally or professionally, and so she is currently intensively engaged in systemic change management. In her experience, the individual person and his or her needs are often not seen in change processes and would like to help this matter gain more attention in the corporate context. We are glad that Inka found her way to Caspar Health. "I wanted to work in a company that thinks beyond just creating and selling a product, and it's important to me that the product serves a sustainable purpose in society and for the people who use it", she explains. "I was also very attracted to the topic of health because there is a lot of innovation and change happening in the health sector right now." In her position, Inka is in charge of taking overall responsibility for the People department, helping with overall organizational changes, building structures and processes, and supporting managers. She always brings a great deal of empathy and an open heart for employees and their needs. Her conclusion makes us particularly proud: "I'm not exactly at the beginning of my career, but this is the first time I've experienced that I'm valued in a company not only for my obvious strengths, but also for my rough edges. That's an incredibly good feeling." Thank you for this inspiring interview, Inka.