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The myStoria leadership team — Meaghan Kay, Carly Malo, Helen Poon, and Jessica Chalk.

MIX Profile: Jessica Chalk, founder of myStoria

For every couple celebrating the arrival of a new baby, there are thousands of others each year who struggle privately with fertility issues. In Canada alone, one in six couples face fertility issues ranging from hormonal imbalances and complex diagnoses like endometriosis or azoospermia, to pregnancy loss and unexplained infertility, where no clear cause can be identified. The challenge for many couples is navigating a complex medical system where patients have to manage tests, paperwork, and medical procedures while dealing with emotional and financial consequences that come with fertility issues.

Jessica Chalk and her husband Peter faced these challenges firsthand. Chalk found herself navigating fertility treatments while running TrafficSoda, her previous business.

“It was very difficult. You’re running a business while going through fertility treatments, navigating care, and researching. It’s exhausting and difficult to compartmentalize both of them,” Chalk says.

The couple spent six years going through fertility treatments, including trips to the U.S. because of long wait lists in Canada. They had a frozen embryo transfer that resulted in a positive pregnancy, but unfortunately, they lost it at 11 weeks. 

“That miscarriage created other issues, and we had this dark cloud over our heads just trying to figure out how to get to the end goal or at least move on with something else. You’re in limbo. You can’t go on vacation. You can’t do anything fun because you don’t know where your dollars are coming from to pay for the multiple layers of the fertility treatment process,” she says.

Making the choice to walk away

Chalk reached an inflection point in 2023 when she and her husband decided to stop pursuing fertility treatments. She reached out to Carol Leaman, a mentor and serial entrepreneur, to get advice. 

“I was having an identity crisis of what life looks like, not being a parent. At the same time, I had my business, which was a great business, but I was no longer passionate about it. I saw an opportunity to fix problems for patients who come after me,” Chalk recalls. “Carol said, “Jess, there’s something here. Sell your business, go for it. Go as far as you can, and then when you need support, I’m there.”

In 2023, Chalk sold TrafficSoda and used part of the proceeds to launch myStoria, a digital partner that provides patients the support, knowledge, and tools to take charge of their fertility journeys.

Chalk started with a prototype of the platform that she could share with fertility patients as she worked to understand the full scope of challenges and how they affect each couple differently.

“I needed to understand what the commonalities were across all of our experiences, and it came down to that patients have all the consequences of their care journey and none of the control,” she says. 

Chalk is quick to point out that this isn’t a critique of clinicians. It’s a reflection of how complex and emotionally fraught fertility care can be, especially without adequate support. 

“It’s not just the in-between moments—trying at home, preparing to conceive, waiting between appointments. It’s also when failure happens that things unravel,” she says. “That’s when patients start to spiral emotionally and financially, and when they try to lean in but don’t know how. That creates more pressure on already overburdened doctors and nurses.”

With myStoria, Chalk hopes to give patients the context, clarity, and confidence to take a more active role, while easing the burden on the system. 

“The doctors are doing everything they can,” she adds. “But with more preparation, patients can come to the table better equipped, and that helps everyone.”

The customer discovery work helped Chalk and her team refine the value proposition and product. In June 2024, Chalk closed a pre-seed round and expanded myStoria’s engineering team to bring the platform to market.

Producing improved patient outcomes through information

The costs of pursuing fertility treatments can run upwards of $100,000 and higher. While some healthcare systems and insurance providers cover a portion of the treatment, patients are often left to pay tens of thousands of dollars.

“Fertility is complex care, but from provider to provider, no one had my whole health history. I had five different doctors who didn’t talk to each other. I was waiting months. I was taking the wrong medications. There is a wealth of technology on the provider side, but the patient is being completely undervalued as a pivotal resource in their own care,” Chalk says.

myStoria brings together every piece of the fertility puzzle in one secure, easy-to-use hub. The platform lets users log symptoms, test results, and lifestyle data in real time so they can walk into appointments with a complete health snapshot. 

A dedicated concierge team is available for a 45-minute intake call and monthly 15-minute check-ins. Additionally, fertility nurses are available on demand whenever a user needs them. Behind the scenes, myStoria centralizes medical records and lifestyle data points into a personalized dashboard that highlights trends and issues, helping users better advocate for themselves. 


“Less than 15% of patients actually need IVF,” Chalk says. “But many end up there simply because earlier guidance and context were missing.”

For Chalk, having these insights would have helped her and her husband make a decision earlier in their journey. Chalk had an ultrasound early in the process that showed an endometrioma, an ovarian cyst. Endometriomas are caused by endometriosis, which significantly contributes to infertility. Even with that ultrasound, Chalk was diagnosed with unexplained infertility for years.

“I understand the doctor can’t go back an infinite amount of time and look at every single record,” she says. “What we’re trying to do is provide patients with their full health history, clinical and non-clinical, so they can share across their providers.” 

myStoria isn’t just built for patients, it’s designed to support everyone involved in care delivery. By helping people understand their health history earlier, especially during the often-overlooked in-between moments, the platform reduces friction for clinics, physicians, and care teams. 

“Clinics and care teams are doing their best, but they’re stretched thin,” Chalk says. “A better-informed, better-supported patient helps everyone.” 

That’s the role myStoria aims to play. Not a replacement for providers, but a reinforcement that starts at the beginning of a patient’s treatment journey and supports clearer, more confident decisions across the board.

Putting myStoria into the MIX

Chalk learned about MIX through her friend and fellow founder, Armen Bakirtzian, the co-founder and CEO of Intellijoint and co-founder of MIX. Chalk says she quickly saw the value in MIX membership and joined in 2024.

“MIX has been amazing,” Chalk says. “Elliot, the MIX team, and the other founders have provided me a lot of clarity, support, and community. It’s amazing to be able to have a workspace along with the community. You’re less alone as you’re navigating this.”

Startups can be a source of healing

Four months into its launch, Chalk is seeing traction, but not in the way she originally planned. She initially planned to go direct-to-consumer, but quickly realized there was a gap in corporate-offered health plans that myStoria was better positioned to address.

“Companies don’t have options outside of coverage. There’s nothing to help you navigate complex care, so we’ve had companies come to us to provide options for their employees,” she says.

While growth is great, Chalk says that building myStoria is even more important to helping her move on from her fertility journey.

“This is helping me find purpose again. Going through fertility and then realizing I’m not going to be a mom in the way I had wanted was difficult. I see life differently now, and talking to patients, helping patients, has been healing.”