Latest news with #Wisp
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
World's best lovers, revealed: Italians top the global league, while Brits lag behind
Espresso-fuelled stamina, a seductive accent and a whole lot of charm, Italian lovers have officially been crowned the best in the world. A new study has lifted the lid on which nation performs best in the bedroom – and it's bad news for Brits. Researchers asked 2,000 people to name the nationality of the best lover they've ever had. Italians strutted straight into first place with 21 per cent of the vote, while the Spanish came in second at 15 per cent and Greeks placed third with 14 per cent. Brazilians took fourth place with 11 per cent, and the famously romantic French landed an impressive 9 per cent. Portuguese lovers followed at 8 per cent, and then the Swedes with 6 per cent and Australians with 5 per cent. It's bad news for British bedroom prowess, however – as only 4 per cent said their best lover hailed from the UK. Germans landed last, with just 3 per cent of the vote, while 'other' nationalities made up the final 4 per cent of votes. Sylvia Linzalone, from dating app Wisp, says it's no surprise Mediterranean countries dominate the rankings. 'It's the confidence, the eye contact, the way they talk – it's all very magnetic,' she said. 'When you're in Italy or Spain, romance is practically part of the weather forecast.' Unfortunately Brits just aren't bringing the same heat, she added. 'We love a good cuppa and a stiff upper lip, but sometimes that doesn't translate to fireworks in the bedroom. 'Meanwhile, in Italy, even buying bread can feel like foreplay.' More than a third of people said their most memorable fling happened while on holiday, with nearly one in five saying they fell in love – or at least something very close to it – while abroad. One woman who took part in the poll said her most unforgettable night happened one summer in Naples. Sadly for Brits - including actor Daniel Craig (pictured) - only 4 per cent of people said their best lover was from the UK Poll results: What was the nationality of the best lover you've ever had? Rank Country Score 1 Italian 21% 2 Spanish 15% 3 Greek 14% 4 Brazilian 11% 5 French 9% 6 Portuguese 8% 7 Swedish 6% 8 Australian 5% 9 British 4% 10 German 3% 11 Other 4% 'I went for the pizza, but stayed for Paolo,' she said. 'He ruined British men for me forever.' She added that the Italian had 'incredible confidence and warmth' while British men 'just ask if you want a kebab and a cuddle'. 'The data is a reminder that the most meaningful romantic experiences often happen when people are open to the unexpected,' Ms Linzalone added. 'Passion doesn't always come from perfection. 'It's about presence, playfulness and the willingness to be fully in the moment – which is something Mediterranean cultures tend to embody perfectly.' A separate study, published last year, revealed Italian was rated the world's most attractive language. According to Babel, to name Italian the most attractive overall, it combined votes for which languages were perceived as 'most sexy', 'most romantic' and 'most passionate' from the international respondents. When it came to what was considered the 'most direct' language, perhaps unsurprisingly, German topped that bill. Meanwhile, British English won the accolade of being the 'most polite'. 1 - Popularity Men appear more attractive if they're popular with other women, according to scientists. The theory is that women are especially attracted to men with partners because they are more likely to be kind and faithful - which makes them 'good mates'. 2 - Money Women are more likely to find men attractive if they think they have a bulging wallet, a new study has found - but for men it's still all about the looks. A recent study suggests that women are four times as sensitive to salary when considering a male partner as men are when choosing a female partner. 3 - Muscles When it comes to what women want, muscular, tall men still win out, a recent Austrlian study suggests. Scientists showed a group of 160 women photographs of shirtless, faceless men and asked to give them an attractiveness rating. The results show men who looked strong, with muscular arms and toned torsos, did far better than those who had worked a little less hard at the gym. 4 - Intelligence It seems that, for some, looks and personality really don't matter. Nearly one in ten people find intelligence to be the most attractive feature in a partner - a trait known as sapiosexuality, according to researchers at the University of Western Australia.
CNBC
26-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
CEOs share the 3 traits they want the most in job candidates: You ‘won't be around very long' without them
Many CEOs know what kinds of employees they want at their company, and can point out the top character trait they seek in job candidates. For Wisp CEO Monica Cepak, that trait is the ability to collaborate with your colleagues, especially when there's a problem to be solved. To find out if a job candidate has the soft skill, she asks a particular interview question: What's the hardest problem you've ever solved at work, and how did you reach a solution? If an interviewee's answer is "cross-functional in nature" — showing how they worked with other team members to solve an issue — they're probably a team player who regularly seeks insights from their coworkers, Cepak told CNBC Make It on April 24. An answer like, "'Oh, I did everything myself. Myself, myself, myself'" is a telltale sign that a person "can't work well in an environment like ours because nobody can solve every problem [on their own.] We're a team at the end of the day, and your ability to problem solve by working with others is key," said Cepak, who has nearly 10 years of experience in executive-level roles. Cepak isn't the only company leader who seeks out specific traits in employees. Here are two more examples of CEOs' biggest employee green flags: Zig Serafin, the CEO of experience management company Qualtrics, appreciates an employee who can contribute big ideas without losing sight of their day-to-day job duties. Highly successful people know how to balance "having your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground," Serafin told CNBC Make It on April 14. People who constantly pitch new projects without seeing them through, don't show any ambition at all or can't multitask "won't be around very long," he added. "Good luck."During interviews, hiring managers can gauge this trait by asking behavioral questions like "Tell me about a time when you had to juggle a long-term goal with an immediate task. How did you prioritize your time?" or "Describe a situation where you had to change your routine to better align with company goals. Was it hard adapting to your new normal?" You can effectively answer behavioral questions with the STAR (Situation, Task, Action and Result) method, according to Harvard career advisor Gorick Ng: Briefly describe the situation or problem, explain the task you had to complete, describe the actions you took to reach a solution and explain the outcome of your efforts. Michael Ramlet, CEO of global data intelligence firm Morning Consult, looks for intellectual curiosity in his employees and job candidates, particularly against the backdrop of the rapidly growing artificial intelligence industry. As people and businesses increasingly rely on AI, employees who voraciously search for answers to questions and actively find solutions to problems will become more essential than they already are, Ramlet told CNBC Make It on April 1. "You think about [generative AI] chat prompts and ... [humans] still have to ask the question," Ramlet said. "So that intellectual curiosity is, I think, going to be a distinguishing trait, not just for those of us at Morning Consult, but across the board."
Forbes
19-06-2025
- Health
- Forbes
How Women-Led Companies Are Changing The Healthcare Game
If you've ever had to jump through hoops to get an appointment (albeit one three months away, even though you're struggling with symptoms now), felt dismissed in the exam room or paid out of pocket for essential care that wasn't covered by insurance, you're not alone. For many women, getting quality healthcare that's accessible, affordable and respectful of their time and privacy can feel like a full-time job. From fragmented systems to outdated research that still centers on male biology, the barriers to truly effective women's healthcare run deep. That's why a wave of innovative companies—many of them women-led—are stepping in to fill the gap. Read more to learn about telehealth platforms that deliver stigma-free reproductive care, at-home testing that empowers women with data and virtual nutrition counseling that actually takes insurance to help challenge the status quo and give women more agency in their healthcare decisions. For many women, it's challenging to get affordable quality healthcare from a provider who truly ... More listens. Common barriers to care There are a number of factors in what keeps women from seeking care. Affordability, accessibility, and privacy concerns are just a few of the factors that come up. Monica Cepak, CEO of Wisp — the largest women's telehealth company in the U.S. focused on providing sexual and reproductive health solutions, says, 'Some of women's main concerns are around getting access to affordable care. Patients also are concerned around their privacy, especially with things like STI testing and abortion care. You also see a lot of fragmentation in the marketplace.' It's easy to get overwhelmed when you have to go to different providers for all different health concerns. Vanessa Risetto, MS, RD, co-founder of nutrition platform Culina Health, notes that lack of insurance coverage keeps many women seeking support from a registered dietitian when making lifestyle changes. 'Historically, it's been all cash pay,' she says, for quality nutrition care, 'so for a regular person, it felt like you could never access that and it puts you in the mindset of, 'if I have to do this, I have to spend this kind of money,' and it also drove the mindset that if someone takes insurance, they must not be good.' She adds that because the registered dietitian license isn't protected, it can lead people to seek nutrition advice from uncredentialed influencers, which often can be unproductive or at its worst, dangerous. Priyanka Jain is the co-founder of Evvy—a female-founded women's health platform that offers precision vaginal healthcare via at-home testing and virtual coaching. She founded Evvy with the mission of closing the gender health data gap by discovering and leveraging overlooked female biomarkers, starting with the vaginal microbiome. 'As a founder but also as a woman who has been a patient of the healthcare system, I always joke that I had to start Evvy. I think you can feel the many ways that our healthcare system has not prioritized us.' She points to the fact that women weren't included in clinical research in the United States until 1993. 'Unfortunately, we're met with a healthcare system that doesn't really understand what health and disease looks like when the person that we're talking about has a female body. If you think about it historically, we essentially studied middle-aged white men. We made the ranges smaller for whatever was predictive of health and disease in those people. And then we assumed we had healthcare for women,' she adds. 'However, the female body has so many unique biomarkers, ways it's trying to tell us where things are going well and where we need help, but we're just not measuring or tracking any of those signals because we don't realize that they're predictive of health and disease because we never studied women.' Telehealth platforms offer many options for accessible healthcare for women. Improving access The digital health space has seen a lot of growth in recent years as companies seek to close healthcare gaps by offering accessible, affordable options. In the case of Wisp, Cepak says, 'We want to help lead innovation in this space so women have more options. We want to balance treatment with preventive care. Our goal is to be that single sign-on experience for women as they navigate major milestones of their health journey and plug into their lives to make accessing affordable, fast care that much easier. The name 'wisp' comes from the idea that women shouldn't have to whisper about their needs.' They're focused on optimizing accessibility to care and making it possible to get care through one provider 'as opposed to jumping around to so many different ones.' It's exhausting to try and remember all that login info, she says, and when those many practitioners aren't in touch with each other, it can contribute to getting mixed advice and feeling overwhelmed. Jain shares that there are currently about 1000 providers across the US 'who work through Evvy who refer their patients to the test,' but that a huge piece of the business is coming from patients seeking out the test independently. 'They can come to the website and order a vaginal health test and then one of their providers signs the order for them.' This is especially helpful for women living in rural areas where access to providers who specialize in women's vaginal health is lacking. Additionally, because insurance reimbursement for so many women's health issues is often minimal at best, paying a flat fee that involves both testing and consultation is a more cost-effective option. Because Evvy has such a large dataset, she adds, it offers the opportunity to research the vaginal microbiome and its impact on many aspects of women's health beyond just vaginitis, which is at present the primary issue women come to the platform for. Risetto shares that Culina, which she founded with her colleague Tamar Samuels in 2020, was 'first to market taking insurance, hiring smart RDs and showing that our profession is worthwhile.' They've built an award-winning virtual platform featuring registered dietitians with a variety of specialities who are in-network with many insurance companies, making nutrition care affordable for people who previously would not have been able to afford it. While they work with men and women, they offer services catered to women, such as nutrition to support hormone health, fertility, as pregnancy and postpartum health. Educating yourself on your own body and being ready to share that data with a provider can ... More facilitate shared decision making. Tips for Advocating for Yourself If you are dealing with a health issue and not getting support from your doctor, says Jain, don't be afraid to keep pushing. 'If you feel like something is wrong, you are probably right, even if you don't have the exact tools to validate that. So I really feel like we can be so much further as an industry if we just listen to women. And then my hope is that we put more data behind the lived experiences that so many women have.' She hopes that providing care and actually starting to study the things that women have done for generations will eventually provide the data to show what works and what doesn't work. 'Try to get as much data on your body as you can, and seek out the services that will help you access novel types of testing and comprehensive types of testing. Having that data helps you point to where issues are, which can then point to potential solutions.' If you struggle with feeling like your provider is too busy to listen to you, she adds, show up to appointments with that data. 'It makes it easier for providers when we do as much education as we can before we go to the appointment.' You use a service like Evvy, she explains, to get insight on what might be going on so that when you do get that precious facetime with your doctor, 'you're not saying, 'what is this and what does it mean?' Instead, you're saying, 'okay, these are my three options. Can we talk about which one is the best for me based on my personal medical history?'And then you can participate in what we always talk about as shared decision making.' The more you can do to be educated upfront about your own health can help you get the care you need, she adds. 'But also, don't be resigned to having a provider that won't listen to you.' Cepak encourages spreading the word about healthcare resources that you have found helpful. She says, 'Getting quality care shouldn't have to be that hard. I think that, ultimately, it comes down to education, awareness, and word of mouth. We have made a lot of progress in de-stigmatizing this space. Women trust other women. If you've had a positive experience getting quality care from an online provider, share that with friends and family.' And if your experience leaves you fired up to create your own resource to help close the care gap, Risotto has some sage advice: 'Run it lean. Don't get distracted by all the flashiness. That stuff is not sustainable. Run your own race. Just go with that. If you're trying to raise capital, VCs get a thousand deals and only say yes to a few. Every time you pitch, it's practice. Take the feedback and use it and remember that you only need one train to get it out of the station. Show them why they should say yes to you.'
Business Wire
10-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Wisp Names Jennifer Peña as Chief Medical Officer to Support Integrated Women's Telehealth
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Wisp, the largest pure play women's telehealth company in the U.S. focused on providing sexual and reproductive health solutions to more than 1.5 million customers, today announced the appointment of Jennifer Peña, MD, as the company's Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Peña will have a crucial role in driving Wisp's commitment to being the one-stop-shop for all women's health needs, as the company continues to scale new and existing offerings. As CMO, Dr. Peña will spearhead Wisp's clinical strategy, quality, and safety programs, aligning telehealth operations with the company's broader business goals. She will oversee clinical care delivery, ensuring regulatory compliance and high standards of patient care, while guiding product development and expanding protocols for new verticals. Dr. Peña will mentor and grow a multidisciplinary clinical team, establish KPIs to benchmark performance, and collaborate cross-functionally to integrate clinical insight into Wisp's innovation and execution. As a clinical expert, she will serve as a key advisor to internal and external stakeholders as Wisp accelerates its growth. 'Wisp is committed to delivering clinical excellence and expanding access to high-quality care for women nationwide,' said Monica Cepak, CEO of Wisp. 'We have already built a trusted platform serving over 1.5 million women to meet all of their health needs. As we continue to grow and remain the leading one-stop shop for women's health, Dr. Peña's clinical expertise, across traditional clinics and telehealth, will help us push the boundaries of what's possible in virtual care. Her leadership will be crucial in building the next chapter of Wisp as we double down on our commitment to bringing innovation, accessibility, and quality care into the women's health space.' Dr. Peña brings 20 years of clinical and leadership experience across the healthcare ecosystem. As a board-certified internal medicine physician, she previously served as Medical Director for Oscar Health and Chief Medical Officer for Nurx, K Health, and Vault Health, where she led teams that delivered high-quality, tech-enabled care to diverse populations. Before that, she served as a U.S. Army physician and White House physician. Dr. Peña earned her MD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and her undergraduate degree from Yale University. 'Wisp is redefining access to sexual and reproductive health with clinical excellence and unmatched convenience,' said Dr. Jennifer Peña, Chief Medical Officer at Wisp. 'I'm thrilled to join a company that is breaking down barriers and reimagining what care looks like, whether that's delivering at-home STI testing, affordable BV treatment, effective UTI prevention or evidence-based menopause support. We're not just offering telehealth; we're building a movement to destigmatize women's health and set a new, human-centered standard for virtual care." ABOUT WISP: Wisp is the largest pure play women's telehealth company in the U.S. focused on providing sexual and reproductive health solutions to its more than 1.4 million patients in all 50 states. Offering discreet treatments online with a comprehensive selection of first-to-market products and telehealth services, Wisp has solidified itself as the one-stop shop for all women's health needs. Wisp is committed to making women's healthcare more inclusive, cost-effective, and accessible for all, addressing all stages of her healthcare journey, from her birth control, to fertility, menopause, STI diagnostics, weight care and more. Wisp has been named Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies of 2023 and Inc.'s Best in Business in 2024. Wisp is a growing and profitable company and is majority-owned by WELL Health Technologies Corp. To learn more, please visit or follow @hellowisp on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
The National
08-06-2025
- General
- The National
Rhoda Meek: My wayward, constantly escaping bundles of woolly joy
My five rare North Ronaldsay sheep are friendly, fascinating and utterly infuriating. Given their breeding – which is primitive and partial to roaming – their preference is to be anywhere except where they are supposed to be and they have been running rings around me for months. These ovine delights are tiny, which means that they can find and escape through gaps that even the dog struggles to get through. And as if that wasn't enough, they are clever to boot. In my (albeit limited) experience, they are masters of outwitting both dogs and people. That trait is genetic, thanks to a deeply unhelpful streak called 'anti-flocking'. It does exactly what it says on the tin: when they are under pressure, they scatter. Poor Wisp didn't know if he was on his head or his heels the first time he tried to round them up. The flock of five Ronnies split into groups of two and three. He set off after the three, who promptly split into groups of one and two. He went after the two … You get the idea. When he finally did corner a couple of them, they simply stared at him and refused to move. READ MORE: 'Joy, celebration and warmth' of Palestinian art to be showcased at Edinburgh Fringe When, dog and human, rapidly running out of steam, reached a rocky area, the wee horrors hid behind the rocks, their light fleece blending in perfectly. And for a last hurrah, as the dog got close enough to be useful, they keeled over and played dead. At least they are light enough that when they do that, I can pick them up and bodily move them to where I want them. It might have been the first time that I'd hefted a Ronnie on to my shoulders, but it wouldn't be the last! North Ronaldsay sheep are one of the oldest sheep breeds in the world. Native to the Orkney island of the same name, they've been in Orkney for more than 5000 years – part of a group known as Northern European short-tailed sheep. In 1832, the islanders built a dry stone dyke around the island to keep sheep off the best grazing land. Banished to the shoreline, the breed adapted by eating seaweed. That diet makes them very different from most other sheep. Seaweed is low in copper, so they've evolved to absorb more of it from their food. This means that if you feed them things with high copper levels, they can get copper poisoning. Apparently they also don't react well to Rhododendron, but then neither do many ecologists. Despite all that, they're hardy and incredibly low-input. They lamb easily, cope well with poor weather and don't need much help. Today, they're classed as 'vulnerable' by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, with fewer than 600 registered breeding females left. That's not a lot, so there are an increasing number of people keeping them in locations other than Orkney in order to ensure the future of the breed. Which is why there are now three North Ronaldsay ewes and two wedders living in Tiree. Truth be told, it was a bit of an accident. I was selling tea at the Royal Highland Show a few years ago and, as you do when you're stuck in the same spot for four days, I snuck off for a look around. I ended up in the rare breeds tent and, as a Hebridean sheep owner, I naturally struck up a conversation. When I left, I had a sneaking suspicion I'd agreed to buy some Ronnies – but it had all happened so fast … Two years later, I got a text to say they'd been born and would be ready for collection in October. I figured that, as a hardy rare breed that lived on the shore and ate fresh air, they'd be fairly easy to accommodate. Their fleeces are lovely (North Ronaldsay even has its own mill) and I was feeling optimistic. What could possibly go wrong? They were so small that all five arrived in the back of a pickup. Raised in Argyll, but from pedigree stock direct from North Ronaldsay, they came with a full backstory – and a warning. Keep activated charcoal to hand. Just in case they eat something they shouldn't. I was left wondering whether it was quite so surprising that they are small in number. Mine had grown up on sycamore, but as that's in short supply here, I decided to put them back on seaweed. My neighbour had helpfully acquired a pile of seaweed for her garden and left it on my croft, so I pressed that into service during the autumn, scattering tasty sheep nuts over the seaweed to tempt the greedy wee group. They loved it, and were soon tucking into the seaweed to the extent that I was asked to cease and desist as the pile diminished. It was during this period I began experimenting with different fields. That was when I realised that being small in stature did not mean they'd be easy to manage. Quite the opposite. Their luxurious fleeces are perfect for getting stuck. The afternoon that Lachie-up-the-road and I had to extract them from a bramble patch two fields over, I decided the shore might be worth a shot. Maybe they'd heft nicely to a seaweed-rich bit of coastline. That was in January. They hung around my bit of the shore for a while – and for a few weeks they toured but were always home for dinner about 5pm. It was not to last. Since then, they've decided the whole township is theirs. They're not just on my part of the shore – they've gone fully feral. No fence can hold them. READ MORE: Freedom Flotilla urges UK Government to 'protect' ship from Israel as it nears Gaza They've been in sheds, veg gardens and patios. They were even caught delicately nibbling primroses in a holiday let's front garden. The township WhatsApp group has been full of sightings, updates and, luckily, good humour. But patience can only stretch so far. As we come into the summer season of the crofting year, we need to keep certain ground ungrazed to qualify for subsidies. Rogue sheep, even seaweed-powered ones, are a problem. And so began the process of rounding them up and securing them. The whole thing should've had a Benny Hill soundtrack. I caught them once and put them in by the house – then left a gate open one day. Off they went. The WhatsApp updates rolled in. I caught them again, then headed to Inverness, feeling triumphant – until my phone started pinging halfway up Loch Ness-side with laughing emojis and escape updates. They've now been captured four times, and as I write this, they've spent 48 hours in a new field without escaping. It's a record. There have been half-joking suggestions of barbecues. I've more than once threatened to rehome them. But the truth is, I couldn't possibly. Partly because I like a challenge – but mostly because I respect the hell out of them. These sheep are clever. They've survived for centuries by being stubborn, scattered and suspicious. Their refusal to flock and their love of a wander are exactly what's kept them going all this time. The Ronnies and I are clearly in this for the long haul. But I'd be lying if I said I haven't considered building a wall.
