Rayse - The Journey So Far (how and why I built this)

I was 30 years old when I went through a radical hysterectomy due to stage 3 borderline ovarian cancer. I felt incredibly alone. I tried posting on Mumsnet to find people with the same health problems and joined a few Facebook groups, but all I seemed to find were horror stories.

When I came out of surgery, I decided I wanted to do something about this, so I started a blog. Actually, I started a few. One was called Bumps in the Road and was going to document my fertility journey. Another was called Novaries (no ovaries, get it?). But one name stuck. Our Remedy.

I had become really interested in wellness and supplements because I wanted to try anything that might help me have a baby or simply keep me healthy. What started as a blog slowly turned into a supplements business.

The blog began to gain traction and I realised there were a lot of women going through hysterectomy and surgical menopause who felt unsupported.

I wanted to help everyone

I replied to every direct message and every email myself. Personally. Me.

But with 23,000 followers on TikTok, 10,000 on Instagram and around 10,000 blog visits a month, it started to become difficult to manage.

I realised I needed more "mes". People willing to spend an hour or so a week sharing their lived experience with someone who was going through it. It is incredibly rewarding, so I thought it probably would not be that hard to find people willing to help. After all, many people know exactly how lonely and confusing this time can be, and how desperate you are to speak to someone who truly understands.

I started researching peer to peer support platforms and quickly realised something surprising. There were platforms for many health conditions including AIDS, diabetes and mental health. But there was nothing specifically focused on women's health.

An idea started to form.

Originally, I came up with the name Budi, but after some research with an amazing mentor, which I won through Innovate UK, I realised that Macmillan already have a "buddy" service. It is fantastic, but the name felt too similar.

Coming up with the name…

My sister is a brilliant copywriter and helped me come up with the name Rayse. My name is Rachel and some people call me Ray. A ray of light during what can be a very dark time for many people. It also represents how we can raise each other up. The tagline Together we shine came naturally after that.

I decided to separate Rayse from Our Remedy, my supplements business, because I did not want the two to feel connected. I am not advising supplements for medical reasons and, honestly, I am not a salesperson. I do not like the feeling of pushing something onto someone who is looking for help.

Rayse became its own company, with its own social channels and website. The TikTok grew quickly, reaching 8,500 followers in just three months. That growth confirmed something I already knew. People are desperate to connect with others who are going through the same thing.

One day someone commented on a TikTok saying they had a question but did not want to post it publicly. They asked if I had a WhatsApp group.

"Start WhatsApp group" sat on my to do list for about five months.

Honestly, I do not know what stopped me. I think part of me believed that nobody would actually want it.

How wrong I was.

It has turned into the most incredible space. Around 250 women talk there every single day about their experiences. My personal favourite thread is called TMI Not for the Faint Hearted. I love seeing everyone laugh in there. The group shares honestly about the difficult parts, but there is also so much humour and warmth.

Everyone in the chat says they feel more positive. It has helped with their recovery and their confidence in navigating their health.

Here are some of the early reviews from the community.

Triphina
Hysterectomy and Menopause Support

“Rayse is the community that doctors should be signposting women to if they want to connect with other women thinking about a hysterectomy or recovering after one. The support and knowledge sharing is priceless. Through Rayse I have been matched with an amazing mentor, Lucy, who has made me feel at ease and confident in how to proceed with my health decisions. I am very thankful to Rachel and Lucy.”

Yla
Hysterectomy Support Group

“I cannot really describe in words how invaluable the support has been. From HRT to pre surgery, post surgery and everything in between, the community Rachel has created has been incredible.”

Karen
Menopause Group Support

“This group is a great and safe space to help women. Rachel has brought so much support and information to the community. At a time when gathering information can feel overwhelming, this space has been invaluable. I feel completely safe in what she has created.”

JOIN US

And those reviews are just from the WhatsApp group!

By this point there were around 250 people in the group and more requests coming in every day. I could already see that the group would eventually become too big. Answers would get lost in the chat and the same questions would come up every week.

WhatsApp is wonderful, but it is not built for structured communities. You cannot easily search for answers and some people do not feel comfortable asking certain questions publicly. Sometimes people would message me privately and ask me to post questions for them anonymously.

But even then, the answers would get lost in the chat.

What Next?

So I started thinking about what Rayse needed next.

A proper community platform. Somewhere that could hold thousands of women. A place where people could search topics, explore specific boards and find the answers they need easily.

The WhatsApp group already had topic areas such as menopause, hysterectomy, life after hysterectomy, HRT, testosterone, endometriosis and the famous TMI thread. But even that was not organised enough.

So I did what many founders now do. I went to my good friend ChatGPT and asked for platform recommendations. After some research, we narrowed it down to Circle, which is now where the Rayse community lives.

It is not cheap, I thought to myself. But if it can help these women, it is worth it.

At that moment I had exactly £326 in my business bank account, from selling digital guides I share on TikTok. Watch here!

I want to be open about that. I am not building this with funding or investment. I work full time and raise my son alongside this project. Rayse is being built from pure passion and a deep desire to help others.

It took me two days to build the platform.

Two days. But really, it took seven years.

Seven years since my surgery. And since that day I have returned to one thought again and again….

You do not have to navigate this alone.

I also realised that I began building the platform exactly thirteen years to the day that my nan died. She had a hysterectomy in her forties too. I only recently found this out when my mum mentioned it. She said my nan never really spoke about it.

I imagine she must have felt very alone.

So Nan, this is for you too.

If you are navigating a health journey and want someone to talk to, please join us.

You do not have to do this alone.

Rachel