{"id":16106,"date":"2025-08-08T13:39:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T17:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.ncsu.edu\/commercialization\/?p=16106"},"modified":"2025-08-08T15:37:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T19:37:49","slug":"startup-supporting-family-conversations-on-puberty-and-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.ncsu.edu\/commercialization\/2025\/08\/08\/startup-supporting-family-conversations-on-puberty-and-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"Startup Launches New Website to Support Family Conversations on Puberty and Relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Teen Health Research<\/strong> \u2013 an edtech startup with ties to North Carolina State University \u2013 recently launched a new website to recruit families for its innovative digital learning platform, Let\u2019s Talk<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developed by a team of psychologists, pediatricians, and sex educators, <\/strong>Let\u2019s Talk<\/em><\/strong> is an expert-guided, interactive platform designed to help families start and continue conversations around puberty and relationships with customized content based on individual family needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommunication around these topics can be difficult, particularly as children enter puberty,\u201d said Laura Widman<\/strong>, founder and CEO of Teen Health Research. \u201cBut when families don\u2019t have these conversations with their kids, someone else will\u2014whether it\u2019s through other teens or the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting the Conversation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Widman, a former professor in NC State\u2019s Department of Psychology, first began working on Let\u2019s Talk <\/em>in 2020 while helping a family member talk with her teenage daughter about sexual health. A clinical psychologist and expert in adolescent sexual health, Widman provided medically accurate resources but found that alone wasn\u2019t enough to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have all of this knowledge,\u201d she said, \u201cbut it\u2019s still so difficult to help even someone I know start these conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While other tools and curriculum exist to support sex education, Widman noted that they often focus on either teens or parents \u2013 not both \u2013 and rarely foster family communication or ongoing dialogue around these uncomfortable topics.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n

\u201cI have all of this knowledge, but it\u2019s still so difficult to help even someone I know start these conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As part of her research at NC State, Widman focused on technology-based interventions that improve health outcomes. This expertise guided her approach to begin building a communication platform that could effectively and interactively convey evidence-based content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leveraging the Ecosystem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Through NC State\u2019s Office of Research Commercialization, Widman joined a software development challenge supporting university innovators seeking to develop digital solutions to real-world problems, leveraging the program to begin developing a prototype. She also participated in the National Science Foundation\u2019s regional I-Corps and national I-Corps Teams programs, conducting over one hundred customer interviews to better understand the struggles of communicating within families and what tools they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, she formed Teen Health Research and received a National Institutes of Health Phase I STTR award to support development of Let\u2019s Talk<\/em>. The company has also received funding support from NC State\u2019s Daugherty Endowment<\/a> and the One North Carolina Small Business Program.<\/p>\n\n\n