Founder story
We built the thing we kept looking for.
We are Lionel and Dorothy, based in Rotterdam. For the past two years we have been trying to conceive.
During that time, we looked for an app that met us where we were: in our forties, paying close attention to food, cycle timing, sleep, and the small daily decisions that start to feel very big.
Nothing on the App Store quite fit. Generic calorie counters did not understand the cycle. Cycle trackers mostly stopped at dates and predictions. Pregnancy apps felt three steps ahead of the life we were actually living.
It started as Dorothy's spreadsheet.
At first, FertiNutrition was not an app. It was Dorothy's spreadsheet: meal notes, cycle phases, food ideas, reminders, and a 90-day view of the window when eggs mature. Not because we believed we had clinical answers, but because that was the timeframe that mattered to us.
Over evenings and weekends, that spreadsheet became a small iOS app. We built it for ourselves first, then realized there might be a few thousand other women looking for the same quiet, practical support.
What we are, and what we are not.
We are a small two-person operation. No investors. No big team. Just us, building carefully around a problem we know personally.
We are not doctors, not registered dietitians, and we have no medical credentials. FertiNutrition does not make medical claims. It is a tool we built around food, cycle awareness, and the 90-day egg maturation window because that framing helped us organize our own lives.
Why such a plain name?
FertiNutrition is plain English on purpose. We wanted the name to say exactly what it is, and to be easy to find when someone searches the App Store for fertility nutrition.
If the story resonates, or if you have a question, we would genuinely like to hear from you.
Nutritional sciences references
Our meal recommendations and nutrition guidance are informed by the following sources:
- European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Dietary Reference Values. efsa.europa.eu
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements — Folate, Iron, Omega-3, Magnesium, Zinc. ods.od.nih.gov
- Gaskins AJ, Chavarro JE. Diet and fertility: a review. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2018.
- Chavarro JE, Willett WC, Skerrett PJ. The Fertility Diet. McGraw-Hill. 2008.
- Stephenson J et al. Before the beginning: nutrition and lifestyle in the preconception period and its importance for future health. The Lancet. 2018.
FertiNutrition is a nutrition tool, not a medical product. Always consult your healthcare provider for personalized advice.
Not medical advice: FertiNutrition is not a medical device and is not a substitute for advice from a qualified healthcare professional.