Julia sits down with Angela Rastegar, the driving force behind Sunfish, a company committed to dismantling financial barriers for hopeful parents navigating fertility challenges. Economic constraints often force individuals to abandon their dreams of parenthood. Sunfish steps in with personalized financial planning services and complimentary consultations. They are backed by a dedicated team of data scientists who analyze medical records and statistics to forecast fertility treatments’ duration and success rates, thus anticipating associated costs.   What truly sets Sunfish apart is their groundbreaking money back guarantee: in the event of a failed treatment, they offer a partial refund on loans provided. This pioneering approach empowers individuals to concentrate fully on their fertility journey, relieving the burden of financial worries. Please share this information with anyone facing a fertility journey, as access to resources on financing could make all the difference in continuing the journey or pursuing the next round of IVF.    IN THIS EPISODE:  [0:20] Julia introduces the topic of affording your family-building journey  [3:51] Angela explains the mission of Sunfish and how and why she started the company  [10:29] Angela addresses the first steps in the family-building process, and she discusses how they can predict the exact cost of IVF and the guarantee they make to the prospective parents  [17:34] Angela explains how costs vary and states they do have loan options and how she sees the fertility space evolving in the next five to ten years  [26:03] Discussion of how lifestyle impacts results and all the other details that can be overwhelming on this fertility journey  [30:49] Discussion of the demographics of those who are looking to use Sunfish services and where the name Sunfish came about  [35:17] Angela describes what family means to her, and she tells a heartbreaking story of infertility and success stories    KEY TAKEAWAYS:  Sunfish does complimentary consultations to answer questions and provides educational material on their website.  The average IVF baby costs $70,000, but that figure can vary. Sunfish believes in making a plan in advance to determine the prospective parents’ end goals and then choosing a financial plan if the goals are possible.   Sunfish can predict the time it will take to achieve pregnancy and the costs involved. If pregnancy is not achieved, they provide a partial refund.     RESOURCE LINKS:  Stork'd - Facebook  Stork'd - Instagram   Stork'd - YouTube   Sunfish - Website  Sunfish - Instagram    BIOGRAPHY: Angela Rastegar  ABOUT: Sunfish  At Sunfish, we offer financial support, guidance, and guarantees for family building, including IVF, egg freezing, gestational surrogacy, and egg + sperm donors. The team operates in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York.   I helped build families with assisted reproductive technologies at Circle Fertility and Origin Finance. I am also an investor and mentor to early-stage health tech startups. Previously, I was the interim Fund Manager of VilCap Investments, an SF-based seed stage fund. Before that, I was the founder and CEO of an enterprise fintech company, Agora for Good, which was acquired in 2017 by Impact Matters. I also worked as a philanthropy and impact investing consultant, focusing on global health with foundations, mission-driven businesses, high-net-worth individuals, and multilateral organizations.   I hold a degree in Human Biology from Stanford University, with a focus on reproductive health, and an MBA from Stanford GSB.