How Vanya and Mihaela turned their journey with endometriosis into care and community for every woman

Vanya Stoycheva and Mihaela Shehova met as volunteers at the Endometriosis and Reproductive Health Foundation, but the road that led them there was long—and lonely.

They come from different professional worlds—Vanya is a programmer, Mihaela an architect and artist—yet they share a deeply personal experience. Both were diagnosed with endometriosis after years of pain, confusion, and unanswered questions. One in ten women worldwide lives with this condition, yet when you are going through it, it can feel like you are completely alone. Especially a decade ago, when hardly anyone spoke openly about endometriosis—or about pain that shouldn’t be dismissed.

“I remember thinking, is this what being a woman is supposed to feel like?” Vanya recalls. Mihaela describes the same confusion, the same hunger for knowledge. Both found their way forward—through trial and error, learning, compassionate medical care, family support, and inner resilience.

When they finally crossed paths, they realized they didn’t want other women to go through this alone. So they created the Women Academy—a mission-driven venture rooted in their personal stories and devoted to women’s health, knowledge, and choice.

“We’re more of a cause than a business,” says Vanya.

“BASE brought us together”

In 2021, Vanya joined the Business Academy for Starting Entrepreneurs (BASE) with a sketch in her head and pages of notes. “It was called Endo Academy back then,” she says. “But when women started coming to us with all kinds of hormonal challenges—not just endometriosis—we realized our mission was bigger.”

BASE didn’t just help her build a business plan; it gave her the courage to speak her dream out loud. “That’s when I told Mihaela: do you want to build this with me? I wouldn’t have dared otherwise.”

Today, the Women Academy isn’t just built on lived experience; both founders pursued professional training in women’s health, nutrition, and holistic wellbeing.

With support from Bulgaria’s Employment Agency, they eventually launched their first physical products — planners, cards, and journals that turn knowledge into something tangible, beautiful, and personal.

Knowledge is power. Health begins with knowing.

The Women Academy offers courses, tools, and events that make women’s health—a complex topic—easier to navigate. One example is the signature course “Nutrition for Hormonal Balance,” offered every spring. It runs for six weeks, combining live sessions, a private online community, detailed resources, and most importantly—time. Time to build new habits, reframe your approach to health, and connect with your body in a new way.

“The more you listen to your body, the more it speaks to you,” Vanya explains.

Alongside long-form courses, Vanya and Mihaela host shorter webinars on topics like digestion and hormones, syncing movement with the menstrual cycle, liver detox — and soon, menopause. Everything they offer is rooted in science but presented in a way that is accessible and actionable for any woman.

Cards, planners, and Operation Albatross

In a world of algorithms and chatbots, the Women Academy’s products are personal and physical. The cards, illustrated by Mihaela, radiate gentleness, femininity, and care. Their cycle-aware food planner, attuned to both the menstrual phases and seasonal shifts, feels more like a nature journal than a to-do list.

Their most treasured creation? The book Operation Albatross. Written by Mihaela during her maternity leave, it’s the first book in Bulgarian to offer a personal, honest, and fearless look at living with endometriosis.

“We created the Academy to spare other women what we went through,” Vanya says.

A space for voices, not just diagnoses

“There’s no reason to feel non-functional for a week every month,” says Vanya. This sentence captures the reality of many women living with endometriosis—a condition that can disrupt your life but shouldn’t define it. Even more important is breaking the silence. Pain shouldn’t be endured quietly; support exists. And the first step is self-care—tuning in to your body and the needs we’re too often taught to ignore.

That’s why the Women Academy isn’t just for women with a diagnosis. It’s for anyone who has ever wondered if pain is “normal.” For anyone who’s felt ashamed to say they need rest. For anyone ready to work with their body—not against it.

Vanya and Mihaela believe every girl should learn in school that your cycle isn’t something to hide, but a source of power. That menopause isn’t an ending, but a transition. That “normal” doesn’t always mean “healthy.”

It’s not just a business

Both Vanya and Mihaela juggle their work with Women Academy alongside jobs elsewhere. Yet what keeps them going—their biggest reward—are the messages they receive from women after each course:

“I’d been waiting for a course like this for ages.”

“I found support and felt part of a community.”

“I finally got the information I needed to improve my quality of life.”

“They created a space of trust—where we could speak our worries out loud and find real answers.”

“We teach women that their health is in their own hands—and we try to live by that too,” says Vanya. That means honoring rest. Seeking balance. And staying true to what they believe in.

A movement born from a personal story

This isn’t a story about illness. It’s a story about choice. About two women who refused to settle. Who learned, healed, and chose to share.

They didn’t just start a business—they created a community where wellbeing begins with self-care.

🟡 Explore Women Academy’s products and courses: https://shop.womenacademybg.com

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📅 Their next course, focused on nutrition and supplements for endometriosis relief, starts July 10. Join here.

🧡 Because every woman deserves to feel at home in her own body.

To learn more about BASE editions near you or to get involved as a mentor or lecturer, visit: https://baseprogram.bg/