Exploring Life & Business with Candace Pless of MTology Innovations

Today we’d like to introduce you to Candace Pless.

Hi Candace, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My story has never followed the “traditional” path not because I didn’t want stability, but because life never offered me a template to follow. From childhood, I was gifted in ways no one around me fully understood. I won awards, competitions, and recognitions that no one in my community had ever even entered before. But I grew up in an environment where being gifted didn’t automatically mean being nurtured. I had potential, but no roadmap. Possibility, but no clear path.

Even then, I knew I wasn’t built to fit into the mold that was handed to me. I questioned everything not out of rebellion, but out of clarity. I watched people around me shrink themselves for acceptance, validation, or survival, and I could feel how painful that was for them. I never wanted to live that way, and I never wanted to be someone who encouraged others to dim their light. Authenticity became my anchor early on, not just for me, but as a way to create a safe space for others to be their full selves too.

There wasn’t one defining “before and after” moment. Instead, my life shifted through a series of choices that required courage, faith, and a refusal to settle. One of the biggest turning points came years after high school. I had just started a new job in a new industry, and three days in, I knew deep down it wasn’t my path. Most people would have waited it out. But I’ve never been “most people.” I listened to that feeling, trusted it, and decided to return to school to finish my biomedical engineering degree. It wasn’t convenient. It wasn’t easy. But it was necessary.

Being a single mother added another layer of meaning to every choice I made. There is a stigmatization placed on single mothers, especially single mothers of color, about what we are capable of, what we deserve, and how far we’re allowed to go. I felt that weight. I lived that judgment. And I refused to let it define me. I wanted to show my child, and everyone watching that no one gets to place a ceiling on your potential except you.

My upbringing shaped me in powerful ways too. I grew up surrounded by things I promised myself I would never repeat: drugs, violence, gangs, depression, manipulation, hopelessness. I made a vow early in life to choose differently, to do better, to be better. Not out of pride, but out of survival. Out of purpose.

That purpose eventually led me to founding MTology, and more specifically, to asking a question that seems simple but carries enormous weight: Why is there still no male birth control on the market? I felt a fire in me, frustration, disbelief, and urgency. I kept wondering why humanity can conquer so much, yet still leave reproductive responsibility so unequally distributed. And the truth that hit me was this: nothing was moving forward because no one was pushing hard enough for it to exist.

I’ve overcome so much in my life that going against the grain doesn’t scare me, it motivates me. I knew I had the resilience, the perspective, and the lived experience to build something bold. Not because I had all the support in the world, I didn’t. In fact, I didn’t have early mentors cheering me on, they told me a black woman won’t get it done. I was usually the one encouraging others. But I had conviction. I had faith. And I had a lifetime of evidence that I could survive what others thought would break me.

When I look at my journey now, I’m most proud of my resilience. The part of me that kept going when it would have been easier to stop. The part that believed in myself even when others couldn’t see the vision or couldn’t see me. People often tell me they don’t understand how I survived or how I continue to rise despite everything I’ve been through. I smile because the answer is simple: you always have a choice in the type of person you want to be. I chose to rise. Every time.

My story isn’t polished or predictable. It’s raw, nonlinear, and deeply human. But it’s also proof that you don’t need a perfect beginning to build a powerful future. You just need purpose, resilience, and the courage to walk a path no one else has paved.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth? Not at all. My road has been anything but smooth and I’m very much still on it. Bringing a male contraceptive to market, especially one as bold and unconventional as EMIT, means stepping into rooms where I’m not expected and not always welcomed. It means being underestimated, overlooked, questioned, and tested. It means bootstrapping a biotech company that most people insist is “impossible” to build without millions in funding. It means constantly explaining why male contraception matters and why I am committed to leading this charge.

I recently received the issued U.S. patent for EMIT, which is a huge milestone, but I still have 23 more countries to go. That alone shows how ongoing and intense this journey is. Nothing about this path is passive. Every day requires strategy, resilience, and a level of grit that most people never have to tap into.

The challenges show up everywhere: technical challenges, financial challenges, emotional challenges and internal challenges too. I’m learning in real time how to trust my voice in rooms where no one looks like me. I’m learning how to build without a blueprint, how to lead this bold initiative, and how to generate momentum in an industry that wasn’t designed with founders like me in mind. This journey stretches me constantly, and yes, it is still building me.

But the hardest part isn’t the science or the work itself.
The hardest part is holding on to belief, belief in myself, belief in the mission, belief in what’s possible, even when the path feels uncertain or the progress feels slow. Most people will never see that part. They won’t see the resilience it takes to keep going through the doubt, the silence, the misunderstanding, and the weight of knowing you’re pioneering something that has never existed before.

But every struggle sharpens me.
Every obstacle clarifies me.
Every “no,” every delay, every closed door makes me more grounded, more certain, more committed.

So no, it hasn’t been smooth.
But it has been sacred.

Because every challenge has revealed a new level of who I am.
It’s shown me what I’m capable of.
And it continues to give me the strength, empathy, and conviction required to build something that could genuinely change lives.

The rough road isn’t breaking me, it’s building me.
In real time. With purpose. And with unwavering faith in where this is going.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
MTology is not just a biotech company, it’s a movement rooted in equity, innovation, and the belief that reproductive responsibility should be shared, not shouldered by one gender. We are developing EMIT (Ejaculatory Modulation Injectable Technology), a natural, non-hormonal, reversible male contraceptive, and we are doing it with a level of intention and humanity that has been missing from reproductive health for decades.

Our work sits at the intersection of science and social change. We are building technology, yes but we are also challenging a narrative that has gone unquestioned for far too long. For generations, the burden of contraception has been placed almost entirely on women. MTology exists to flip that script. To introduce real options for men. To restore balance, dignity, and shared responsibility in family planning.

What sets MTology apart is the heart behind the science. EMIT wasn’t created in a vacuum or as a theoretical solution, it was born from lived experience, urgency, and a deep frustration that the world still hasn’t prioritized male contraception. I’m not building this because it was convenient. I’m building it because it’s necessary. Because millions of people deserve better. Because families deserve healthier choices, and men deserve the opportunity to participate more fully in reproductive responsibility.

And we’re making real progress. We recently received our issued U.S. patent for EMIT, a major milestone, especially for a fully bootstrapped company in one of the most resource-intensive industries. With 23 additional countries to secure, we’re expanding our global protection while preparing for what comes next: moving EMIT through pre-clinical trials as funding becomes available. Every step forward is strategic, intentional, and deeply rooted in creating a safe, affordable, effective solution that can eventually reach the hands of real people.

Brand-wise, I’m most proud that MTology stands for something bigger than a device or an injectable technology. It represents ownership. Choice. Partnership. Healing. It represents a cultural shift that says men deserve options too, and women deserve support. We are reimagining reproductive health in a way that feels human, inclusive, and future-focused.

What I want readers to understand is this: EMIT is not just a male contraceptive. It is a symbol of equity. It is a solution for couples who want more control, more balance, and more freedom in their family planning decisions. It is a pathway for men who want to participate out of love, not pressure. And it is a step toward breaking generational cycles around reproductive burden, misinformation, and limited choice.

And most importantly, EMIT is just the first product MTology will deliver. It’s the beginning of a larger pipeline of innovations designed to restore agency, expand options, and center humanity in a space that has gone unchanged for far too long.

MTology is here to change the conversation, change the culture, and ultimately change what’s possible.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
To me, risk is a question. It’s that pause where you ask: What’s at stake? What’s possible? What’s the cost of standing still? Risk isn’t only about fear of failure, it’s about clarity. It forces you to look at your purpose and ask: Is this worth the pressure? Am I doing this for the right reasons?

That’s why I see risk as both a test of faith and a tool for growth. It’s uncomfortable! Sometimes painfully so, but it’s also where the most important work lives. Not all risks are equal, of course. I don’t romanticize risk for the sake of appearing bold. If the foundation isn’t there, if there are no assets, tools, or support in place to handle the consequences, then it’s not courage, it’s recklessness. But when the foundation is strong and the mission is aligned, then I believe risk isn’t just something to accept, it’s something to embrace. Purpose-driven living demands it. Growth doesn’t come from playing it safe.

My relationship with risk didn’t come from thrill-seeking, it came from survival. When you grow up with limited resources, risk isn’t always an option. Most of my life was about necessity, not bold choices. But becoming a single mother changed everything. I knew I had to rewrite the story, not just for myself, but for my daughter. Returning to school, pursuing biomedical engineering, choosing a path that wasn’t easy or guaranteed, that was my risk. And it wasn’t just about career; it was about creating a future where my daughter could see resilience modeled in real time.

I’ve always felt that the risk of doing nothing is far greater than the risk of trying. Inaction means staying stuck, invisible, or watching life pass you by without growth. Even the hardest choices felt less dangerous than the idea of standing still.

Starting MTology brought risk into every corner of my life: financial, personal, professional, and emotional. Bootstrapping a controversial idea, working a job just to fund the company, facing constant questions about whether male contraception was viable or fundable, it is all risk stacked on risk. The doubts are loud and constant. And yet, the vision is louder. The possibility of what this innovation could mean…for men, for women, for families, for society, outweighed every warning.

The truth is, risk has never been a side note in my journey. It has been the throughline. Every major shift in my life, from single motherhood, to education, to entrepreneurship was built on the belief that doing nothing would cost me more than taking the leap. Risk is where my growth was born.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mtologyinnovations.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mtologyinnovationsllc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091792495028&mibextid=ZbWKwL
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mtology-innovations-llc
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MTologyInnovLLC
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@mtologyinnovationsllc?feature=shared
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mtologyinnovation?_t=8pYu31Kdy6J&_r=1

Image Credits
AZ State Capitol – MBA event
ASU Lab to Launch eSeed award winner
Mayo Clinic Scorpion Tank award winner
VentureWell E-Teams Program at Microsoft in Boston, MA