Oto is a UK-based startup helping people with tinnitus manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life by way of a mobile app. Oto’s most recent investment round saw them raise $3.3 million dollars in seed financing, and is the first reimbursed digital tinnitus app marketed in the US and Germany. Their tools are built in collaboration with ENT surgeons, researchers and hearing therapists combined with AI-powered hearing health tracking, and integrate CBT, mindfulness, physician guidance and relaxation techniques designed to limit the effects of tinnitus. Ed trained as a medical doctor and spent 6 years working as a medic in the Royal Air Force along with co-founder and former Royal Navy doctor George Leidig, before going on to launch Oto in the UK. Today, we cover Ed’s personal story that prompted Oto’s development, the trials and tribulations of fundraising, and his experience in the world-famous Y Combinator incubator where Oto was part of the Winter 2022 batch. You can find out more about Oto Health in the following ways: Website: https://www.joinoto.com/  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/otohealth/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/join_oto Find us on: www.founders-keepers.com Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod Twitter: @founders.pod LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Jasmine Eskenzi is the co-founder of the Health Tech Hive and The Zensory. The Health Tech Hive is growing online network and event series designed to connect, educate and inspire individuals to build technology solutions to some of the world’s biggest current and future health challenges. The Zensory’s main offering in turn is an app that combines evidence-based neuroscience techniques with traditional wellness practices to help users maximize their ability to level out their mood and improve their mental health.   As part of her endeavours for gender equality in business, Jasmine is a member of NEOME Women Investment Club and is aiming to drive an increase in the number of women investing in business and female led businesses. Prior to this, Jasmine was the Head of Partnerships and Content at Collider Health, working with NHSX on their latest AI Initiative and with Longevity International to facilitate the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Longevity. In this episode, we cover the importance of promoting diversity in healthcare, the “rollercoaster ride” of being a business owner, and how to tackle workforce burnout on a mass scale. You can find out more about The Zensory in the following ways: Website:  https://thezensory.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-zensory/ Find us on: www.founders-keepers.com Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod Twitter: @founders.pod LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Fresh off the back of their recent successful £20 million Series B fundraising round, Patchwork Health helps hospitals reduce reliance on agencies for locum staff, and to improve flexible working options for clinicians. Launched in 2017, their services have since been adopted by 70 health organisations across 250 sites in the NHS alone. Anas has had an incredibly varied career, more recently training as a physician at Imperial College London before going on to found Patchwork Health with fellow doctor Jing Ouyang. In this episode, we cover everything from storytelling for investors to separating a career into “acts” and – highly topically – tackling burnout for healthcare professionals.

Designed in conjunction with practising physicians, Cinapsis SmartReferrals reduces emergency department attendances in the UK by 83% through providing advice & supportive guidance. Family practitioners, nurses, paramedics and pharmacists can contact specialists directly through the platform for clinical advice on a patient case both quickly and securely. Since Cinapsis launched in 2019, thousands of doctors’ hours have been saved for the NHS, and Cinapsis has made it possible for 70% of non-urgent referrals (such as dermatology) to be managed remotely. Owain is a former NHS surgeon with almost two decades of experience working in frontline clinical medicine.  He has been awarded a personal Fellowship from the Medical Research Council and has twice received the British Journal of Surgery Prize. In this short episode, we cover scrappiness in startups; paving the way for surgical care in the healthtech space; and, more philosophically, following your own path in life. You can find out more about Cinapsis in the following ways: Website:  https://www.cinapsis.org/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/owainrhyshughes/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/myCinapsis Find us on: www.founders-keepers.com Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod Twitter: @founders.pod LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Dr Maxine Mackintosh is, amongst many other things, the co-founder of One HealthTech: An international, grassroots, federated community of health technologists which exists to support individuals from under-represented groups to be future leaders in health innovation. Maxine also works as a Research Associate and Fellow working between The Alan Turing Institute, The Health Foundation and the University of Oxford, where she primarily works with Professor Chris Holmes in the Department of Statistics. She is a previous Forbes 30 under 30 in Europe, and her work has looked at applying machine learning to health, care and life science challenges. Today, we speak about the critical importance of equity in healthcare and data; One HealthTech’s purpose and mission, and the benefits of growing a community that champions and supports health innovation. You can find out more about One Healthtech in the following ways: https://www.onehealthtech.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/one-healthtech/ Instagram / Twitter: @One_HealthTech Find us on: www.founders-keepers.com Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod Twitter: @founders_pod LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Dr Matthew Fenech is the Chief Medical Officer and co-founder of Una Health: A pre-seed stage startup based in Berlin, Germany.  Una Health claim that they are on a mission to reverse metabolic dysfunction through precision nutrition and lifestyle management, combining mobile technology, AI, biosensors and behavioural science to create an effective algorithm-based digital therapy enabling patients to take charge of their health. Matthew has worked in clinical academia, technology policy, and led the design of an NHSX-supported toolkit to accompany the Code of Conduct for data-driven technologies in health. He has also authored a number of peer-reviewed publications on the ethical and safety considerations of the application of AI in healthcare, as well as reports about the risks and opportunities of emerging technologies in low-and middle-income countries. Today, we touch on the joys of working for and running a business that you love; navigating the highs and lows of breaking into the digital therapeutics market; and the benefits and importance of building in public. You can find out more about Una Health in the following ways: https://unahealth.de/en/intro LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unahealth-io/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unahealthapp Twitter: @una_health LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/somx-healthtech/ Instagram: @somx_healthtech/ Twitter: @somXhealthtech Find us on: www.founders-keepers.com Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod Twitter: @founders_pod LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Dr Emilia Molimpakis is a neuroscientist-turned-co-founder of the healthtech platform Thymia: A diagnostics platform that can be used by clinicians and patients to accurately assess and monitor depression. Inspired by video games, it uses neuropsychology and linguistics to pick up on subtle markers of depression that might otherwise be missed. The platform secured a pre-seed raise of $1.1m US dollars earlier in 2022, and is expanding rapidly to support clinicians and patients across the UK, Europe, and the US. Emilia has a PhD in Neurolinguistics, and prior to co-founding Thymia, she worked for over a decade as a researcher using language as biomarker for cognitive decline and treatment response in neurological disease patient populations. We talk today about being on the startup treadmill and finding your perfect co-founder; moving from the theoretical in academia to building a product in the real world; and the role of video games in patient care. You can find out more about Thymia in the following ways: https://thymia.ai/ info@thymia.ai LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thymia Find us on: www.founders-keepers.com Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod Twitter: @founders_pod LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Recently awarded UK Asian Tech Pioneer of 2022, Dr Avi Mehra is a medical doctor by training and was the National Medical Director's Clinical Fellow at Bupa from 2014-15. He was later appointed as an Associate Partner at IBM, and is currently responsible for helping expand IBM’s healthcare and life sciences consulting practice.  Along with a group of UK-based doctors, Avi is also a co-founder of Doctorpreneurs – a non-profit organisation and global community for doctors, medical students and individuals interested in healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship. Doctorpreneurs now run healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship themed events and collaborate with leading organisations and initiatives all over the world, including the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, Wired Health and Stanford Ignite.  In this episode, Avi talks about balancing a portfolio career as a physician, corporate associate and non-profit co-founder; the importance of reflecting on your work and identifying your own growth needs; and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.  You can find out more about Avi’s work in the following ways:  Website: www.avimehra.com  Email: avi@doctorpreneurs.com  Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/avimehra3  Twitter: @aviam3  Find us on:  www.founders-keepers.com  Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod  Twitter: @founders_pod  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast  Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Jessica Smith is the co-founder and CXO of the privately-held innovation and communications agency, SomX, and whose expertise is specifically targeted at healthtech companies. SomX have provided personalised strategy, content and PR for more than 30 healthtech companies to date, including startups at seed stage, Series A and Series B, as well as corporates in healthcare, pharma and health and life insurance. Jessica was a previous Associate Director at global PR and marketing agency, and has broad experience in healthcare communications across NHS, corporate, charity, healthtech and pharma industry clients. Today, we talk about finding Somx’s niche; her experience of being a female founder in the healthtech space and not asking for permission; and her approach to ensuring a good work-life balance for her and her team (with some added guest vocals from her adorable labradoodle).  You can find out more about SomX in the following ways: https://www.somx.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/somx-healthtech/ Instagram: @somx_healthtech/ Twitter: @somXhealthtech Find us on: www.founders-keepers.com Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod Twitter: @founders_pod LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/founders-keepers-podcast Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com

Dr Matthew Beatty is the CEO and co-founder of Sapien Health: A digital clinic that provides virtual support before and after a patient’s surgery in order to improve health outcomes. Endorsed by the NHS in the UK, and the recent recipient of an SBRI Healthcare grant, Sapien’s main offering is a mobile app-based solution, combining expert health coaching, personalised digital clinical guidance and a toolkit of educational resources to help subscribers understand and adopt lifestyle habits that have a strong evidence base for improving surgical outcomes.  A medical doctor by training, Matthew has also co-founded a platform which supports technological entrepreneurs in remote working, and was the previous clinical lead for Huma – a venture-backed healthcare data organisation. In this episode, we talk about about Sapien Health’s journey from idea to launch; the advantages of being a physician in the startup space; and Matthew’s ambitions for the future of digital surgical healthcare.  You can find out more about Sapien Health at:   https://www.sapienhealth.io/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/SapienHealth  Find us on:   Website: www.founders-keepers.com   Instagram: @founderskeepers.pod   Twitter: @founders_pod   Get in touch: hi@founders-keepers.com