Describe the company – the elevator pitch …

Wellola revolutionises the way healthcare providers care for & communicate with their patients. Our business-to-business, white-labelled software provides hospitals & clinics with care-delivery tools directly from their own websites. This includes a complimentary patient app where patients can manage clinic appointments, access a library of educational materials or securely receive real-time care via messaging and video consultation within app.

How are you different?

We are different in several ways:

New Technology: We have a significant, sustainable advantage being first market movers in this space. No fully comprehensive system connecting a central network with individual clinics and their shared patient population exists.

Our Innovative Pricing Model: is hugely cost-effective (combining subscription and pay-as-you-go for use of the ePOS).

Innovative Business Model: most of our competitors work in the B2C or B2B space. Ultimately Wellola is a B2B2C model, which scales with greater ease.
Cost Efficiency: Our product is uncomplicated & affordable. Large networks and smaller self-employed healthcare professionals can set-up immediately to take bookings/payment for telehealth or inhouse sessions directly from their own websites.

Why will you do well?

Wellola (www.wellola.com) team believes only the sickest of the sick should be hospitalised and that the future of healthcare is preventative, community-based and supported by digital tools. Wellola prides itself in being highly user-focused, reliable, robust and easy-to-use. Our team have unique, in-depth sector know how, our pricing model is extremely cost effective and our business model is scalable for national markets.

Not to mention, the telehealth software market opportunity is huge (set to be $27Billion by 2021) and growing at a seismic rate of 20% per annum.

Where are you based?

Currently Dublin-based but looking to set up a London base for late 2019.

When was the company launched?

We incorporated September 2016

Summer 2017 we launched our Beta Version

Following market research with 850 allied healthcare professionals, we identified that mental healthcare providers had most interest in our product and its capacity to facilitate blended therapy.

Summer 2018: Version 1.0 was released, is already commercialised and generating revenues in a variety of allied healthcare settings
Our generic app will be live in March

What have been your biggest wins to date?

2018 was our best year yet…we launched our commercialised product
secured an initial competitive-start fund €50K investment from Enterprise Ireland.

We secured a contract with one of Ireland’s largest Insurance firms
became a research partner of the Royal College of Surgeons and eMEN (EU wide digital mental health Initiative).

We earned a place with the Health Innovation Hub’s to trial our product in HSE settings.

We developed our white-labelled enterprise solution and patient application
and secured our first UK customers.

We launched our crowd-funding campaign to excel our commercial capacity overseas.

Who are you trying to attract to your product?

Hospitals and clinics both public and private sector, with a focus on the allied healthcare professional departments (physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists etc.). Our beach-head customers, those most interested in the product , work in the mental health sphere- psychotherapists, counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists.

What tips would you give to others looking to build their business?

In the early days, take advantage of every single element of government assistance available- be it in the form of financial or educational support from the Local Enterprise Office or concept validation through an incubator- there are so many opportunities with Ryan Academy, DIT Hothouse, New Frontiers, NDRC etc.

Many have an industry focus and there’s huge support and backing for female entrepreneurs through groups such as Going for Growth. Take advantage of them. At Wellola, we have been lucky enough to have been supported, first by the South Dublin LEO and now by Enterprise Ireland, which gave us the freedom to validate our concept before we took the leap.

Focus on sales and early validation. The sooner you get out there talking to early customers the closer you are to the best version of your product or service. Try not to get too distracted by the other lanes you are swimming in.

Surround yourself by the right people, find your ‘tribe’ in some way, and work with your first hires as consultants before you employ them if possible, so you really understand if you are a fit.

Tell us about your team?

Sonia Neary is the company CEO and co-founder. She is a chartered physiotherapist and had 13 years’ clinic experience in all core areas of rehabilitation and management in both HSE & private clinic settings prior to founding PhysioLinked and now Wellola. Having successfully developed Wellola over the course of the last four years, Sonia now works closely with and manages our talented IT team, Sales & Marketing team, works to develop key partnerships and is involved fundraising and the daily administration of the company.

Dr. Greg Martin is co-founder at Wellola. He is a medical doctor with an MBA & Masters in Public Health. Dr Martin has financial & operational experience working with both start-ups & entrepreneurial ventures. As the Director at the Clinton Health Access Initiative, for example, he gained experience managing budgets, project, business processes & staff.

Dr Martin has also successfully engaged in entrepreneurial ventures & is also on the board of trustees for IFGH & CBM (Irish healthcare non-profit organizations). Dr Martin is one of the founding partners of Cornerstone consulting, the founder of the academic journal Globalization & Health, the founder of the charity Books for Africa & a co-founder of the Radio HIV Initiative in South Africa. He has successfully raised money for his various ventures from the Open Society Foundation, Pepsico & the Department of Health (UK). Among Greg’s many achievements, the following are most pertinent to this project:

Special roles

– Awarded 5th most influential voice in healthcare by LinkedIn 2018
– Editor-in-chief: Globalization and Health (2005-2015)
– Chairperson: Centre for the Evaluation of Public Health Interventions at LSTHM (2006)
– Visiting fellow: London School of Economics (2008-2012)
– Guest lecturer: Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, LSE, Kings College London, UCL (2008-2015)
– Guest speaker: Cheltenham Science Festival, GE Healthcare Media Summit, THET Annual Conference, Next Generation

Criostóir O’Codlatáin Lachtna

Chris is CTO at Wellola. He is a full-stack developer with a BSc in Enterprise Computing from DCU. He also has previous start-up experience which comes in very useful in the challenging task of launching Wellola to the World Chris will be allocated full-time on this project should we secure it.

John McGrath

John McGrath is our commercial advisor- he is a trainer, mentor and consultant in the areas of management and sales team development. He has more than 25 years international sales leadership and business development experience. Prior to becoming a consultant, he held multiple senior executive positions in the Telecommunications, IT and Retail sectors with companies such as Meteor, Aer Rianta International, American Golf and Eircom.

What are your plans for the future?

Our strategy has been to identify and support partners that are aligned with our vision of accessible healthcare. Our focus for 2019 will be on working with these partners and networks in the UK and local markets. Long-term we will be releasing variations of the app bespoke for particular patient categories, particularly those with chronic conditions.

We have just pressed play on our crowdfunding campaign to raise €100,000 on Dublin equity platform Spark Crowdfunding (www.sparkcrowdfunding.com) at a pre-money valuation of €1m. The company is pre-approved for the Revenue EIIS investment scheme, which means Irish taxpayers get 40pc of their investment back whist securing 100pc of the shares they purchase. This fundraise will expedite our capacity to capture the UK market.

What are your favourite tech gadgets?

I am hugely excited by the Internet of Things and connected health devices that allow for remote patient monitoring, especially when it comes to offering patient support for the older or isolated person in the community. Alone’s BConnect technology includes systems and sensors that give vulnerable patients remote support. Blue drop medical have diabetic foot scanners that allow doctors to detect foot ulcers in diabetics. I love what these indigenous companies are trying to do, the vision they have and the hugely positive impact their technology is having on people’s lives.

What tech gadgets do you wish you could use to help you?

Personally, I wouldn’t say no to one of those bots that Preferred Networks has developed to clean my house while I’m at work!

Anything else you’d like to add/we should have asked?

Call To Action!

Wellola is looking for all interested parties to make an investment, large or small, and own a share in the company’s growth. The minimum pledge is €100 and Wellola’s goal is to return x10 on that investment for shareholders over the next 4 years. Readers can make a pledge today at www.sparkcrowdfunding.com. Read more about Wellola’s journey at www.investwell.eu. Equally, readers can feel free to reach out and speak with one of the Wellola team at [email protected] or 012988132.

We will be pitching at The Fitzwilliam Hotel in Dublin on the evening of March 13th for those interested in coming along.

How do people get in touch with you?

See our website: www.wellola.com

Crowd-Funding Site: www.sparkcrowdfunding.com

Point of Contact: Sonia Neary

Contact Details: 01 2988132 | 087 3465608 | [email protected]


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