Why we invested in Blueheart
The #digitalhealth startup Blueheart came out of stealth mode to announce a £1m Pre-Seed Round to democratise sex therapy*. The round was led by PROfounders Capital and Calm/Storm Ventures had the honor to join the round.
The two founders Sachin Raoul and Robbie Coomber are building a digital solution for couples trying to fix their sex lives and other relationship issues.
Blueheart’s vision is to make sex therapy accessible, affordable and in the end also taboo-free. The solution is based on the world-renowned professor, author, couples therapist, and sexuality educator Dr. Katherine Hertlein.
Other companies, such as Talkspace and Juicebox connect users to a therapist via their digital platform, which overcomes the accessibility issue. However, given that conversations still take place from person to person, the taboo barrier is still in place and hinders many people from tackling their dysfunctions.
More general medical platforms like Teladoc & Babylon Health provide digital, in some cases, automated medical assistance but fail to focus on the psychological aspects that are needed to solve sexual dysfunctions. Blueheart is filling this niche with a very tailored therapy approach that is already proven and applied in in-person therapy.
Perfect fit with Calm/Storm
Blueheart was one of our easiest investment decisions. Digitizing a proven methodology to tackle a global health crisis is compelling, the enthusiastic early user growth is overwhelming. It was the team, however, that made Blueheart a “must do investment” for us. In the following paragraphs you can read more about what convinced us.
A strong team
Two Cambridge graduates teamed up with one of the world’s foremost sex therapists. The team is completed by outstanding engineers and designers, making Blueheart incredibly well placed to solve one of today’s global wellbeing problems.
A global need
Numerous people suffer from sexual challenges which can be overcome by therapy. However, high cost and low supply of therapists as well as social taboos, prevent many people from getting treatment. Time solves everything but no relationships. Too many couples break up under the stress of this condition, too many families get destroyed. Traditional therapy has its limits, especially due to the need for face to face conversations which can be especially embarrassing when talking about sex.
A perfect time
The market for digital health solutions is exponentially growing, fired up by the deteriorating world health situation. Sex therapy is a perfect example for a non-human delivery of health and wellbeing solutions. But while there’s a lot of noise in the wellness and ‘self-improvement’ market, very few offerings focus on evidence-based solutions which match the efficacy of in-person therapy.
A common vision
Blueheart offers private, affordable, and accessible sex therapy with the aim to make therapy embarrassment-free or in other words: to change the world for the better. And this is exactly in line with Calm/Storm’s investment hypothesis, to invest in founders changing the world for the better.
Calm/Storm’s capacity to invest more than money
Besides money, Blueheart decided to bring Calm/Storm to their cap table because we provide unique access to entrepreneurial expertise. Our network of experienced founders, our so-called “Supporting Partners”, help our portfolio entrepreneurs to calm the storm of their early stage startup life.
Calm/Storm’s investment hypothesis
If you want to know more about why Blueheart fits our investment hypothesis, where we want to invest and why we are excited about certain types of solutions please stay tuned! If you are building a digital health solution, have comments or simply a few questions please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us and if you like Calm/Storm please feel free to spread the word.
*what is sex therapy?
Sex therapy helps individuals and couples address medical, psychological, personal, or interpersonal factors impacting their sexual satisfaction. The goal is to overcome physical and emotional challenges to have a satisfying relationship and pleasurable sex life. If you think this concerns only minorities — that’s quite the opposite: Sexual dysfunction is common. In fact, 43 percent of women and 31 percent of men report some type of sexual dysfunction during their lifetime. These dysfunctions may include:
- erectile dysfunction
- low libido
- premature ejaculation
- low confidence
- inability to reach orgasm
- distressing sexual thoughts
Millions of people in Europe and across the world suffer from sexual dysfunction. The vast majority of people who have a declared sexual issue don’t receive treatment. An issue that destroys confidence as well as loving relationships.
While sex therapy is highly effective, the high cost, low supply of therapists and huge social taboo around sex, prevent many people from accessing treatment. While digital therapy is a very well proven system in other areas such as depression and anxiety, until now it has been untapped for sexual therapy.
