Interview with Maree Beare, Founder and CEO of Wanngi
This interview was conducted by Megan Capriccio, FemTech Collective Global Ambassador in Sydney
Leading up to our new chapter launch event in Sydney, Australia, we wanted to highlight the outstanding work done in the women’s health and tech space by our Australian Founders. It was a pleasure for our first interview to be with Maree Beare the founder and CEO of Wanngi, and fellow advocate for individuals having better control over their health and bodies.
Wanngi is a Brisbane based startup that has developed a multi-platform app to empower people with their own health and wellness information.
Maree is passionate about using innovative technology to positively impact the lives of others. She is renowned as a forward-thinking leader in the technology sector, with extensive experience advising many of Australia’s leading organisations in transforming their businesses and delivering high-profile technology programs. Maree realised that Australians are disconnected from their health information, and a mobile application that empowers them and their doctor to make informed decisions about their well-being was desperately needed in the market. Maree wants people to become their own health champions. Her work with Wanngi has been recognised by Forbes in the top 50 women-led startups disrupting HealthTech, showing the Australian company is becoming a growing influence in the digital health sector. She was also named in the top 100 Women in Wearables for 2019.
What is the idea behind your project / product and how did you come up with it?
Imagine a future where no matter where in the world you see a health professional, you will have access to your health data. Wanngi’s vision is for consumers to be more included in their health journey by empowering them with access to their health data. We know that this change will greatly impact the health industry and people’s lives in a positive way. We want people to have control, to get better diagnosed, to save money and overall just live a better, simpler and healthier life.
In early 2017 I realised that one major thing was missing from the health care system. “I tried to access my health record and the only option I could find was the government consumer portal. At that time, I realised that the eHealth record was only really accessible for clinicians, bureaucrats, and insurance companies, so I set about making it accessible to people, giving them more control over their health information.”
What impact do you hope it makes on women’s health / FemTech/ Women in health?
One of the problems we are solving is that at least 1 in 20 people are misdiagnosed when they see a medical professional. This number increases significantly for women. One of the reasons is that often research trials and study on chronic conditions has been based upon male patients. If women can come to a health appointment ready with evidence of their history and symptoms, they are increasing their chances of being diagnosed correctly. This is self prophesying as clinicians will then start seeing the benefit of consumer generated data.
I hope to create a private space for people to take back control of their own health. This empowerment is key for more women to become more involved in their health and the health/tech industries. Women are the world collaborators and communicators and this is the best place to give women a voice.
How long did it take you to be where you are now? And how did you get there?
We spent two years developing Wanngi and we finally launched in April.
What was the biggest obstacle?
Having bootstrapped this startup, thus far, has been a challenge for us as we have had a number of delays due to dependencies on government approvals, and initial potential investors have required customer validation first. However, as a result of a lot of hard work and countless hours, Wanngi is now live, with more features already being rolled out.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
Wanngi launched in Australia in April 2019 and now has both Free and premium subscriber customers
Recognition by: Forbes — Wanngi has been named in the Forbes top 50 women-led startups disrupting HealthTech, showing the Australian company is becoming a growing influence within the digital health sector.
The Australian: Dodgy Social Media Medical Cures Almost Killed Me
PulseIT Magazine — Wanngi’s immunisation management feature and CDA capability
Listed Wanngi and Maree Beare as Top 100 women in Femtech and Healthtech: Global recognition of Wanngi by Women of Wearables
What motivates you?
What motivates me is giving people a platform that lets them have control over themselves and empowering them with their own information. This can change people’s lives.
Last year a female colleague told me about how her husband (in his 30’s) had been misdiagnosed and had actually had a stroke which led to his death. If only he had been able to communicate his symptoms more accurately.
Only this week I had coffee with a young woman who had been misdiagnosed for months. She sought second opinions and requested additional tests. Eventually she was diagnosed with MS. The impact is that she is now relatively well and walking around instead of wheelchair bound. Both of these women understood the benefits of having health history on hand to communicate to help with diagnosis.
What are the challenges of being an entrepreneur in the niche you are in (or Australia)? How about being a female founder / entrepreneur?
I’ve been involved with technology my whole life and have often been the only woman in a room full of men. It’s often been difficult to have our ideas seeing the light of day with men controlling the innovation pursestrings. However, in the startup space, where we can quickly present a prototype and demonstrate an idea, women are ideally placed to present their ideas for Femtech. Other women just get it, and we are now seeing a trend where women are promoting women in business. We see that in different markets with examples such as Femeconomy, Mums & co. Women of wearables.
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
It is so important. To help people and society and to create better products and services we need diversity.
What is the most important piece of advice you can give to all female founders and female entrepreneurs out there?
To go for it. Take precautions and be prepared as much as possible but at the end of the day you need to go for it and take a risk. No successful business was built without some level of risk.
What will be the key trends in the health tech industry in the next 5 years and where do you see it heading? What is Australia’s role?
I believe that people are starting to care more about both their health and privacy, and this will continue in the future.
What’s next? (for you and/or your product)
We have just launched in the US and on the Apple App Store. We will also continue to improve the apps current features and add more based on customer feedback.
Who are 3 women in health tech that inspire you?
WOW, there are so many women who are inspirational. Just to take a step in the startup space in Healthtech and femtech is challenging. If I think about the women who join me in the Forbes top 50 list or the Women of Wearables top 100 lists. But if I must.. Globally, I am inspired and grateful for the passion of Marija Butkovic — for her work in Women of Wearables. She is lifting up and escalating Women in this space and giving them a platform where they are supported and connected.
I am inspired by Silvia Pfeiffer who is CEO of Coviu. Silvia is involving lots of cool tech in telehealth. And I love cool tech. Lastly, I have to talk about my inspirational Aunty Sister Regis Mary Dunne, who was Awarded an Order of Australia medal in 2007 for her service to medicine, particularly through promotion and support of bioethics in medical research and as a researcher in the field of genetics. In the 1960’s she was one of the first people to introduce cytogenetics into a laboratory. I grew up visiting her in the laboratory where she invented connecting a TV camera to a microscope so that she could capture pictures of chromosomes to understand their impacts on genetics. My Aunty is now in her 90’s, however she demonstrated true understanding of diversity and the rights of women in the workforce. At a time when women had to give up their jobs when they married, or if they were pregnant, my Aunty allowed one of her scientists, to remain working with her after an unplanned pregnancy, and then allowing her to bring in her baby to work.
Website: wanngi.com
Facebook: Wanngi
Twitter: wanngiapp
Instagram: wanngieco
