Meet #GES2016 Delegate: Sarah Goodman
Name: Sarah Goodman
Twitter Handle: @Sarahgoods_
@iHeartAge
Country: Canada
Website: www.goiheart.com
Organization Background: iHeart is a fingertip device and mobile app that determines a user’s Internal Age in 30-seconds by measuring a scientifically proven heart health, brain health, and internal health metric Aortic Stiffness. The stiffness of the Aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body, has been proven to be a marker of heart health, cognitive decline and dementia, and risk of death from all causes. Previous to iHeart, the only method to attain this measurement was via a $25,000 medical device. We have validated our technology against this device and can offer the same results for less than $200.
The iHeart device is used by consumers and health professionals to determine how the body reacts to everyday lifestyle choices on both the short-term, and long-term. The great thing about iHeart readings, is that they will change very quickly when positive, or negative, habits are introduced into the lifestyle, providing immediate validation on what these habits do to the body internally.
What Inspired me to join the team to develop iHeart? About three years ago, I was running my own health and wellness company and my father Dr. Jess Goodman, a serial inventor, presented the very first version of iHeart to me. It had been created by himself and our CTO, Ben Lewden. The system worked, but it was nowhere near ready for commercial launch, and I came on board to help create a product that people could use and understand easily. I already had a big interest in health and wellness and wanted to help create a product that would help people realize the personal power they had in themselves to become healthier and live longer.
What is the next big step you hope to help your company reach? We are a small startup and we’d like to bring iHeart to areas of the world where heart disease is prevalent, and introduce it as a tool people can use to see how their lifestyle choices are affecting internal health.
What has been your biggest obstacle as an entrepreneur? Time and money! As a small team we are all doing many different jobs in the business and time is always running low, there’s just so much to do. We’re currently looking to expand the team which will definitely help.
What advice would you give other emerging entrepreneurs? Dream big, and realize that things always take twice as long as you think, and cost twice as much as you project. Surround yourself with mentors and friends that will give you honest advice so that you can learn, iterate and grow.
