Propel Founder Q&A — Deepa Mann-Kler, NEON
Deepa Mann-Kler is a solo founder on the Propel Pre-Accelerator 2018 with her company NEON.
Describe what NEON does:
NEON creates innovative, immersive virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) health applications. Including BreatheVR, a health app which uniquely uses the breath to help de-escalate pain for chronic pain sufferers and to help people feel human!
What are your thoughts on your Ignite experience in general?
I found it a really focused six months to help refine a business model. What’s given is that there’s a problem in the field that I’m working in and that there’s a solution. What was less clear before the programme was how NEON could work in this space to help bring about that solution.
What were the best parts of the programme?
Probably the sessions where I learnt the most which, for me, were workshops that I could apply the learning immediately. ‘Pitch Delivery’ with Amy Tez and ‘Marketing Tools’ with Gabi Matic were really valuable in this way.
Also, Jeffrey Sheppard speaking on investment really made me think about what I’m doing from a different perspective. Which is really important because you can get real tunnel vision when you’re working on something day in day out so you do need someone to yank your head out of your backside!
What was the biggest shift in thinking that you had over the six months?
The programme has helped me to be more methodical in the way I approach things, which is not my style coming from an artistic background. And then learning to be patient with things out of my control. For example, launching BreatheVR onto the app store took more than 8 weeks and there was no point wasting energy being hung up on that, so knowing where to direct my energy and when was a big mind shift.
Where did the programme help you the most?
When I look back over the six months, I realise how much the pace of the mentoring helped me to progress. Mainly because of submitting a weekly reports to them; I wanted my metrics to be improving week on week rather than submitting the same thing!
What was your biggest breakthrough over the six months?
To get over 100 sales for BreatheVR helped to validate the work I am doing and say it is valuable enough for people to pay for it.
Though you do still get real up and down days in this work, so hearing positive testimonials from patients using the app in medical trials has helped me to remember why I started. This tech has a really valuable effect on people lives’ and whether people are relieved from pain - even for a short time - or if they don’t have to take as much medication, it’s worth the harder days!
How do you rate being a start-up in Belfast?
Given its size, its easy to connect with key people really quickly, and you’ll also bump in to them around the city whether they be CEOs, CFOs, CTOs etc. Also, people are really good at helping you out, though if you’re successful and looking to raise big money, then that’s outside of NI. It’s definitely a nurturing environment but you do need to look to expand networks outside of NI.
Where do you see NEON in 6 months?
I would like to have completed the study with Ulster Hospital (UH) who have bought into the technology to give to a group of 50–60 patients living in chronic pain as a tool to use at home. Their feedback will give great insight on the effect of BreatheVR on medical use and immediate and ongoing pain reduction, and also quality of experience and marketing information to know if there is commercial value in the technology. This is happening due to the support of the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust and also an Invest NI Innovation Voucher.
Also, to keep growing NEON’s presence in education pieces - the UH study will help target the clinical psychology publications and peer reviews, and for now, having a patient focus in pain magazine publications and online forums.
And to start developing new apps — I’m currently going through a pilot phase with an augmented reality (AR) game Whack A Mo and beginning feedback trials at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children (RBHSC), so to see how best to develop that.
What would you say to a new founder considering the programme?
Look really carefully at the work you’ll be expected to do, expect to really commit and push yourself and, if you are not willing to do that, don’t bother! Make use of the mentors and the other companies surrounding you — they all have different experience, whether younger or older, and all have really valuable ways of looking at things. The programme will set you targets but have your own and a sense of how you will maintain direction, as the programme will end but your business doesn’t!
Sum up your Ignite experience in three words:
Challenging. Growth. Momentum.
