Start-up Society #99: Vertige
Keeping the American Dream Alive
Welcome to the 99th edition of Start-up Society! This blog highlights some of the most exciting start-ups in the country striving to keep the American Dream alive.
Make sure you check out the previous issue, if you have not already, here!
Another double feature! In today’s episode of Meet the Entrepreneur #23, the Start-up Society team sits down with the one and only Kristy Carabello, Founder & CEO of Vertige. Watch as Kristy spins us her start-up story and how she is helping those living with vertigo with her new app!
This article provides a summary of the conversation. For the full details, tap into the podcast here!
Tell us about your background, what Vertige is, and how it was founded?
Kristy started her career in cosmetics and focused on sales strategies and being a road warrior as that company hit major growth points. After a few years she shifted to another Cosmetics company as an account manager. She wanted a change of pace and jumped into PR. It was around this time that she started to notice some vertigo episodes, tinnitus and other ear/balance issues. She specifically recalls the fear of not knowing what was going on at the time. All of these symptoms were actually an indicator of Ménière’s Disease.
Vertigo is a scary anxiety inducing feeling that causes one be extremely dizzy and unbalanced. Kristy decided to keep a detailed journal of her diet, behaviors and other daily activities. After filling up a notebook or two, she decided to go digital, but was met with a dearth of options for folks who suffer from vertigo. In a story as old as time, when she saw a problem that did not have a solution, Kristy decided to partner with a developer and build what would be the first iteration of Vertige at the end of 2021. The goal of the app is to function as a journal/log that delivers weekly and biweekly reports to users in order for folks to understand their vertigo triggers.
Vertigo is something that folks have a lot of misconceptions about, can you help dispel some misconceptions?
Firstly, vertigo is a symptom of vestibular (ear) issues. As of now, 35% of adults in America over the age of 40 have suffered an episode of vertigo. It’s hard to know when you will have a vertigo episode, which can lead to subsequent issues such as anxiety.
Without Vertige, what options do folks with vertigo have now to help themselves?
There is a medicine called Meclizine that often gets recommended to people as well as grassroots communities on sites like Facebook groups. It’s hard for people to get diagnosed with vertigo because they don’t know that they are actually suffering from it and may write it off as something else. Mindfulness and meditation are important for reducing stress, which can trigger vertigo. There is also a medicine you can take once vertigo hits to help dispels the episode.
What does the Vertigo landscape/community look like from the perspective of a founder trying to build a tool for this community?
Kristy was going into Facebook groups and helping out to answer questions and when she first started ideating the idea of Vertige, she went to existing online groups and forums to get customer feedback. Additionally, there is a Vestibular organization called VeDa which runs Balance Awareness Week, an awareness campaign for vestibular ailments & diseases.
Vertige has recently launched, how is the usage looking?
It’s all word of mouth advertising, only on iOS (Android coming soon!) and has only been advertised within the vertigo communities/Facebook groups that Kristy is currently a part of. The weekly reports in Vertige offer dashboards with graphs, tables and other information to communicate what may be triggering vertigo episodes in a person. A feature she is excited to launch is an export feature designed so people can take these reports to their medical care professionals.
Any plans to incorporate Biometrics or other integrations in the future?
Yes! Biometrics are a huge insight and is definitely on the roadmap. Additionally, she is targeting the clinical trial market by offering Vertige to vertigo clinical trials. In these trials, researchers ask participants to track activities in a journal, but what they really need is Vertige!
What challenges and surprises have you faced as a founder?
Kristy’s first entrepreneurial venture was with her sister. They started screen printing sustainable t-shirts and eventually created a locally produced women’s clothing line. That experience taught her about hustle. Now, any question that Kristy faces does not stop her from finding an answer. Vertige is mainly a one woman show with Kristy driving the vision and growth, though she hired a developer to help translate her ideas into the design and structure of the app. Building and advancing the vertigo community is also a big goal of hers, including doing her own ‘balance week’ focused on Yoga or an activity to help people who are suffering from these vestibular diseases and symptoms.
Any parting words for the audience?
I hope I can bring more awareness to vertigo and help reduce the frequency of vertigo episodes in people!
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Authored by Arteen Zahiri, Rumeer Keshwani, Elham Chowdhury, & Julian Ramcharan
