Mental health and well-being support platform Augmentive arrives at the EpiCentre

Augmentive, a revolutionary on-line platform offering specialist mental health and well-being support has taken space at The EpiCentre in Haverhill.

One in six adults experienced some form of depression in summer 2021, compared with one in ten before the pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics. The strong increase in numbers of people looking to find a therapist online suggests that people are being more proactive about seeking help.

Already established in London, the Augmentive service is for anyone who wants to feel their best and is ready to do something about it. It gives access to over 365 qualified therapists, coaches, trainers, nutritionists, and mindfulness specialists, hand-picked by the Augmentive team. The company is now VC backed having raised significant funding and is looking for qualified therapists in East Anglia to join their network.

Co-founder Kit Norman, 28, says “There has been a 160% increase in sessions over the last 3 months and an increase in new customers of 209%. Although established in London, the service will be particularly relevant in rural East Anglia where support can be harder to access. “We’re finding that clients who have been very happy with their experience are now recommending us to others and this is playing a huge part in our growth.”

Kit’s mother Sarah (shown in the picture) is a qualified therapist who draws from her experience to help match clients’ needs to the most suitable therapist. “Although the NHS can provide brilliant support, long waiting lists and the minefield of finding a therapist alone can mean that people often don’t get to actually talk to anyone until their anxiety or depression has escalated,” says Sarah. “This is where Augmentive comes in.”

A 15-minute free video consultation with the Augmentive concierge enables the client to be placed with the right practitioner, making the process of booking and accessing sessions quick and comfortable. There are no hidden catches with clients able to view, in a user-friendly way, fees and times when the specialists are available, enabling them to make bookings accordingly. Sessions can be held either in person or through the video facility on the platform, thanks to the digital technology expertly built by Kit’s brother Archie Norman, 31, and his team.

Centre manager Kelly Boosey says: “We welcome Augmentive to join our collaborative community at The EpiCentre. And what better a time to start than at this time of year when people use the New Year to re-focus and invest in their own health and well-being.”

Sarah says: “We maintain close relationships with all our practitioners so that we can place clients as effectively as possible. Once we’ve gained a good understanding of what you’re looking for, we can recommend the best specialist or class for you.

“Our thriving community of coaches, therapists, nutritionists and experts from many areas can help you come at things from the angle that feels right for you. There is no commitment to book, our aim is to give you the best options so that you can decide whether you want to proceed as easily as possible,” adds Kit.

In addition to signing up Augmentive, The EpiCentre has made a significant contribution to the well-being of the West Suffolk community during 2021, having provided space in the first half of the year as a COVID vaccine centre and then signing up The Bridge First Aid to offer first aid courses, including mental health, to members of the public and local businesses.

Arete Medical Tech (Cambridge)

Arete Medical Tech are transforming respiratory clinical pathways by combining an innovative and novel medical device with a digital health platform. They augment AI and ML with a patented device that allows them to collect previously untapped data for risk stratification, medicine optimisation, and prediction modelling. In addition to transforming patients’ lives and improving clinical resource usage through remote monitoring and self-management, Arete Medical Tech brings specialist-grade clinical solutions into patients’ homes.

Founder and CEO of Arete Medical Tech, Graeham Douglas, commented on being part of the region “Cambridge and the wider region is a global cluster for medical technology innovation, with leading hospitals, universities, corporates, and talent. We also have access to leading manufacturing, research and business opportunities in the rest of the East of England, the Midlands, Oxford and London. There is nowhere better in the world for the density of and access to the resources we need to build our solution in respiratory medicine.”

electronRx (Cambridge)

ElectronRx is a deep tech company of interdisciplinary scientists and engineers paving the way for personalised digital medicine through the development of novel chronic disease management solutions. Their proprietary machine learning algorithms harness sensors readily available in a standard smartphone to extract medical-grade heart, lung and vascular health insights with no additional wearables or devices needed.

When asked how it felt to be a rising Star regional winner, CEO and founder Bipin Patel said “We are delighted to be recognised as a Rising Star in a region with such fierce competition as Cambridge; one of the world’s leading tech hubs full of companies who, like us, are working on the cutting-edge of deep tech discovery and innovation to solve big global problems. The chronic disease epidemic is crippling our healthcare systems with no signs of abating. Our scalable disease management tools are transforming how we deliver healthcare and treat these conditions, enabling a shift from reactive to proactive care. We have a fast-growing, world-class team ready to further capitalise on the renewed appetite for digital health technologies post-COVID to skyrocket our success and improve quality of life for chronic disease patients across the globe in 2022.”

Fintellity (Ely)

Fintellity offers regulated businesses tools that contribute to socially responsible payments by providing services that prevent financial crime and protect vulnerable groups, as well as facilitating bank transfers to be a cheaper alternative to traditional card processing.

Ely based Fintellity CEO Shardri Cosgove was asked about how the region has supported her journey so far, she said “The support from our local region has been instrumental in the progress Fintellity has made so early in our journey. Starting with early membership at Innovation Labs based in Stowmarket, through to bespoke mentoring from Innovate UK EDGE based in Cambridge, and then attending Tech Nation’s monthly virtual meetings for Ladies of the East.”

Joining them from the rest of the East is HR DataHub (Houghton Conquest) and MYNDUP (Epping).

Would Rising Stars be right for you?

Tech Nation want to showcase the brightest and best that UK tech has to offer. Businesses must meet a few simple criteria though, including:

• Seed to pre-Series A funding stage OR if revenue focused, generating annual revenues below £1.5m
• A digital tech business with a product or service to sell*
• At least one active client or pilot
• Able to demonstrate market traction
• HQ’d in UK
• Company incorporated between 1-3 years
• Able to commit to key dates in the Rising Stars calendar

If you feel that this could be for you, you can pre-register your interest for Rising Stars 5.0 through this link: Rising Stars – UK pitch competition for early-stage tech startups – Tech Nation and make sure you are in the mix to potentially be one of the winners for 2023/24.