Led by experienced entrepreneurs and healthcare practitioners, Tru Health aims to be at the heart of how tech is changing healthcare.
Tru Health is a first-of-its-kind advanced health clinic designed help people get to the root cause of health symptoms through doctor-led whole-person assessment, smart testing, AI technology and lifestyle tracking.
The start-up is the brainchild of the founders of Irish supplement brand Ethos and Dr Sally Bramley, a leading NHS doctor trained in functional and lifestyle medicine.
“Tru Health is designed to help people discover the ‘why’ behind their feelings and empowers them to improve their health through lifestyle medicine, diet, supplementation, stress reduction and behaviour change”
Ethos has been successfully bootstrapped to more than €800,000 revenue within three years and is now stocked in more than 250 stores.
Co-founder and CEO Fergus Kerrigan said that Tru Health aims to address the main cause of many of the modern world’s health issues: stress.
“Stress is the health epidemic of the 21st century, medical research shows that stress is the root-cause of 90% of chronic health problems,” Kerrigan explained. “Stress can be mental and physical and manifests as the most common health problems of the modern human – gut problems, hormone imbalances , fatigue and anxiety.
“The conventional health system is not designed to deal with these problems effectively – 15 minute appointments, treating symptoms rather than the root-cause and using prescription medicine to treat what are often lifestyle related problems.”
He said that Tru Health is launching in the UK and Ireland, where the addressable market size is €4bn.
“The US will be our longer term focus with a market worth over $30bn.”
This is the modern world
TruHealth co-founder Dr Sally Bramley
Kerrigan described Tru Health as anan advanced health clinic that work with clients to get to the root cause of their health symptoms.
“Whether managing a chronic condition, addressing new concerns, or optimising health for longevity, our doctor-led team uses a whole-person assessment, smart testing, AI technology and lifestyle tracking to understand what’s happening inside your body and why.
“We work with clients with digestive issues, fatigue and autoimmune disorders, hair loss and skin issues, metabolic issues such as prediabetes or weight gain, stress, anxiety and so much more. Many of our clients are experiencing a myriad of symptoms – we help them connect the dots and understand the why so they can transform their health.”
Who are the founders of the company and what are the experiences that encouraged you to become an entrepreneur?
Tru Health was founded by Irish couple and health entrepreneurs Amy O’Flaherty, Fergus Kerrigan, and Dr Sally Bramley, a leading NHS doctor trained in functional and lifestyle medicine.
Based on their personal experiences of modern healthcare as both patients and practitioners, they designed Tru Health.
Their refreshing data-led, person-centred approach combines foundational elements of Functional and Lifestyle Medicine with pioneering technology to deliver a completely personalised health experience for every client.
“Both Amy and I have experienced being let down by the conventional healthcare system. Our individual health journeys with chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and burnout were dealt with very unsatisfactorily by our GPs.
“The root cause of our problems was not identified, and being written a prescription for meds at every appointment didn’t sit right. We spoke to friends and family, researched extensively, and realised that many others were experiencing the same frustrations.
“Tru Health is designed to help people discover the ‘why’ behind their feelings and empowers them to improve their health through lifestyle medicine, diet, supplementation, stress reduction and behaviour change.”
A more holistic approach
Co-founder Dr Sally Bramley agreed, adding that a more considerate approach is missing in today’s modern health system.
“Many people feel dissatisfied with their GP and the care they receive, craving more time and a holistic approach that addresses the root cause of their symptoms rather than relying on quick-fix medications.
“As an NHS doctor, I frequently saw patients leave with unresolved issues. My experience as a tuberculosis patient inspired me to explore the complexities of human health and pursue training in Functional and Lifestyle Medicine.. Now, 100% of my clients report symptom improvement. I wanted more people to experience the benefits of personalised functional testing.
“Tru Health is the result: a doctor-led, data-driven, smart health system designed to restore health and prevent future problems.”
Boosting a healthy start-up ecosystem
Kerrigan believes that in general, support for entrepreneurship and start-ups could be improved in Ireland. “This starts with the government policy and is driven by Enterprise Ireland. The Government should be taking more risk with more favourable terms for founders in the Enterprise Ireland investment programmes. At the end of the day we have no economy without founders taking a risk and building large businesses.
“Unless you are in your 20s, the risk of founding a start-up is very high and the cards are stacked against you with regards to regular life things like buying a house etc. We need to try to change this.
“We are new to the tech start-up ecosystem but have been impressed with the amount of activity and programmes in place for very early stage start-ups. We are based in Dublin and work from Dogpatch Labs (an NDRC start-up hub) and have recently been through their pre-accelerator programme. They also have a great programme to pair up smart individuals who may have an idea but don’t have co-founders yet.”
Kerrigan said that Tru Health will be actively raising a pre-seed round in September where it will be looking to raise €400,000.
He added that since Tru Health is the founders’ second start-up venture, they have taken lots of lessons and applied them to the Tru Health journey. “This has probably allowed us get to market much quicker than if we were doing this for the first time.
“Given that there have been plenty of new lessons learned (nicer way of saying mistakes made!), one that stands out is that you need to really focus on what element of your business has the most value and can be a real differentiator versus the competition. This is what will help you fundraise, attract customers and give yourself an edge.
“We probably gave too much attention to certain parts of the business that bring no differentiation and technology that could easily be licensed rather than doing an expensive build ourselves.”
His advice to fellow founders?
“Get your product to market as quickly as possible and learn from ‘real’ customers. Of course you need to do extensive research on your problem and market but sometimes founders can get stuck in this phase for too long. You learn a lot more from real customers than through surveys and interviews etc. Get something out there, listen and adapt rapidly.”
Main image at top: Tru Health co-founders Fergus Kerrigan and Amy O’Flaherty
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