Firm identify: Anda
Based: 2023
Stage : Pre-Seed
Founders: James McWhinney, CEO, and Elisabet Sigurdardottir, CTO
Present buyers: Antler
At present elevating: Sure
The enterprise
The worldwide well being and health sector has considerably broadened past bodily train and weight-reduction plan lately to embody holistic psychological and bodily wellness. This has been fuelled partly by shifts in client sentiment and demand by know-how advances of wearables.
In accordance with SingleCare, in 2019, one-third of individuals globally felt pressured, nervous or indignant. The worldwide Covid pandemic was then seen to exacerbated this subject with seven in 10 staff throughout Australia (70%) saying they expertise stress at work at the very least as soon as every week, up from 62% pre-pandemic, as reported within the Mirage Information.
The Covid pandemic has additionally seen the $1.5 trillion well being and wellness business develop at an annual fee of as much as 10%. Breathwork is a rapidly rising phase on this market.
Anda empowers people to attach with the transformative energy of breath and take management of their bodily and psychological wellbeing. The jewellery-like Anda band is a great gadget that serves as a private respiration coach in moments of stress and nervousness.
Utilizing haptic suggestions within the type of a mild squeeze to imitate inhaling and launch to imitate exhaling, the Anda band will proactively information customers by optimised respiration strategies. The Anda band is activated by recognising bodily indicators of stress and nervousness in customers.
The inspiration to construct the corporate stemmed from the founders’ private experiences with the facility of breathwork. Elisabet, co-founder and CTO used breathwork and mindfulness practices as a part of her restoration from a again harm. This expertise, and distinctive benefit that each founders are breath coaches, sparked the thought to create the Anda band.
Wearables have expanded past utilitarian sensible watches as demonstrated by the Oura Ring which by 2022 had bought over one million rings and was valued at above US$2 billion.
The Anda band will leverage rising client demand for each lovely wearables and holistic well being.
Antler funding thesis
“Whereas different options deal with managing stress after the actual fact, the Anda band will assist folks to alleviate stress within the second by offering real-time help,” says Antler Australia Accomplice James McClure.
“Not solely that, the band will probably be superbly designed. As an alternative of trying like a clunky tech wearable, it appears like a sublime piece of jewelry.
“With the added benefit of being a first-mover bringing breathwork into the {hardware} sensible wearable area, Anda is creating modern know-how that solves a difficulty that impacts over two billion people globally.
“James and Elisabet are the workforce with an unfair benefit to capitalise on these tendencies given their creativity, drive and complementary expertise.”
Traction/milestones
Up to now, Anda has amassed a big waitlist of registered purchasers.
Along with this, the founders have constructed the Anda Breathwork Neighborhood which has flourished right into a vibrant and numerous community of breathwork coaches and fanatics from world wide, and now change into one of many largest communities of its type in Australia.
The workforce is presently constructing its {hardware} prototype and hopes to carry it to market in early 2024.
Newest funding
Pre-Seed from Antler
Use of funds
Antler’s funding will fund product improvement, together with refining the Anda {hardware} know-how and constructing the accompanying software program.
Anda will even undertake a advertising and marketing marketing campaign to generate consciousness and pleasure for its upcoming Kickstarter marketing campaign.
Along with funding, Anda stated Antler’s broader help has been instrumental in driving the expansion and scalability of its enterprise. “Antler has offered us with invaluable assets, mentorship, and a sturdy community of consultants and business connections,” says Anda co-founder James McWhinney.
“By way of Antler’s intensive community, we now have been capable of faucet right into a pool of skilled entrepreneurs, business leaders, and potential companions. Their steerage and experience have helped us refine our enterprise technique, navigate challenges, and establish alternatives for progress.”
The founders say
“Our imaginative and prescient is to assist clear up stress and nervousness so folks can take management of their lives,” says McWhinney. “Our purpose is to offer an answer that goes past conventional wellness practices and integrates seamlessly into the trendy life-style.
“We consider that everybody deserves entry to the transformative advantages of optimised respiration, and we’re excited to carry the Anda band to people worldwide.
“Having personally skilled the transformative impact of breathwork in managing our personal well being and busy life, we need to make this follow extra utilised and accessible throughout tense moments in each day life, equivalent to earlier than a vital assembly or presentation.
“To validate this, preliminary buyer interviews present that persons are determined for an answer to emphasize and nervousness.
“We’re feeling a rising tide, with Breathwork on the same trajectory to the place yoga and meditation have been 10-20 years in the past. Beginning with the Anda band, our imaginative and prescient is to be the leaders within the breath tech area.
“In the event you’re all in favour of being one of many first people to expertise the modern sensible wearable that works to scale back stress and nervousness, go to our web site and signal as much as our waitlist and maintain an eye fixed out for our Kickstarter marketing campaign launch within the coming months.”
What’s subsequent?
Antler, a world early-stage VC, is revealing its newest investments in formidable Australian founders and startups. With over 100 investments in early-stage corporations, Anda is one among its most up-to-date portfolio corporations.
- StartupDaily is the official media companion of Antler in Australia.