Connected health will be a strong theme in technology in 2023. Two years of pandemic and uncertainty have made many people realize the importance of “wellness”: sleep better, work better, live better. The manufacturer of connected accessories Hapbee is counting on Montreal to carve out a place of choice in this emerging market.
After a decade spent using the public’s personal data to inundate them with targeted advertisements, North American technos are changing their tune. What if this same data made it possible to offer subscription services that would appeal more to consumers?
This is the bet made by Hapbee. The company, developed in the second half of 2020 by a Seattle-based medical device maker called EMulate Therapeutics, released two wearable devices last year: a mat that fits under the pillow and an electronic collar. which is worn during the day. Both use electromagnetic waves to influence the brain of their user and help him, as the case may be, to sleep better, to be more concentrated or to fight anxiety more effectively.
The company has customers from all walks of life, from veterans of the United States Army to the most prominent players of the Nashville Predators, a team of the National Hockey League. That includes forward Matt Duchene and defenseman Roman Josi.
We would like to be at the heart of the next big wave of technology, because I believe that wellness and connected health will be the next big trends in the industry
It is not uncommon to see professional athletes resorting to certain drugs or certain pharmaceutical stimulants to help them perform better when it is time for competition. These will usually have to ingest relaxants or sleeping pills afterwards to sleep better. In many cases, this habit can create unhealthy addictions to certain drugs.
If they prove effective, technological solutions like those of Hapbee could become for them an alternative to chemical stimulants, which is less harmful to the health of the players, explains Yona Shtern, Montreal entrepreneur and CEO of Hapbee, who also inherited the role of Chairman of the Board last February.
“A Predators assistant coach contacted us to buy our products,” said in an interview with the To have to the one who in another life co-founded online retailer Beyond the Rack. “Players use them because they don’t want to take too many drugs. They are looking for ways to improve their performance without producing unwanted side effects. »
Major trends
Hapbee listed on the TSX Venture Exchange in Toronto in 2021 and initially set up its headquarters in Vancouver. After Yona Shtern took over, operations management was then moved to Montreal. The CEO is trying these days to also repatriate to Quebec the research and development as well as the assembly of his devices, which are currently done in the United States.
Hapbee experienced some financial turmoil at the end of last year. The company released its financial statements a few days late, leading to a temporary suspension of its stock. Things have since returned to normal, assures Yona Shtern. The company now has its sights set on the future. She is looking for lasting partnerships with major brands of connected health accessories and with major retailers that would help to better promote her own brand.
“We would like to be at the heart of the next big wave of technology, because I believe that wellness and connected health will be the next big trends in the industry,” says Mr. Shtern.
The Montreal businessman is not the only one to think so. The entire pharmaceutical industry is making an unprecedented breakthrough in technology these days, adding to its catalog of more traditional products both software and hardware tools aimed at improving consumer health.
The American giant Abbott is one of the most fervent supporters of connected health. The company was present at the CES in early January to testify to this. Its strategy is rather simple: it tests new technologies with the public, which it then hopes to sell at a better price to insurers and companies. After all, that’s kind of how telemedicine has made its way into employers’ medical coverage plans for the past two years…
Even better: these technologies can be sold as individual or group subscriptions. This lucrative formula is gaining popularity as the “free in exchange for advertising” formula is losing steam, due to growing concerns about the manipulation of personal digital data.
Hapbee also sells its customers subscriptions that give access to tailor-made help for better sleep, better concentration, etc. “All connected devices collect data. The value is in personalized help created from that data that effectively targets your problem, says Yona Shtern. After all, you don’t need a $400 watch to tell you what time you wake up at night. That, you already know…”