Information technology is helping improve healthcare for practitioners and providers. Image by Jack Moreh
Throughout February, Archives of IT is focusing on entrepreneurs as its theme and will be shedding a light on some of the inspirational individuals in our archives that have helped change our lives.
It was through one of our most recent interviews with entrepreneur, Ellie Coyte, founder and Chief Operating Officer at Haelu, a start-up that builds software to support health and social care, that led us to look more deeply at the key role that innovators from our collection of interviews play.
Haelu was formed during the pandemic, and 33-year-old Ellie says that if 2020 taught us anything, it was the importance of human interaction, collaboration, and that in extreme circumstances, we manage.
Alacrity Foundation
Following an early career path that included teaching, banking and hospitality, Ellie joined the Alacrity Foundation in 2020 where she pursued a year’s Entrepreneurship Course.
It was here that she met fellow students that would help set up Haelu, which would begin to partner with Cliniconex, a Canadian patient engagement solution for social care and also develop new tools to meet specific needs in the health and social care sector.
Tech tool to empower social care workers
Haelu is currently developing a tool that will empower social care workers, without clinical training, to record warning signs and symptoms of illness in patients so they can alert medical professionals if needed.
The five-person team aims to have the new system operational initially across Welsh healthcare facilities by 2027 and then the rest of the UK before expanding internationally.
Ellie is a good example of someone who is not a technical expert but someone who can spot an opportunity and use technology to solve some of society’s, and in this instance healthcare, challenges.
Young entrepreneurs and unicorns
She also demonstrates, along with other young entrepreneurs such as Andy Ayim – owner of Angel Investing School, Sean Coutts – Director of Graphium Technology and Stephanie Bazeley – Joint Founder of Team Junkfish Games, that the UK tech continues to build successful new enterprises through this next generation of innovators.
One of the key measures of entrepreneurialism is the creation of unicorns or privately held start-up companies that reach a market valuation of over $1bn. In June 2021 Tech Nation (the largely Government funded growth catalyst ) reported that the UK tech sector had 100 UK tech companies valued at $1bn or more.
