Spotlighting our previous awardees – where are they now? Featuring: Pillpresso

This is the second of our three part series spotlight on previous Modern Aging winners. You can find part one here.

Moving on to Modern Aging 2015 awardee, Pillpresso!

Background

Their winning product: An electronic medication dispenser that automates medication sorting, reminding, dispensing, and adherence tracking.

Its target users: Elderly patients with polypharmacy.

Q&A

1. What was your biggest takeaway from the Modern Aging program?

• Community of like minded people and a network of insightful healthcare professionals
• Credibility with potential partners
• Funding to develop and test our hardware prototypes with patients and providers

2. What is one thing you wish you had known before starting your entrepreneurial journey?

What clinicians need may be different from what users value or are willing to pay for; an affordable solution that can address 80% of the problem is good enough.

3. What piece(s) of advice would you give to our final teams of entrepreneurs in general?

• Speak to more healthcare stakeholders
• Interview the elderly and their caregivers on the ground to get a wider perspective
• Don’t be afraid to say no if you have strong supporting evidence to back you—evaluating a real life problem outside the clinical setting can be eye opening

4. How do you believe you have made an impact on the elderly population?

Improved medication adherence will help maintain health and keep chronic diseases under control. The next big impact will be seeing the elderly manage their medicine independently, especially those living alone.

5. What do you think your market will look like in the next five years?

One of the biggest developments in elder care will be in the Internet of Things (IoT), where devices can be connected, controlled, and monitored remotely. In Singapore, there is a low penetration of elder care technology, particularly in the area of medication management. New technology developments will have to overcome the barrier of affordability if catering to the elderly population.

To get in touch with Pillpresso, please contact co founder Emily Low at emily@pillpresso.com.

Written by: Diya Gopalan