Mindset Health secures $6.7 million for tech bringing hypnosis into healthcare

The co-founders of Mindset Health, Chris and Alex Naoumidis. Source: supplied.

Australian digital hypnotherapy startup Mindset Health secured $ 5 million ($ 6.7 million) in funding as it scaled its technology solution to everything from IBS to menopause.

The Melbourne-based company is led by brothers and co-founders Chris and Alex Naoumidis, who are working to build a portfolio of digital therapeutic apps using hypnosis-based techniques to address underserved health conditions.

The pilot product Nerva focuses on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and was launched in mid-2019. Around 10,000 users now pay for the app, says Alex Naoumidis to SmartCompany.

The financing comes from the US funds Banana Capital and Fifty Years as well as from local VC Giant Leap and US angel investor James Beshara.

It will fuel a growth phase for the Australian startup as it develops a range of new solutions to address additional health issues.

“We work with researchers and experts to market and deliver their work,” says Alex Naoumidis to SmartCompany.

Nerva is based on research by Dr. Simone Peters, who have found out through clinical studies that hypnotherapy can be just as effective as a change in diet for some IBS patients.

The founder admits that when he talks about hypnosis he still frequently encounters eye rolls and skepticism, but people tend to change their minds when the founders start talking about the science, research, and academics behind their products speak.

“That’s why our company is so focused on creating evidence,” says Naoumidis.

“The bar for credibility is much higher.”

A willingness to discuss the results of studies and have PhD partners on hand helps get around some of the misconceptions about hypnosis, he adds.

“It’s not what you see on TV. It’s not magic, it’s not mind control. It is a state of focused attention and absorption. “

“The next meditation”

This isn’t the brothers’ first foray into business together. The couple previously started the fashion-sharing platform Covet and taught themselves programming in the process.

“We weren’t technical, but we knew we had to get technical,” says Naoumidis.

After working on Covet for six months, a mentor asked them if they really wanted to spend the next 10 years on it.

“We noticed that we are not passionate about it,” he admits.

They started looking for something to really hold onto for the long term, and when they came across hypnosis and the intersection of psychology and physical health, they became addicted.

“Could we make the next meditation out of hypnosis?”

This funding will enable Mindset Health to expand its team, which is expected to grow from 15 to 35 people, to include engineers and directors for new programs and products.

The founders want to develop apps that support people with depression and chronic pain as well as people going through menopause.

“We take what we do with Nerva and then replicate it,” says Naoumidis.

Ultimately, the founders’ overarching vision is to “empower 1 billion people to improve their health by unleashing the power of the spirit,” added the founder.

The brothers envision a world where all digital therapeutics use an element of hypnosis to increase their effectiveness.

It’s a destination beyond just doing business in Melbourne, he explains. Mindset Health seeks to create a more holistic view of health care by normalizing alternatives to drugs and behavior changes in treating symptoms for a range of medical conditions.

“We’d love to be the ones to lead it, but we don’t want to be the only company focused on how to use your wits in healthcare,” says Naoumidis.

“It’s smaller than we want to be.”

source https://dailyhealthynews.ca/mindset-health-secures-6-7-million-for-tech-bringing-hypnosis-into-healthcare/