{"id":65154,"date":"2016-07-28T06:30:27","date_gmt":"2016-07-28T04:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e52.nl\/?p=65154"},"modified":"2016-07-28T06:30:27","modified_gmt":"2016-07-28T04:30:27","slug":"gerard-anton-awards-lifesense-breaking-the-urine-loss-taboo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/gerard-anton-awards-lifesense-breaking-the-urine-loss-taboo\/","title":{"rendered":"Gerard & Anton Awards: LifeSense, breaking the urine loss taboo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ten\u00a0startups from Eindhoven have been honoured with\u00a0the Gerard and Anton Award 2016. The jury of the awards\u00a0thinks these ten have all it takes to follow\u00a0the footsteps of Gerard and Anton Philips who, 125 years ago, formed the first truly successful startup in the region. Every day we highlight one of those startups. Today:\u00a0Lifesense.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Here are all ten\u00a0winners<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything on the Gerard & Anton Awards<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Women hardly go to the doctor with pelvic floor problems. “They are ashamed, there is still a taboo”, says Valer Pop. He is CEO of LifeSense group. With Carin<\/em> – a sensor in the underwear in combination with an exercise program – Pop is confident that he can give women a better – and more confident – life.<\/p>\n

The Jury:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Some problems are not easy to discuss. However that does not stop this startup to use technology in a surprising way to help women with urine loss. They just successfully closed their crowdfunding campaign.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Upon entering his office, Valer Pop quickly\u00a0places\u00a0a sensor in\u00a0the charger; the little thing\u00a0is no bigger than a lens case and can easily be attached to the\u00a0specially designed underwear. The sensor measures urine\u00a0leakage and together with the training app, progress is tracked for\u00a0its users. “The training program has been developed with more than 100 women. Based on\u00a0the results of the sensor, the app offers the participating women a personal training program. Within three to six months, women already benefit from the training”, Pop says.<\/p>\n

Child of Eindhoven<\/strong>
\nThe technology was developed under the ‘warm wings’ at\u00a0Holst Centre on the High Tech Campus. “We are truly a child of Eindhoven. Holst Centre is our mother, we have been given the opportunity\u00a0to develop the technology. Later at High Tech XL we have learned the business side, the real business thinking. So I would like to call them our father. We now are growing significantly and for that we are grateful to our parents. In 2018 we want to be the fastest growing company in the world, in terms of sales. Then we can do something in return for the region. Our\u00a0goal is to create a startup fund.”<\/p>\n

Pop already has a strong focus on the region. “Almost all of our product parts\u00a0come from\u00a0a plant in Best. They may be a little bit more expensive than parts from Taiwan, but you know for sure that the quality is good. Plus you can\u00a0contribute to the regional economy, which I think is also important. Our goal is to reach the whole world, but our R&D department will always stay in Eindhoven, because here we can find all the needed\u00a0knowledge.”<\/p>\n

\"Lifesense<\/a>
Lifesense bij de uitreiking van de Gerard & Anton Awards<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Earlier this month, LifeSense Group expanded\u00a0to Japan, where a licensing agreement was signed. The company also successfully completed a Kickstarter campaign. “That was really amazing. In two days we had a hundred new followers, not even from our\u00a0own circles. Also on facebook we did well, in about a month we had 50,000 new clicks. With Kickstarter we raised 60,000 euros, really great.”<\/p>\n

These VC’s are all men; they really have no idea of \u200b\u200bthe problems experienced by women because of unwanted leakage<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Finding investors turned out to be\u00a0more difficult. “You have to imagine that 90% of the times you are talking\u00a0with Venture Capitalists, a man is sitting next to\u00a0you. These men really have no idea of \u200b\u200bthe problems experienced by women because of unwanted leakage. It’s a man’s world, and men\u00a0feel uncomfortable talking about these kind of matters, let alone investing in them. Imagine that of\u00a0all the money that VCs are investing, only 5% goes to women, that’s kind of scary, isn’t it?” In order to convince these investors, you have to be really strong, Pop says. “You need to believe in your business and have a long-term view.”<\/p>\n

Pop grabs some underwear from the table and shows the material. “This fabric is designed by Julia Veldhuijzen van Zanten. She graduated with it at\u00a0the Design Academy in 2014. Now, she is developing it to new levels for LifeSense. The fabric is very absorbent. Also comfort is important and it looks like any other underwear. Women don’t need to wear any shameful diaper anymore. Those things are awfully old-fashioned anyway. And besides, diapers and pads leave a giant\u00a0ecological footprint, you don’t want that either. With\u00a0Carin, you help yourself and<\/em> the world. That is our vision, and everyone here at the company has a 100% belief in it.”<\/p>\n

Ignorance among women<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Pop, there is still much ignorance among women. “Most women do not know what they can do about it, only\u00a010% of women who have problems, dare to go\u00a0to the doctor. That taboo we want to break. On one hand, we do so with our ‘ambassadors’: proud women who are not ashamed to speak about this. They can\u00a0make\u00a0other women aware of the solutions. We also have an online platform where women can share their experiences. And right now, we are talking to a major health insurer in the Netherlands, in order to reach a wider market.”<\/p>\n

In the future, Pop envisions Carin wearables for each life phase of a woman. “We want to assist women throughout their lives. Girls who are menstruating for the first time can be very uncertain about their bodies, but with our guidance and accurate measurements we help them through this exciting time. Women who have just given birth, we can help with a quick recovery package. And did you know that you can enhance orgasm by\u00a0training the pelvic floor muscles?”<\/p>\n

Valer Pop wants to share his advice:<\/strong>
\n