#1YearOn with Aflo Analytics
Co-Founder and CEO Dr Susan Kelly is the driving force behind aflo™ - aflo™ uses AI, sensors and hyper-personalised data to control life-threatening symptoms for people with asthma, COPD and cystic fibrosis. The goal of aflo™ is to improve the management of respiratory conditions for patients and clinicians, saving lives, reducing costs and improving outcomes, you can read more here. We are delighted to revisit Aflo Analytics a year after we first featured them as our #Follow on our blog to catch up and see what has changed.
What has changed for your business in the past year?
Where do I start?! It's been a total whirlwind - from drawings and concepts to a fully functioning product in a year. This time last year we had just completed our first fund raise and were in the earliest stages of an Innovate UK funded design, build and test R&D cycle for aflo, our automated inhaler technique platform which includes a device, user codesigned app, clinical portal and data analytics hub. Fast forward to today and we have moved from drawings through an alpha to beta prototype ready for final pre-commercial testing in a randomised controlled clinical trial this summer. On the way we built our device, app and portal to medical device standards, with hardware, firmware and software integration, filed UK and more recently, worldwide patents, registered our aflo trademark, completed over 100 user testing sessions on wireframes, 2500 internal test inhalations, successfully completed our Innovate UK project, exceeding all milestones, delivered a 20 patient usability study in autumn 2021, won the Institute of Design Ireland app of the year (2021) award, won a grant to part fund our regulatory work AND another Innovate UK/ DfE award to support the clinical trial! Medical device development has notoriously long R&D cycles and our objective was to move fast and get to trial as soon as we could. It's been really hard but I'm very proud of all we've achieved in the last year.
Is there anything the AwakenHub community can do for you?
The AwakenHub community continues to play a big part in our story. From the founders to fellow members I get help and advice on the Slack channel, via Twitter, email and more recently, in actual 3D! I've benefited from the wisdom, experience and network of the Mary's - including the newly anointed global ambassador, Mary Anne Pierce - Denise, Clare and Sinead. Mary McKenna, as my first investor and champion, paved the way for others to follow, with her early conviction and that's been essential to our success. I'm happy just being a part of AwakenHub but I guess if there was more I could ask for it would be to keep on building Awaken Angels to support the foundational, transformational work of AwakenHub with much needed funding support.
Who has been your favourite guest at AwakenHub over the last year (controversial we know…) and why?
Ooh, now that's properly hard! I've only missed one event since AwakenHub started (I must be due a mug for that surely!) and each one has given me plenty of food for thought and fresh ideas to bring to my business. If I had to narrow it down to the last year I'd highlight the Next Generation Founders session for the inspirational stories of IzzyWheels. Movetru and FenuHealth. But I also loved 'Show me the Money' late last year for telling it as it is and then Drew O'Sullivan's Investor readiness masterclass just recently. It was a full on, top speed tour of all things funding and the timing was great for me as we're raising again.
As a founder - what are your non-negotiables
My key founder non-negotiable is to take time to ensure your values are aligned with cofounders, investors, advisors, partners and suppliers. Startup world brings challenges every day and you need everyone heading in the same direction so that you can get through the difficult times - and there will be loads! On the flip side, there are soooo many good people who want to help, want you to succeed and will go out of their way to do that, especially in the Irish diaspora. As an example, global supply chain issues in electronics this year meant that we couldn't obtain a key device component which jeopardised our clinical trial - no device, no study. Our network came to the rescue, with contacts as far away as Singapore, China, the US and ultimately the good people at Aerogen using their trusted supply chain to get us the missing parts that even Apple and the big car manufacturers couldn't get their hands on, saving our skin. We have a few phrases we live by but none more so than the African saying, 'It takes a village to raise a child' - it gets used a lot around here....
Website www.afloanalytics.com
Twitter @afloanalytics
