Our investment in Inflow
Investment thesis
- Around 10% of the global population is affected by ADHD, a life-long disorder which impacts the ability to focus and concentrate.
- Digital therapeutics have been used successfully to treat broader mental health conditions, such as depression and addiction, but ADHD has been underserved.
- Inflow offers that dedicated service, specifically addressing the needs of people with ADHD.
- The service is aimed at users who have struggled to get access to specialist help, or who are looking for treatment other than powerful medication with far-reaching side effects.
- While many digital therapeutics businesses focus on B2B distribution, often as a workplace benefit, Inflow goes directly to consumers, through channels such as Facebook and TikTok.
- This way, the company is able to address the huge global population of individuals affected by ADHD.
- In the future, the company aims to expand its treatment to cover a wider set of neurological differences, including autism, dyslexia, OCD and Tourette’s syndrome.
Who are the pioneers?
Co-founders Seb Issacs and Levi Epstein met whilst completing their Masters in Computer Science at Imperial University. With shared, direct and indirect experience of ADHD, they were inspired to solve for the challenges sufferers face on a daily basis.
In the summer of 2021, the duo went through the Y Combinator accelerator programme, launching Inflow on its journey to become the leading digital therapeutics solution for ADHD support.
They’re supported by Dr George Sachs, a clinical psychologist with over a decade of experience treating children and adults with ADHD.
Why us?
As a registered B-Corp, Octopus Ventures is dedicated to backing the people, ideas and industries that are changing the world – and the founders looking to harness the force of business for the better. Building a better world means supporting individuals and empowering them with the help they need to thrive. It also means exploring technology, not just leveraging it for maximum convenience, but asking how it can be used as a tool to improve health around the world.
We’ve long been firm believers in the power of digital therapies to help people. We backed Pelago (formerly Quit Genius), because we recognised the impact they were having in managing addiction, we’ve also supported Big Health as their insomnia product, Sleepio, has become one of the NHS’ first lines of treatment for insomnia. Now, we’re delighted to support Inflow as it brings the power of digital therapeutics to bear on a hitherto underserved condition.
We’ll be working closely with the team as they look to secure the talent they need to help their brilliant business to scale, and look forward to seeing the difference they make – as they look outwards from ADHD to tackle other life-disrupting conditions.