Interview with Elizabeth Tikoyan from Healp
Hello everyone, hope you are all well. It has been too long since our last post! We promise to be more active going forward... Continuing with our interview series, I recently had the chance to chat with Elizabeth Tikoyan from Healp, a health-focused social network startup. Elizabeth founded Healp in 2018 and is based in Washington DC. She has been an entrepreneur at Hye Combinator for nearly a year now. And once you’re done reading the interview, go download the Healp app!
My interview with Elizabeth below…
HC: Thank you for taking the time Elizabeth! Why don’t we start with you giving us a brief overview of your background.
ET: Great. I was born in the Washington D.C. Metro area and graduated from Northern Virginia Community College Summa Cum Laude and then transferred to University of Virginia where I graduated with high honors, and was inducted into the Raven Society, the most prestigious honorary society. I was awarded Student Entrepreneur of the Year by Charlottesville Business Council and am a Forbes Under 30 Scholar.
While I was in high school, I was misdiagnosed for over 4 years, which inspired me to found Healp - a health tech platform that crowdsources what works. I started Healp while attending UVA full-time, and have been full-time ever since.
HC: Interesting. Talk about your startup - what problem are you solving?
ET: 80% of internet users have looked for information about health-related topics online, but the patient voice is missing. We love doctors, but they don't try what they prescribe, patients do. Where can patients share what works for them, and also find support from other patients? The only way people could get information about treatments is through doctors, clinical trials, pharmacists or anecdotal stories on social media forums and/or friends.
Healp found a need to step in. Healp is a health tech platform that crowdsources what works. The first feature of our platform is a social network that connects people 1-1 with the same health condition. The second feature is our discovery page where users take a survey, we collect all the solutions that work for each medical condition from best doctors, tips, advice. We then aggregate this information and and then publish the results.
Our platform does more than just bring people together -- it also provides valuable information for patients that doctors and medical textbooks can't provide.
HC: I would definitely be an avid user of Healp! So who is your target customer? How do you size the market?
ET: We have two kinds of users - our most loyal and our loyal. Our most loyal are those who have chronic conditions and rare diseases. Our loyal users would be members with temporary symptoms / medical conditions. In fact, 80% of Internet users, or about 93 million Americans, have searched for a health-related topic online, and these kinds of users would be able to come to Healp to get answers about their health from real people. We are targeting college students with chronic health conditions. Up to 15 -20% of US young people live with a chronic medical condition.
HC: What are the key differentiators for Healp vs. any others in the market?
ET: Our company's appeal to young patients in the health-tech space sets us apart from our competitors, who typically cater to older demographics. Younger generations typically regard online health platforms as unappealing, so we have a competitive advantage by capitalizing on our user base's natural enthusiasm for social media and crowdsourced medical information.
In addition, we are both a social network and a crowdsourcing tool, so people can get one-to-one interaction between peers and our partners (NGOs, advocacy groups, health groups, etc.), and learn from the collective experiences of our community.
With that, most platforms for patients are either social networks used for socializing/ chatting or those where patients can discover new treatments and reviews that have been curated by doctors and researchers. There hasn’t been a patient-led health network that combines social networking and crowdsourcing - we do both seamlessly.
HC: Can you talk about the traction the company is having so far, and what are your milestones for the next 12-24 months?
ET: We have a waitlist of over 9,000 people from over 72 countries, and are about to launch Healp in the coming weeks. We have partnered with over 375+ health influencers with a 4 million person reach, and have over 40K followers across social media with our content being viewed over 12 million times. We have also been awarded Invention of the Year by Technicially, recognized by Senator Mark Warner and the Departments of Health and Human Services, and have been featured on USA Today, iHeart Radio, Fox 5 News, Washingtonian, ABC 7 News and over 70 news outlets.
In the coming months, we plan to build our partnership pipeline with both universities, health groups, hospitals, NGOs and the likes, and plan to be across colleges and hospitals in the coming months as the first peer support app for patients.
HC: That’s great traction… when did you know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
ET: I was always inspired by entrepreneurs, but I really jumped into it in high school. While my friends went to camps or traveled in the summer, I started building an environmentally-friendly tampon line that would have funny quotes in each tampon pack. After hundreds of calls with manufacturers who were utterly confused with the “young child” who was on the other end, I managed to secure a deal with a manufacturer in the Midwest for our first prototypes.
I spent hours on YouTube and Google to learn everything I could and would ask the hosts of local startup events if I could attend meetups to network. Unfortunately, my health took a downward turn in high school and I couldn't continue with the idea, but I have always been entrepreneurial and the second I healed, I was ready to pursue my next idea (which led to Healp!).
HC: What motivates you?
ET: Knowing I’m making a tangible difference in patients' lives everyday. I was extremely embarrassed about my life as a patient and the toll it took on me - I needed medical aids to get around, had a severe speech impediment, paralysis on the right side of my body, etc. It took many years to find the confidence in myself to embrace what happened, the milestones I missed and the years of my youth I lost.
There are many young patients who felt the same way I did and still feel that way, and many more suffer in silence. It gives me deep pride to know that the work we do helps patients all around the world not only feel less alone in their journeys, but also feel confident and prepared with information on how to handle situations that only other patients have experienced.
HC: That is so inspiring… What has been the biggest surprise for you in your entrepreneurial journey?
ET: The biggest surprise came when I saw how many people were willing to help me out. But the caveat is that you have to be willing to put yourself out there. Go to events and introduce yourself to everyone, including panelists who aren't in your vertical. Successful people are friends with other successful people, and if the person you're speaking with can't help you, maybe he or she knows someone who can. It's surprising who is willing to help you.
There are mentors behind the scenes that I never thought would give me the time of day. Now, they are in my circle supporting my work. Even when you don't think they will say yes, ASK —you never know, one yes could be the opportunity that changes your life.
HC: What have you underestimated in your entrepreneurial journey?
ET: It can take longer than you expect to get a startup off the ground, so do not be frustrated if progress is slower than you anticipate.
HC: Makes sense. What do you enjoy most about it?
ET: There is nothing as rewarding as having an idea that was in your mind finally out in people's hands and getting feedback about how it is helping them.
HC: What advice do you have for others looking to start their own company? What do you wish someone would have told you?
ET: First, always take chances: you never know who will give you the opportunity that will change your life. Second, don't spend a single penny on building a product without testing your idea with your target customers. Test often by showing your prototypes and have your target customers give you input on whether you're going in the right direction or not, and listen to their feedback. If you fail to do this part and just start building your product, you'll make the most expensive mistake. Don't ever assume anything; test all your assumptions.
HC: How do you define success in your startup? What quantitative or qualitative metrics are you focused on?
ET: We are focused on the number of patients that see benefit from our startup, but also the quality of our crowdsourced data so that we could use this information to help other patients who are seeking answers from the experiences of other patients.
HC: How did you find Hye Combinator? What have you found most useful? Where can we improve?
ET: I found Hye Combinator while doing a Google search for resources and opportunities for Armenian founders. The community is so welcoming and warm, and I really appreciate the willingness of the community to support you at any time you have an ask. I would love to see more scheduled meetings and mind-shares with like-minded founders, and learn from each other's experiences.
HC: We are happy to help, and understood. Where can potential users sign up for Healp?
ET: You can download our app in the Apple or Google Play stores. The name is: Healp: Your Health Community. You can also check us out online at: https://www.healp.co
HC: If people would like to get in touch with you - invest, partner, etc. - how can they?
ET: You can always connect with me on LinkedIn: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/etikoyan/) or email: elizabeth@healp.co.