Rowing most likely isn’t good in your again. But it may very well be good for what you are promoting. Or so goes the founder story of Finn Stevenson.
The 33-year-old was an expert rower for 3 years as much as 2018, competing out of Henley’s Leander Club. He moved on and labored at robotics unicorn CMR Surgical, when Stevenson developed again ache “and I realised that, exterior of elite sport, entry to physiotherapy was both prohibitively costly or concerned months of ready.
“I needed to discover a technique to carry that stage of entry to everybody, which grew to become the catalyst for Flok: utilizing know-how to make distinctive care out there at scale.”
Stevenson met Ric da Silva, who grew to become his co-founder at AI physio, Flok, in 2022, while each labored at CMR Surgical. “Ric was one among their first engineering hires. I used to be one of many first business hires and arrange the corporate’s first surgical programmes within the NHS. Between us we noticed the journey from seed to $3 billion valuation and 1000 individuals – we realized rather a lot.”
The duo determined to work on digital physiotherapy that went past symptom checkers or primary workout routines. “We needed to construct a completely autonomous AI clinic that would safely handle a affected person’s whole therapy pathway. That meant tackling robust know-how and regulatory challenges – together with growing a brand new domain-specific programming language to encode medical reasoning, and dealing intently with UK regulatory frameworks [including health regulators CQC and MHRA] to get authorised certification.”
Flok works as sufferers make video calls with Flok’s AI physiotherapist, Kirsty.
“She’s an actual human physiotherapist who joined our crew in 2023. Rather than utilizing an impassive avatar, our AI manipulates video footage of Kirsty in real-time to reply to what our sufferers are saying and doing. This creates a extra participating and credible expertise, with actual rapport and emotion,” Stevenson says, “however it does result in some humorous moments when individuals go to our workplace and are shocked to find that Kirsty is ‘actual’.”
Flok raised £3.2 million in pre-seed funding led by Eka Ventures, with angels together with Indeed.com founder Paul Forster; it additionally scooped an Innovate UK Smart Grant to help scaling. After regulatory approvals in 2023, the duo deployed pilot research “at growing ranges of scale” in 2024.
When Flok secured Class IIa Medical Device approval within the UK and EU, it was the primary time AI was authorised to triage and deal with medical points with out human intervention.
As of this 12 months, the agency – which relies on the outskirts of Cambridge – is revenue-generating, working with the NHS throughout the UK and reaching three million sufferers thus far. An preliminary deal with again ache has now expanded to hip and knee ache, and girls’s pelvic well being situations.
Sceptics will query whether or not AI, with zero human intervention, could be a treating medic. But Stevenson responds that Flok’s trials present that almost all sufferers want the comfort of on-demand appointments, and 80% of customers discovered the service to be “equal or higher” than conventional face-to-face physiotherapy.
“For many [musculoskeletal] situations, accessing efficient therapy early and regularly sufficient issues greater than the place that therapy takes place,” Stevenson provides.
In distinction to Flok’s personal distant work, the 21-strong crew behind it really works in-person at the least 4 days per week: “it’s key to our tradition and tempo,” Stevenson provides.
“By giving individuals same-day entry and a transparent, consistently personalised therapy pathway, we assist them get well sooner – and clinicians can deal with instances that require hands-on care. It’s a protracted recreation although, and we’re nonetheless simply warming up.”
Co-founder dynamics: learn how to keep away from all out struggle, by investor Antler’s Adam French
Getting co-founder dynamics proper will be key to an organization’s success, says Adam French, of early-stage VC Antler, who right here shares his ideas for a easy partnership.
1. Start with values, not simply abilities
Understand why every of you is founding an organization. Is it about altering the world, reaching monetary independence, or proving your self? Misaligned motivations are the hidden landmines in co-founder relationships.
2. Embrace complementary weaknesses
The finest founding groups aren’t mirror pictures. Map out 10 key startup capabilities and fee yourselves actually. Where one founder scores 2/10, the opposite must be 8/10. Complementary spikes create an entire crew, however overlapping strengths create ego battles.
3. Ask uncomfortable questions early
How many hours per week are you keen to work? What’s the worst interpersonal battle you’ve got handled? How did you deal with it? These awkward conversations are cheaper than a messy breakup later.
Start with espresso chats about motivations, then collaborative initiatives to check working chemistry. Finally stress-test by way of thought improvement and battle eventualities.
5. Build vulnerability into the method
Adapt the well-known “36 Questions to Fall in Love” in your co-founder relationship. Go past surface-level chat. Questions like “If we needed to dissolve this enterprise tomorrow, what would you remorse not having accomplished collectively?” reveal whether or not you will be genuinely open with one another.
6. Spot warning indicators earlier than they turn out to be deadly
Watch for: avoiding tough conversations about fairness or roles; misaligned time commitments; incompatible working kinds or one individual dominating choices.
When co-founder battle emerges, do not let it fester. Schedule a dialog away from the workplace. Name what you are observing: “I really feel like we’re not speaking as brazenly as we used to.” Getting it on the desk is half the battle.
8. Return to your founding ideas
What drawback have been you each captivated with fixing? Conflicts usually come up not since you’ve modified basically, however since you’ve drifted into reactive mode and overpassed your unique shared imaginative and prescient.
9. Bring in a mediator (earlier than it is too late)
Don’t wait till the connection is unsalvageable. Involve a trusted advisor when tensions are excessive however decision nonetheless appears potential. An exterior perspective might help you see patterns which have turn out to be too emotionally charged to navigate alone.
10. Know when to chop losses gracefully
Sometimes, regardless of finest efforts, it would not work. If the connection is actively harming the enterprise, it is higher to half methods professionally than to tug it out. A clear break with mutual respect is infinitely higher than a poisonous surroundings that kills the corporate.
