A trio of Bristol graduates who developed an app to improve families’ wellbeing and happiness have crowdfunded £144,000.
Famli was founded by University of the West of England (UWE) grads Benjamin Draper, 25, William Testeil, 25, and Luke Greenwood, 27, to encourage families to take care of their mental health.
The app is focused on exercise, nutrition and wellness, and has more than 200 activities that allow families to build healthier habits into their daily routines. Each family member can design their own avatar, complete levels and access rewards.
The founders will use the cash to expand the company’s offering to primary schools, supporting teachers with the wellbeing curriculum.
“We know that family life is busy and that it’s a struggle to get kids to try new things without a fight,” said Mr Draper. “But with our animated and gamified experience, we’re making kids excited about eating their veg, playing games outside and taking care of their mental health.
“With so many of today’s wellbeing apps focused on individuals, we wanted to create something for the family unit, leveraging that readymade support network based on mutual encouragement and fun.”
Famli’s latest crowdfunding round closed at more than double its target of £70,000, and was supported by Innovate UK EDGE Innovation and growth specialist Giulia Pratico. Innovate UK EDGE design thinking specialist Sarah Dickins has also provided support to the firm.
“We started working with Giulia in January 2021 when we won Innovate UK’s Young Innovators Award, and the support has been absolutely invaluable,” explained Mr Draper. “We’ve been able to understand our customers on a much deeper level, develop a marketing strategy that can fuel growth and prepare for investment and grant funding.”
He added: “With Sarah’s support, we were able to ask the right questions and develop a deep, objective understanding of what the app needs to deliver in schools. Those findings helped us focus on user-centric design principles and we now have interest from more than 20 schools in the South West.”
Famli’s crowdfunding success follows a £50,000 Innovate UK grant, secured as a follow-on to the Young Innovators Award, with support from Innovate UK EDGE funding specialist Adele Reynolds.
The company is now planning to expand nationally and internationally. According to the firm, clinicians in Sweden have identified Famli as a way to prevent childhood obesity, while eight primary schools in Spain have requested access to the app. More than 9,000 families around the world have now downloaded the app.
