Wildflower Heatlh’s start-up savvy founders, Leah Sparks and Kathy Bellevin, knew they needed to prove their mobile app concept in order to attract investors. “This phase was vital in securing our initial funding . . . “ explained Leah.
With just enough capital to develop their concept for a mobile app to support women through pregnancy, Kathy and Leah tapped Coherent Solutions. The initial, free-to-consumers version of Due Date Plus provides pregnant women with tips on self-care and standard medical advice to address a wide range of common health concerns during pregnancy.
Having served as the technical engine behind dozens of start-ups, Coherent met Wildflower’s tight timeline and budget in just ten weeks. Kathy was impressed with the team’s background in healthcare and their willingness to provide input. “Everyone on the team contributes to thinking through feature implementation,” she said.
The proof-of-concept worked. In the first year more than 50,000 women downloaded the free version of Due Date Plus. Wildflower measured usage and gathered feedback on content and features. Armed with this data, Kathy and Leah were able to show both investors and healthcare payers how the app could save money and improve outcomes by helping women manage simple pregnancy concerns on their own or with minimal medical intervention. Going further, the enterprise version of the app helps women identify more serious issues, leading them to seek medical attention early for better results.
Due Date Plus has been a win for both users and the healthcare system, and Wildflower Health is on track developing several new apps with the help of Coherent as their technical engine.