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The battle is on for the OKGN Angel Summit grand prize. It’s time to pick a winner.
We met one on one with the top six to hear their pitch for the top spot, which will be determined this Thursday night at Kelowna’s Innovation Centre.
Daniel Leung, founder of LivNao, is making better mental health easier and more accessible by replacing traditional, cumbersome and often inaccurate mental health assessments with a 100% passive, no-fuss solution. We recently caught up with Leung to learn more about his inspiration behind the idea, his experience as an entrepreneur and his plans to go the distance.
What problem were you trying to solve when you started LivNao?
LivNao is bringing early detection and measurement to mental health. Sixty-one per cent of the workforce is burnt out. Everything that’s being done now is reactive. It’s on the user to seek help when they realize they need it, which is often times too late. There’s also not an easy way for companies to quantify the (return on investment) of spending on individual wellness resources.
Why should people be excited about using LivNao?
Our technology has the power to do a lot of good. We started with burnout prevention, but customers told us that our product could help prevent physician suicides due to poor mental health, and uncover new relationships between environmental/behavioural factors and mental health—like how a heatwave might affect depression.
Tell us about the success you’ve found already.
We’ve signed 13 customers in a year, including the biggest tech companies and the top health-care institutions in the world. We’ve got 18 insurance companies (payers) and the biggest pharmaceutical companies knocking on our door who think we can solve their biggest problems and transform their businesses.
What kind of expertise is your team bringing to LivNao?
I built an $8 million annual recurring revenue company. Our chief of product launched and managed Uber’s core product in 17 markets. Our chief of technology improved Alexa’s recognition accuracy by 6% at Amazon’s Lab126. More importantly, we’ve worked together before, so we know we’re on the same page in collectively growing LivNao to make a positive impact in the world.
How do you see your company growing?
We’re very excited to explore new ways our technology can be used. We’ve been approached by transportation companies to see how we can help them reduce CO2 emissions by keeping pilots and captains healthy. Construction companies want to use our technology to reduce workplace injuries caused by fatigue and poor mental health. A space agency even thinks our technology can help keep their astronauts sane on their 440-day journey to Mars.
What would the $155,000 investment mean for your company?
The $155,000 would allow us to grow our team so that we can launch faster for our customers. This means faster feedback, allowing us to iterate and build the best possible product for the market.
What has this experience taught you about the entrepreneurial journey?
As an entrepreneur, you have to think with what I like to call the “full send” mentality. Everything is what you make out of it, so you just have to step out of your comfort zone and commit. Throughout the process, you also have to open yourself up for feedback and advice to grow.
What advice would you give to entrepreneurs who want to participate next year?
Approach it the same way you should be building your business. Talk to the investors before the pitch, get their feedback, then iterate. This helps you make sure you deliver a pitch that resonates with the audience.
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