A Chat with Dr Mridula Pore, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Digital Healthcare Platform: Peppy

Dr Mridula Pore

My name is Dr Mridula Pore, I’m the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Peppy. After studying chemical engineering at Cambridge, I got my PhD from MIT and an MBA from MIT Sloan.

Since then, I have spent my career driving innovations in healthcare to make it more accessible and affordable. Prior to moving into the world of startups,  I was a business unit head at Novartis group and a senior engagement manager at McKinsey.

Peppy plugs the gaps in traditional healthcare. From big life events to everyday lifestyle, many areas of healthcare are underserved – like going through the menopause, experiencing fertility treatment and having a baby. That’s why we created Peppy, the first-of-its-kind app that gives employees personalised support.

So what is it? Peppy is a digital platform that connects you to real health experts. Through our mobile app, and at a time that suits you, you can have a chat conversation, a video consultation, join a live event or watch a video from one of our specialist nurses, counsellors, consultants, or other health professionals. It’s available free of charge to the end user, funded by their employer. Peppy is confidential, trusted and safe.

It helps employers give their people expert support during some of the most personal health issues they can experience. Without support, these can impact people’s wellbeing, performance and engagement at work.

Our aim is to turn tipping points into turning points.

 
 
Peppy Health - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding
 

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

 

Peppy was founded by three like-minded individuals – myself, Evan Harris and Max Landry. We all experienced that ‘Oh wow!’ moment of bringing a baby home for the first time with a mixture of excitement and terror, and we saw an opportunity to offer a solution for organisations looking to better support their people through it. And so Peppy was born.

It has now expanded beyond early parenthood, and two of our most used services are fertility and menopause support. Last year, we added Men’s Health. This service is specifically for men who – as data shows – remain reluctant to visit their GP, especially if it impacts on their work time. With Peppy, they can access experts confidentially and 24/7, at the touch of a button. We will also be widening our offering within the next few months to cover a plethora of men’s and women’s health issues.

 

 

How has the company evolved during the pandemic?

 

Growth was already very strong pre-pandemic, but it has been accelerated. Our team has grown by over 1000% in the last 12 months, with a 1400% increase in users and an 800% increase in revenue.

Companies like Santander, Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Aviva, BNP Paribas, Capgemini and Wickes have added Peppy to their employee benefits packages. In the last few weeks, AXA Health has become another major health insurer to provide Peppy alongside its more ‘traditional’ benefits to its clients.

Talking to some of these companies, it’s clear that major employers have become more accustomed to taking responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their employees during Covid. They are also aware that if they don’t support people facing personal health or fertility challenges, they stand to lose good talent just when experienced workers are most needed for post-pandemic recovery.

 

What can we hope to see from Peppy in the future?

 

Over the coming months, we will be expanding our offering to support an even wider section of the workforce, by supporting more women and men’s health challenges that are often underserved by traditional healthcare.