Startup Stories: Blueheart Co-founder, Sachin Raoul

I set up Blueheart in 2019 after my own personal struggle to find the right support. I knew that so many people will feel the psychological toll sex can have on their relationships as well as their mental health, and it felt that there were almost no widely available services helping with this important issue.

You can do therapy, but it’s so expensive and access is extremely limited, meaning it’s been relatively inaccessible to those who can’t afford it. That didn’t seem right to me, that so many people struggle with these problems and can’t get help. I wanted to democratize access, so other people wouldn’t have to struggle to find support like I did.
 

“So many taboos exist around sex, and these cause millions of people pain every day.”

 
But almost every sexual issue, myth and taboo can be debunked, understood and addressed using therapy. I wanted to use tech to create a solution.

I started doing some research and found that there were amazing digital solutions for mental health issues, such as anxiety & depression, but no one was offering digital sex therapy. I was shocked. I emailed every top sex expert I could find to make sure I wasn’t missing something. Dr Hertlein messaged me back in about 2 hours saying, ‘Call me’. And that was it.

Since that pivotal moment, I met my genius (and I don’t use that word lightly) co-founder Robbie on the Antler VC accelerator programme. In two months we’d raised pre-seed funding and had Blueheart out on the Play and App Stores. In four months we’d had testimonials saying how we completely changed the lives of some of our early beta users. By month six, we’d closed £1m of seed funding from two brilliant VCs. Our team has gone from two to eight within a year (and counting) and we’ve already attracted thousands of users. It has been an amazing journey.
 

 

What is Blueheart?

Blueheart is an empowering new app designed to democratise access to sex therapy and help people overcome sexual dysfunction.

The app delivers quality therapy informed by the latest scientific research and created with a world-renowned therapist, sexuality educator and expert advisor at Blueheart, Dr Katherine Hertlein. Our aim is to help couples and individuals resolve sex-related issues using proven therapy techniques, whilst tearing down the financial, emotional and psychological barriers that often put traditional therapy out of reach.

Our sessions are navigated digitally via an app using audio and written materials. They target key areas at the heart of the issue. They include teaching you how to communicate better, reconnect with your body and learn about sexual psychology.
 

How is Blueheart different from its competitors?

 
We started Blueheart because we want to provide a safe space for those experiencing sexual dysfunction. Blueheart is different because it offers science-backed therapy techniques to address sexual dysfunction as opposed to wellness exercises, that are often generalised. We’re helping people who don’t know where to turn for help with their sex-related issues to provide them practical answers and exercises to tackle the challenges they face. Sexual dysfunction is still such a taboo topic and we want to provide a safe space for people to address the issues they have around sex and regain control over the sex lives.

What does the future hold for Blueheart?

 
We’re currently working on making the platform more personalized, to really target the specific issues people have. The first tranche of content is directed at heterosexual couples who are experiencing sex drive discrepancy (differing sex drives!).

We want to be inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities so we can help more people, especially those that have historically been excluded from research and therapy. Over the next few months, we’ll be working with our expert advisor Dr Katherine Hertlein to expand the dysfunctions we treat within the app and reach as many diverse audiences as possible.