When the years change we often reflect on what we have done and achieved in the passing year, and what hopes and goals we have for the upcoming one. So here are Vigo Health founders Kristaps Krafte main learnings and takeaways from 2021 for the years to come.
Team equals growth
As for all the startup founders, it has been a lonesome journey at times, so I couldn’t be more thrilled that we are now a team of 10 – almost double the size since the start of 2021. Our in-house engineering team is now 3 people strong – two of which have relocated to Latvia, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome them and their families here. And hey, Latvia now has two additional tax payers!
The growth of our team came right on time with the new stock option policy in Latvia, one of the most “startup-friendly” in Europe, as put by tech.eu. We have since worked hard to provide our team with the best reward plan, and are proud to be amongst the first startups in Latvia to set an example on how to use stock options to attract and retain competitive talent.
Build. Test. Implement. Repeat.
With more hands on deck, our product has seen tremendous development. We have continuously added more modules on Vigo’s functional therapy, CBT and patient education – available in a form of 90-day therapy program automatically personalized to each patient’s needs and condition. Our content library of 500+ items covers multiple levels of difficulty for all stroke therapy domains; and the recently introduced automated prescription functionality saves up to 90% of a manual prescription time, making it even more convenient to shape the content into a ready-made program.
Furthermore, Vigo is now available in a total of 8 testing sites in the largest hospitals and rehabilitation centers in Riga and regionally, connecting us directly with the patients in need and providing a lot of data and ongoing feedback for further product improvements.
Patient comes first. At all times.
My core motivation for founding and running Vigo Health has always been the wellbeing and needs of stroke survivors, and the therapy accessibility is a substantial part of it. We are excited to have reached one of our main milestones from day 1 – in September 2021 we received reimbursement code from the Latvian National Health Service. Moreover, we are the first digital therapeutics in the Baltics to have done so, setting a precedent for hopefully many more innovations to follow.
This means we’re a step closer to bringing Vigo and its 90-day therapy program to the Latvian patients at no out-of-pocket cost.
Expect the unexpected
In a true startup spirit, this year brought twists that even we couldn’t foresee. As a result of a certain set of events, we began our US expansion sooner than initially planned, and with success – there has been a great deal of interest from many potential partners and healthcare providers. Keep an eye out for big news to follow!
Sifted kicked off the year by listing us as one of the Baltic startups to watch in 2021, and now looking back on the achievements of my team and our partners, I can confidently say we have filled those shoes, making this a game-changing year for Vigo Health.
To wrap this up I want to personally thank everyone who has helped us get where we are today, especially all team members and contributors, our partners at rehabilitation centres and hospitals, our current investors and most importantly all our patients for their trust and input helping us develop the best possible at-home stroke therapy program.