Why I started a business (even though I didn’t plan to)

When the pandemic hit, like most of us, I spent a lot of time thinking about how on Earth we could do better next time. 

Every day, the headlines were a mix of numbers, restrictions, and too-late warnings. We always seemed to be reacting instead of staying ahead. And I knew from my work in wastewater engineering that there was this hidden, overlooked resource that could give us an edge: sewage. 

Yes, it’s not the most glamorous origin story. But here’s the thing: people shed viruses and bacteria in their toilet before they even feel sick.

That means, if you can test wastewater, you can get a heads-up on outbreaks days in advance. Those extra days? They can save lives,  prevent chaos, and keep communities running. 

The lightbulb moment

During COVID-19, I worked with organisations to detect the virus in wastewater. It worked, but the process was painfully slow, manual, and only really being used for big, centralised efforts like national surveillance, not for everyday communities. 

That’s when the thought landed: what if we could automate it? If you could have a simple system at the local level, a care home, a school, an office, even a farm, you could turn sewage into an early warning system for infectious diseases. 

It wouldn’t just be for pandemics. It could help stop seasonal bugs, protect vulnerable people, and help save organisations huge amounts of money by reducing sick leave.

Our very first case study was in an office where some of the leadership team were  immunocompromised due to cancer. They were deeply aware of how risky it could be to come to work if something was spreading. 

With our early prototype, we were able to detect days when there was a higher risk on site and help them plan to work from home, or shift meetings online. 

When we saw the data match the reality, it felt like magic. It was proof that this wasn’t just a good idea in theory – it could genuinely protect people. 

The messy middle

I wish I could say we built the technology in a few months and hit the ground running. In reality,  it was slow, messy, and full of new starts.

Wastewater testing is not like building an app. You’re dealing with unpredictable samples,  environmental conditions, and complex biology. We had to figure out how to take something  that had always been manual and lab-based and turn it into an automated, on-site process that  anyone could run. 

There were weeks when it felt like we were getting nowhere, and months when it felt like we were learning more about what not to do, than what to do. But the belief that this could change how we monitor health kept us going. 

Fast forward to today, and Untap Health is live at sites across the UK. Our technology now uses automated, on-site wastewater testing to detect the presence of infectious diseases like COVID-19, influenza, norovirus, and other key pathogens before symptoms appear. 

We’re working with customers in healthcare, education, agriculture, and public venues. The data we provide gives them the power to act early – to prevent outbreaks, protect wellbeing, and reduce costs. 

Our vision is to create a real-time “health map” that shows what’s circulating in communities before it becomes a crisis. 

What I’ve learned since becoming an entrepreneur

Before Untap Health, I was working in innovation for a UK wastewater engineering firm, leading European licensing arrangements. 

I wasn’t dreaming of starting a business, but I saw the size of the problem and the gap in the market, and it became clear that if I wanted to make a difference, I’d have to build the solution myself. 

I joined Entrepreneurs First, found the support to test and push the idea further, and before I knew it, I’d gone from engineer to founder. 

If there’s one piece of advice I’d share with other founders, it’s this: stay obsessed with the problem, not the solution. 

The solution will change (ours has, countless times). But if you keep digging into the real pain points your customers feel, whilst not losing sight of why you’re solving them, you’ll find your way through the false starts and dead ends. 

The best part of entrepreneurship? For me, it’s the impact. Every time I see our system help a community act early, or a customer tells us we’ve kept people safe, I’m reminded why the late nights, uncertainty and slow progress are worth it. 

We’re not just building tech. We’re building resilience into how communities respond to health threats. It all started with an idea in the middle of a pandemic… and a willingness to look for answers in the most unexpected places.

Claire Trant, CEO and Founder of Untap Health

Claire holds a PhD in Material Science and Engineering, MSc in Petroleum Geophysics, and BSc in Experimental Physics from Imperial College London. Her career has spanned Rolls-Royce, consulting for FTSE 100 energy firms, and driving innovation in wastewater engineering. She founded Untap Health in 2021 to develop a system that enables communities and industries to get ahead of infectious disease outbreaks through real-time health monitoring.<br />

Learn more about Untap Health