19. Live Better With

Founder: Tamara Rajah
Founded: August 2015 (launched September 2015)
Website: livebetterwith.com

Every two minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer, equating to almost 1,000 people every day.

And, while those with cancer will receive vital care such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, what often goes untreated are the debilitating side effects that come with it.

For serial entrepreneur and healthcare professional Tamara Rajah, this realisation sparked the business idea for Live Better With.

An e-commerce platform, Live Better With enables cancer patients to review and buy products specifically for their symptoms – products which they might otherwise have never heard about.

Covering nausea, hair loss, brain fog, itchy skin, difficulty swallowing, incontinence, discomfort, difficulty sleeping and more, Live Better With boasts a selection of products for every problem. For instance, you can find lotions and food supplements, mobility aids and informative books.

Patient-focused and community-based, the site – which is making its second appearance in the Startups 100 index – features only products which have been recommended by those also living with cancer. Not only that, but Rajah says a 70,000-strong community of patients, bloggers, charities, doctors, and nurses informs everything Live Better With does.

The website has truly resonated with its audience, with over 40,000 patients having bought products and more than 2.5m people from across 40 countries having visited the site.

And recent months have seen some hugely exciting developments for Live Better With.

It has launched a brick-and-mortar retail store in Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, and is now focusing in on other conditions with unpleasant symptoms such as the menopause. Live Better With Menopause launched in February 2018.

Balancing a crucial social mission with a for-profit business model, we look forward to seeing Live Better With continue to tackle long-term conditions and provide a long-overdue source of relief for those suffering with awful symptoms.