9. Birdie

Founders: Mac Parmentier, Rajiv Tanna, Gwen Lecalvez, Abeed Mohamed
Founded: 2017
Website: www.birdie.care

Although the pandemic has brought the challenges facing the NHS to the fore, the UK healthcare system being overwhelmed and underfunded is, of course, a long-held and enduring national problem.

Identifying that 60% of the NHS budget was spent on people aged over 65 (£70bn annually), Birdie founders Max Parmentier, Rajiv Tanna, Abeed Mohammed and Gwen Le Calvez sought to create a digital solution to this problem that would prevent older adults needing institutional care for as long as possible.

Identifying that 60% of the NHS budget was spent on people aged over 65 (£70bn annually), the Birdie founders sought to create a digital solution to this problem.

The software digitalises all health reports and information associated with elder care at home, meaning this information can be communicated in real time, but can also be fed into an algorithm that helps to predict emergency cases in advance of them happening, which, according to Birdie, means 40% fewer hospital admissions for elderly people.

With both public and private healthcare systems in the UK continuing to face unprecedented strain, it’s representative of the times that a preventative healthcare solution like Birdie appears alongside several health-tech, ‘agetech’ and care-oriented businesses on the Startups 100 in 2021.

This could also go some way in explaining Birdie’s rise up the ranking, having featured in position 98 in 2020 – although its 8x year-on-year revenue growth certainly helped on this front, too.

An ageing population and a sharper focus on preventative healthcare can only mean huge potential for this business.

Ultimately, ensuring that the elderly people in our society are treated with dignity and respect is at the heart of the Birdie mission – an ageing population and sharper focus on preventative healthcare can only mean huge potential for this business.