A London health-tech startup is planting roots in the Queen City.
myAllergy, founded five years ago by Mit Sharma, aims to be the world's largest online resource to help people gain control over their allergy by finding foods they can both eat and enjoy.
Sharma said the concept for myAllergy was born out of his personal experience with his young daughter's food allergies. As she was weaned from milk to solid food, she began displaying severe allergic reactions and was rushed to the hospital. Tests determined she was allergic to many things, including wheat, dairy, sesame seeds, peanuts and avocado.
"It was deeply frustrating and quite draining," he said. "All you want to do as a parent is feed your child."
Trying to find food she could eat and also liked was difficult, and resources beyond leaflets and internet searches were lacking.
"I had that lightbulb and thought, wouldn’t it be great to create a profile where I can put in what I’m allergic to and have resources at my fingertips?" he said. "That was the trigger. I started doing a lot of research and speaking to parents and providers. The more I did, the more I realized, this is huge. There are so many people suffering from this, and the services are so inadequate."
Sharma said he's spent the last five years researching and gathering data, as well as talking to schools, teachers and physicians. He and partner CTO Adam Ring have completed an initial seed round of funding and are looking to raise an additional $500,000.
Last year, myAllergy was selected for the IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator, which was hosted in Charlotte in November. They were one of 15 early-stage startups from around the globe to participate.
While in Charlotte, Sharma said he and Ring were introduced to the folks at Queen City Fintech who connected them to industry leaders.
"Speaking to local businesses, banks and others, it was clear that the market here is pretty significant. There are $25 billion in economic effects due to food allergies in the United States," he said.
Ring and Sharma decided it was time to make a move to the states and chose Charlotte as its landing pad. The pair worked with QC Fintech to secure office space in their facility, which will serve as the company's new headquarters.
"They're really helping us get a foothold in the states. It seems to be dramatically more, in terms of the number of people who suffer from food allergies in the U.S.," Sharma said. "Before QC Fintech I wouldn’t have known how to launch the product in the states. In Europe what’s really hard for us is people are much more risk averse. In the states, people are much more willing to take a gamble and try stuff out."
myAllergy reconnected with QC Fintech on Thursday, where the startup was one of several to pitch virtually during QC's Healthtech Summit. Kaitlin Carpenter, QC Fintech program director, said the companies involved were chosen based on their quick response and resiliency throughout the pandemic.
"myAllergy was a unique case because it was Mit's personal story and struggles that we wanted to highlight," she said. "As important as it is to discuss the economic impact of everything that's happened, it's also important to talk about the mental effect it has on people, particularly entrepreneurs."
She added, "It's not a common topic of many conferences or summits, so we thought it crucial to bring up during our event."
Sharma gave a first-hand account of how Covid-19 impacted not only his businesses, but his own health and the health of his family. He was diagnosed with the virus at the end of April, and for several weeks, his health was touch and go.
"It was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced, like a cold burning inside my lungs. You can feel it attacking your system," he told Inno. "At the time it was really scary. It’s the first time you look at your mortality, so to speak."
Despite the setbacks, Sharma said their plans for myAllergy haven't changed. He and Ring are still working on plans to move their headquarters to Charlotte, with Ring relocating and Sharma splitting his time.
"We’re kind of stuck where we are right now; we physically have to be where we are," he said. "It's really going to depend on how the pandemic plays out and also the funding aspect of things, but if we get funding tomorrow, we would want to set up shop ASAP."
