Startup Series: Meet Clear, the company personalizing your nutrition

Here we are, 2020. New year, new decade, new you right? Your resolution this year is the same as every year, to eat healthier and have a better diet. You've got the brown rice, chicken and green veg meal prepped for the next month and you're feeling good that you're going to stick to it this year. Thing is...What if that brown rice, chicken and veg is actually not responding well with your body?

hayden-young-yingzhao-zhu

Hayden Young;Yingzhao Zhu

For years we've been told that certain foods are good for us and certain ones are bad as a flat rule. The thing is, recent research does not support this. We've been lead to think that what is healthy for one is healthy for all. Instead, the research shows that everyone responds to food in entirely their own way.

We've been fed a food falsehood (pun intended).

Rising from the ashes of this research is a shift on how we think about and approach nutrition. One of the companies pioneering this shift is Antler portfolio company, Clear.

The name is fully intentional. Clear remove the shroud of mystery over what foods are actually good for YOU so that you can know which foods provide you the optimal energy to perform at your best and it's frustratingly simple to find out...

Your response to food is personal.

— PIET HEIN VAN DAM, CEO & CO-FOUNDER OF CLEAR

The quote above was at the core of Clear's messaging during CEO & co-founder, Piet Hein's recent pitch at the inaugural Antler Amsterdam Demo Day, which you can view below:

So how does Clear work?

Clear isn't just a company sprouting some new health theories based on research. Their tagline is: "real-time precision nutrition" and they provide just that.

They bring every customer who signs up for their service into a three-week-long program. During this period, aptly named "The Clear Health Program" the user has a small white chip implanted into the side of their arm, to measure the user's blood glucose levels.

Inside the chip is a monitor that the user then registers to an app on their phone. Every time you eat something, you log the food in the app and then touch the phone to the monitor. Within 15 minutes you get a read out of just how this food has affected your blood glucose levels.

Let's have a look:

Above are actual screenshots from the monitoring app. The charts show the user's blood glucose level throughout the day (the green bar is your optimal glucose level). On the left, you can see lots of peaks and valleys meaning this person is eating foods that are causing their blood sugar to spike and then drop dramatically. This leads to feelings of tiredness which Clear states can overtime lead to feelings of burnout at work and further on, to obesity.

On the right side, you can see an example from someone who has gone through the program. After being brought out of the dark about what foods are best for them, they have been able to keep their blood glucose levels at a much more healthy range, meaning they have sustained energy levels throughout the day. After the end of the 3 weeks, Clear provides you with a personalized nutrition plan so that you can maintain this going forward.

The most striking part is that what may be causing these spikes on the left side could be foods you have always thought to be the most healthy for you (like that brown rice I mentioned earlier). Indeed, Piet Hein always starts off every new batch of users with what he calls "The Banana Test" to prove exactly this point:

"During our program, we choose one day at which we all do the banana test. Everybody eats a banana and we simply compare results. We will see that the individual responses to this simple test will range from "a good food for you" (low glycemic response) to a "you better avoid this" (high glycemic response)," says Piet Hein. The variations are quite striking in a food you always thought was healthy for you.

The Clear program provides more than diet advice through an interactive community support (a WhatsApp communication group, online and offline events), as well as individualized nutritional plans & recommendations to maximize your health. By trail tracking your diet with a light-size glucose monitor sticking to your upper arm, Clear analyzes the diets that work for you based on your activity level and food tolerance levels. After that, the smart system will provide diet competency reports to you and recommend foods and types of diet that you should go with in order to live better (and eat better). The whole program is powered by real-time AI analysis.

For the shortened version: wearable device measures blood glucose > you log food, exercise, mood, sleep > Clear analyzes > you get a personalized nutrition plan > you know what to eat to maintain energy and weight. Get to know Clear in just 60 seconds by watching the video below:

By the numbers

Don't just take our word for it. At the time of writing, only 5 months after its launch, Clear has built an impressive community growing at 10% above their projections, with over 15,000 unique visitors to the website, over 300 program participants and a EUR32K gross revenue.

The program is gaining clout in the media too. They've recently on-boarded some big names in the Netherlands, such as Katja Schuurman ("How not to die" documentary producer, VIDEOLAND by RTL), Radmilo Soda (founder of SODA Bodyfit), and Dana Albers (Dutch Olympic snowboarding athlete).

Who is behind Clear?

Piet Hein van Dam, co-founder & CEO of Clear, holds a Ph. D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Amsterdam and has successfully exited two previous startups. He has always been fascinated by building businesses that consumerize huge amounts of complicated data; especially the data that previously, consumers had no access to (like your blood sugar levels for example). Enabling consumers to be behind the wheel of their own biology.

Another key cog in the Clear machine has been the research and guidance from key advisor Georges Janssens. Georges holds a Ph. D. in Systems Biology a Masters Degree in Biomedical Sciences and is currently serving as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Amsterdam Academic Medical Center. At the core of his research has long been to understand why and how we age, so that we can do something about it. Nutritionally, physically, or pharmaceutically.

So what's next?

According to Piet Hein, Clear is currently developing its very own app that empowers people on the go. With simultaneous health updates and a real-time shopping cart enabled to track your food purchases, Clear is truly on a mission to make everyone master of their own health.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get the latest news and views from Antler’s global community

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Must-read articles from Antler

Browse our collection of founder stories, industry insights and latest startup successes from Antler Australia

See articles
Insights
5 min read
Invest in women: fast-track progress

Making progress a certainty—our north star goal at Antler—can’t happen if driven and visionary people aren’t firing at all cylinders with the support they need to tackle the pressing problems of our time. We’re marking International Women’s Day by asking women founders and team members in Antler’s global community why women are essential to progress.

Insights
5 min read
How to secure venture capital as an underrepresented founder

There is growing recognition that diverse founders and diverse teams generate more innovative solutions, ultimately building stronger businesses in the long run. Read Antler in the UK portfolio director Sarah Finegan's recent article in Startups Magazine, offering 10 tips on securing venture capital as an underrepresented founder.

Insights
5 min read
From day zero to greatness: Magnus Grimeland on the Capital Allocators podcast

How can the world tackle the increasingly complex problems of our time? With a new global infrastructure backing the most driven founders. Listen to Antler founder and CEO Magnus Grimeland discuss this—and why we're building Antler—on the Capital Allocators podcast.

News
5 min read
Antler expands into Queensland, Australia

Antler is charting a new course for innovation by expanding our presence in Australia. We are launching in Queensland and partnering with the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC).

Supported by the Queensland Government's Queensland Venture Capital Development Fund (QVCDF), the partnership is poised to transform the state's innovation sector. With a focus on bridging the early-stage funding gap, Antler and QIC are committed to attracting and nurturing the nation's top talent, driving forward Queensland's position on the global innovation stage.

Insights
5 min read
Bridging startups and industry leaders to drive purposeful innovation

As Jeff Bezos once said: “What’s dangerous is to not evolve.” While most business leaders understand that stagnation is fatal, for a host of reasons established companies often struggle to innovate—purposefully and powerfully.

Antler’s Business Development and Collaborations Group helps global corporates drive innovation excellence through high value-generating collaborations with Antler’s 1,000+ (and growing) global startup portfolio. In our collaboration with Investa, a leading Australian real estate investment manager and developer, we are connecting them to our global community of founders and the cutting-edge solutions they are building.

Read more about the powerful outcomes that happen when ambitious startups and industry leaders come together.

Insights
5 min read
The next wave of innovation: 27 industry trends set to define 2024

What will innovation look like as we move deeper into 2024? What are the biggest industry trends that will define the coming year?

We asked our global network of Antler Operators—founders, sector leaders, CxOs, and VPs from companies including Roblox, Airtable, Shopify, Spotify, Affirm, DoorDash, Uber, Hubspot, and more, who offer 1:1 advice to Antler portfolio companies, giving them extra firepower to help fast-track their growth.

News
5 min read
Antler leads $5.1M pre-seed funding for 37 startups across Southeast Asia

This marks the highest number of pre-seed deals completed in a single round in the region.

Insights
5 min read
Shaping sustainability in venture capital

Antler's third annual ESG and Impact Report discusses our commitment to sustainability as a strategic principle that's fundamental to the success of our firm, our portfolio companies, and broader society.