Startup Series: Meet RespiQ, the future of digestive health

In the coming weeks, we will be introducing our first Amsterdam cohort's startups. Today we will hear from the founders of RespiQ, a startup that is building a cutting edge, patent-pending technology based on proven science.

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In this fast-paced society, everyone wants to run faster with a healthy body. Food impacts everyone's health, and whilst there is no standard to measure if anyone is healthy or not, anyone can take a practical solution to determine if they are in good health - and how to improve based on simple metrics with validated dietary guidance they can trust.

RespiQ, one of the 11 funded startups from the first Antler Amsterdam cohort, provides smart breath testing to allow you to make smarter dietary choices to improve your health. By analyzing biomarkers in the breath, they can detect your personal intolerances to certain foods. They aim to provide "accurate, non-invasive and affordable technology" for early detection of health issues through breathing.

As a well-trained gymnast, and just as anyone else that is active and wants to keep track of their health, Mira Gleisberg, CEO & co-founder of RespiQ, deeply understands the urge of something convenient and effective for wellbeing and early detection. Therefore, she decided to go cut in through breath testing, which is already being used in hospitals as a fast, easy way to diagnose intolerances. An experienced healthcare expert at Philips and ex-McKinsey healthcare consultant, she is excited to bring this idea to life.

Vitalii Vorkov, CTO of RespiQ as well as the inventor of the technology, had been excited for this opportunity to work on something that can help millions of people take control of their wellbeing on a daily basis. As a highly-seasoned full-stack mechanical engineer, he believed that innovation was a synonym of success. By participating in the Antler program and working with co-founder Mira on RespiQ, he was "in the right place to bring advanced health solutions to society."

Interested in the team that is passionately building this simple but effective solution to target your health concerns? Watch this video to learn more about them. If you want a head start in becoming a beta tester of this exciting new device, sign up here.

Transcript:

Mira: We are building a simple and affordable breath test that can be used anywhere to measure biomarkers in the breath. One in four people often experience digestive issues, and this can really impact your mood and your energy. 30% of the cases is caused by food intolerance, and it impacts around 5 hundred million people globally.

Vitalii: Mira and I have been working on this together. I don't think we would have ever met if we were not in this (Antler) environment. I'm an engineer, and this is a great opportunity for me to improve the lives of a lot of people.

Mira: I used to be a top gymnast. I've always been very focused on improving, optimizing my performance, my diet, and my health. And I also learnt that health is not the same for everyone. There is so much information out there, but there's not any practical solution that helps you to identify what works for you. Now we at RespiQ we have the ability to change that. People can take full control of their own health and wellbeing.

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