Startup Series: Sleuth - Helping you navigate childhood health
Sehreen NoorAli, an accomplished former education technology executive and diplomat, joined Antler in September 2019 determined to improve medical care navigability for parents raising young children with health conditions. Sehreen was intimately familiar with the industry's shortcomings and its lack of technological infrastructure. "As a parent, you're in the driver's seat of your child's health," Sehreen explains. "There's a moment you realize that you only see a pediatrician every so often. Ultimately, a parent is in charge of a child's healthcare journey. This was a pain point I felt acutely as my daughter was diagnosed with a condition that required considerable therapies."
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After a decade working as a data scientist, Alexander (Alex) Leeds entered Antler driven to increase childhood opportunity access. Alex, immediately compelled by Sehreen's story and passion, also recognized the tremendous opportunity inherent in the market's inefficiency. According to the CDC, around 25% of American children struggle with chronic conditions or behavioral problems. Early detection and intervention can improve outcomes, but only a fraction of children receive treatment. This misalignment largely is due to a lack of information access, care, and specialization. "The people with the best access are waiting nine months to see a developmental pediatrician. Others without that premier access are simply told good luck," says Alex. As a result, families rely on peer-to-peer support and information sharing.
With Antler's support, Sehreen and Alex built Sleuth by applying the rigor of data science methodology to this information exchange to enhance credibility. They carefully interviewed parents, collecting detailed testimonials about their children's healthcare journeys. On Sleuth, users can simply search stories for symptoms and diagnoses or share their child's own experience. Sleuth uses smart technology to assist parents of children aged 0 to 5 reach a diagnosis and, with practical and precise advice, helps them manage various conditions. By elevating the expertise of parents through crowdsourcing, analyzing, and sharing experiences, infants and toddlers receive better, faster care. Named for the persistent parents hunting for better information, Sleuth maps out the journey of potential outcomes associated with a diagnosis.
Antler's investment and support gave Sehreen and Alex the tools they needed to build Sleuth. "We knew where we were going. Antler supports you in any way you need to make your best case for investment, but gave us the independence to run," Alex describes.
Sehreen adds, "From the beginning, I was clear with Antler: I'm a mom of two kids, my husband also has a demanding job, and - at that point - my daughter was getting seventeen therapies a week. I've been in the tech ecosystem long enough that I knew my next step needed to be on my own terms. And I knew I'd be fine either way, however Antler responded. But Antler took me on my terms, and that was really big for me."
Click here to learn more about Sleuth and check out our other Antler US portfolio companies here.
