Startup Spotlight: Keleya

Startup Spotlight

Keleya – Digital Health App

• Branch: Digital health, female tech
• Headquarter: Berlin
• Founders: Victoria Engelhardt and Sarah Müggenburg

Please introduce yourselves. Who are you and what do you do?

We are Victoria and Sarah, founders of Keleya Digital Health Solutions GmbH. In September 2017 we released Keleya, an innovative pregnancy app. It is available worldwide in both German and English. Keleya is a mediator of information and services for expectant mothers and an interface between midwives and pregnant women. It offers personalized workouts, nutritional advice and expert tips tailored to an expectant mother’s individual needs.

When did you found Keleya and in which fields did you work before?

We founded Keleya in Berlin in spring/summer 2017.

Victoria studied business administration at the University of Mannheim. She then helped launch startups in the online fitness sector for Rocket Internet and Epic Companies. She also worked for two years as a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group and completed a one-month yoga teacher training course in India before starting with Keleya.

Sarah has taught yoga for 15 years and has accompanied hundreds of pregnant women and postpartum women during and after their pregnancy. This knowledge, together with the experience of her own two pregnancies, flowed into the development of Keleya. She also uses her background in PR and film production, her blog and her mama network to develop and produce content for Keleya.

What is Keleya’s vision?

We want women to experience positive and self-confident pregnancies and births. That’s why we support them with expert knowledge, fitness and coaching when and where it is right for them. In the future we want to be THE platform for every expectant and new mom to receive health-relevant information, personalised advice and tips for every situation, as well as making it possible to contact midwives and gynaecologists.

What services does Keleya offer? What do your customers expect?

Keleya provides pregnant women with important information and tips from midwives and gynaecologists for various pregnancy symptoms and overall well-being. In addition, mothers receive workouts and meditations individually tailored to their week of pregnancy, fitness level and symptoms. They will also find a large selection of healthy, balanced recipes oriented to their own eating habits and especially aligned with the nutrient and vitamin requirements during pregnancy. Of course, healthy smoothies and snacks are part of the plan.

Keleya users also receive new information about the weekly development of their body and child, supplemented by useful images. Lastly, there are exciting podcasts with select experts, videos with midwife tips, as well as a large library of articles. By using the app, pregnant women can prevent complications such as back pain or pelvic floor weakness. Being well-informed and prepared – fit and relaxed – is optimal for birth.

We are especially excited about our online birth preparation course together with AOK Plus. It caters to pregnant women who cannot find a course near them or who cannot attend a course for other reasons.

What do you think is particularly important during pregnancy? What should expectant parents pay attention to and how does Keleya support them?

We believe that there is an overwhelming amount of information, some of it contradictory, that can be confusing for expectant parents. They often do not know what is right for them and their baby. And this isn’t just true on the internet. Family and friends are usually quick to fire off varying opinions and half-truths as soon as they’re made aware of one’s pregnancy. We at Keleya want to help pregnant women with the most important expert information, but we do not want to promote any restrictions. We show them what is possible and support them in finding their own path during pregnancy and childbirth.

How big is your team now? What are your qualifications?

We are currently an international team of 10 people working in product, content, design, marketing and of course business development.

What does a regular day at work look like for you?

The morning is »get shit done time«, during which we try not to talk, don’t plan meetings, and focus on what’s important. Twice a week there is a »stand-up meeting« with the whole team. In this meeting we update each other about our project status and app analytics.

But the most popular meeting format is our »celebrating stand-up«. We sit together for a cosy team breakfast and invite everyone to celebrate their personal successes or team achievements with the rest of the team. After lunch there are frequent meetings. However, Victoria also has business lunch appointments almost every day. At 14:50 there is a 10-minute yoga break so we can head into the afternoon feeling rejuvenated.

How do you promote your business?

We use our social media channels for organic marketing, but also for paid targeted campaigns. We also launched our podcast, »Nine Happy Months«, last October, where we talk to experts about pregnancy and childbirth. Our magazine ensures that Keleya ranks well on search engines. Pregnant women discover us through publications such as Shape, Joy, MummyMag, Luna Mum and Woman.at.

What are some features of the Keleya app?

The app adapts individually to the user through our »Health Tracker«. Users start with a few entries: delivery date and possible complaints, how often she would like to exercise and her fitness level. Since one’s state of health can change at any time during pregnancy, the Health Tracker can be updated. Thus, the user always receives workouts, tips and information relevant to the particular period of pregnancy. As soon as she has done a workout, she can indicate whether it was easy or difficult. After this feedback, the app recalibrates. The other content is also personalized. As soon as an article is read, it is no longer displayed. Instead, the newsfeed is populated with new material. It’s like a social media feed: the content always stays fresh. With a premium subscription, pregnant women can browse the library for their favourite recipes and workouts and use them again at any time.

What are your plans for the future? In the next five to 10 years?

In the next five to 10 years we want to realize a complete ecosystem for pregnancy and new parents. We will connect with midwives and gynaecologists so that pregnant women and mothers have ONE platform for all their needs. We are very much looking forward to expanding our concept. By spring 2020, we will have taken a big step forward.