Voi co-founder Douglas Stark launches longevity startup focused on the brain

Voi co-founder Douglas Stark launches longevity startup focused on the brain

Stockholm, 20 November 2024

Entrepreneur Douglas Stark announces the launch of Helsa, dedicated to extending the population’s health-span by helping people achieve maximum brain health. Helsa aims to become the number one trusted private brain health provider globally.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the three leading causes of death in Sweden in 2021 were 1) Ischemic heart diseases 2) Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias 3) COVID-19. The number of people with dementia in Sweden is expected to double between 2018 and 2050. The trend is clear and worrying.

“Understanding and improving brain health is deeply personal for me due to my family’s history with Alzheimer’s. Through Helsa, I aim to help others prioritize their brain health to minimize the risk for cognitive decline,” says Douglas Stark, Founder of Helsa.

Helsa is now emerging from private beta to offer its services to more people in Sweden, its home market, before continuing its expansion to the UK, US, and Asia.

Sweden has spent more on dementia than on National Defence in recent years

Beyond being a personal tragedy for affected families, dementia-related diseases come at a significant cost to Swedish society. In 2022, the societal costs for dementia-related diseases in Sweden amounted to 91 billion SEK, compared to the defence budget of 75 billion SEK.

Most people are not aware that Sweden has spent more on caring for individuals with dementia than on defending its borders in the past few years.

“We want to help people be more proactive about their brain health by providing evidence-based reports with actions on how to minimize the risk of cognitive disease and dementia,” says Dr. Michail Safarikas, Consultant in Neurology at Visby Lasarett and Specialist in Neurology at Helsa.

Helsa’s annual brain scans - a proven concept

Helsa already counts some of Sweden’s most successful individuals among its clients. You can book a scan today and receive a tailored report detailing your brainAGE and providing hands-on advice on how to improve your brain health with approved medical advice in the areas of diet, exercise, sleep, mental health, and more.

“I have previously undergone similar private health examinations, but none have delivered such deep insights about the brain. Among other things, I learned the age of my brain and look forward to following up on the results in a year. The examination went faster than I had expected—only ten minutes—while similar examinations can take up to an hour,” says Joel Jakobsson, Co-Founder of Trustly.

About Helsa

Founded in 2024 in Stockholm by Douglas Stark, co-founder of Voi, Helsa is a longevity startup focused on brain health, with the goal of adding more years to the health-span of the human population. Helsa offers comprehensive brain assessments through blood tests and MRI scans overseen by certified specialists in Neurology. Helsa is currently focused on Sweden and has been operating in a private beta in Stockholm with its novel BrainAGE scan since August 2024. Helsa is not seeking funding but is accepting new clients.

 

References

www.helsa.clinic

Michail Safarikas

WHO source

Doubling of Dementia in Sweden

Cost of Dementia 2021

Defence Budget 2021

 

Q&A

Lanseras tjänsten nu?

Helsa har varit igång med en privat beta med betalande klienter sedan augusti men öppnar nu upp för att erbjuda fler klienter dess tjänster.

Finns det investeringar i bolaget?

Bolaget är inte i behov av kapital.

Har Helsa en egen klinik?

Helsa erbjuder blodprov via Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset och Unilabs. Undersökningar med magnetresonanstomografi görs via Evidia Sabbatsberg i Stockholm.

Hur funkar det?

Du väljer vilken undersökning du är intresserad av på hemsidan. Därefter går du för att ta blodprov eller genomföra en MR-scan. Några dagar senare så får du en rapport från vår specialistläkare i neurologi, fokuserad på att maximera din hjärnhälsa.

Vad kostar det?

Blodprov går att få för några hundralappar och uppåt, medan magnetresonanstomografi går från 10 000 kr och uppåt. Vi erbjuder en BrainAGE-scan som går på 17 995 kr och mäter åldern på hjärnan. Den enda motsvarigheten till den som jag sett är https://ezra.com/blueprint Advanced Brain Analysis som går på 5 995 USD men där inkluderas hela kroppen. Vi är fokuserade på hjärnan.

Back to blog

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.