Member Article

Sci-Tech Daresbury based Orcha Health sees soaring success following Innovate2Succeed Support

Knowing which health apps to use can be a difficult task for consumers, health care professionals and national health bodies, especially with over 327,000 to chose from! Most of us use health apps at some stage, whether it’s to help us with our diets, keep track of our steps, or an app specific to your health requirements. A whopping four million health apps are downloaded by users every day, which makes Orcha Health all the more important.

Orcha independently reviews and ranks existing health and care apps using a seven stage clinically and academically assessed framework, enabling the end user to easily identify apps that are suitable for them.

The biggest challenge of Orcha was how quickly the company was growing. Growth is great for any company, although with growth comes change and bigger responsibility. There were some gaps that needed filling, and RTC were able to help them fill those gaps and prioritise work that needed to be done.

RTC North worked with Orcha on their Innovation Management and overall strategy, with particular focus on exploitation of the product. Mike Skinner, Innovation Advisor was also able to help Orcha with their value proposition, helping them to effectively market why their product was important, rather than what it did.

As a result of the support provided by RTC North through the Innovate2Succeed programme, Orcha Health have developed a new product – Digital Healthy Schools – launched January 2019 into 440 Secondary Schools. The company is now trading in the Republic of Ireland and Holland, with other countries in the pipeline. They also won the NHS Approved Assessor Contract, and have been able to grow from 7-25 members of staff since January 2019, aiming to grow to 50 by the end of 2019. Company turnover has increased 220% this financial year, and will be reporting profit at year end.

Liz Ashall-Payne, CEO of Orcha Health said:

“I found the support and delivery process very simple, all admin was made extremely easy. RTC really understood where we are as a company, why we need the support and helped identify where we needed to focus our energy. I would definitely recommend their services.”

Innovate2Succeed is a fully funded programme designed to help businesses drive growth by harnessing innovation and to help SMEs across the North improve their internal capacity for innovating and capability for commercially exploiting new ideas.

Innovate2Succeed offers eligible businesses fully funded, tailored support from an Innovation Adviser. They will support your senior team to address important areas of innovation management and support in areas such as identifying the barriers that are limiting growth, addressing blockages and connecting businesses to the right support and partners.

Ultimately, the programme can help businesses unlock their potential to harness new market opportunities and grow.

RTC North helps businesses to innovate, compete and grow through both funded programmes and commercial work. It specialises in the commercialisation of new products and services, working with individuals, businesses and the public sector to help create more innovative and vibrant economies in the North East, North West and Yorkshire.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Georgia .