A University of Queensland startup ready to help 1.7 million Australian diabetics has won UQ’s top entrepreneurship program, Ventures ilab Accelerator, Pitch Night.
Ashley Hanger, a journalism and public relations graduate, started Stripped Supply two years ago to address the problem of young adults with diabetes not getting their medication on time.
When Ms. Hanger saw that her boyfriend was struggling to deal with his condition, she inspired her to bring diabetes management into the 21st century.
“Tristan has lived with diabetes for 27 years and can still forget to organize his medication,” she said.
“Diabetes affects not only your physical health, but also your mental health.
“I saw an opportunity to reduce the psychological distress for diabetics, and through the many programs UQ Ventures offers, I have been able to refine my idea and learn how to start a business.
“Thanks to ilab, I can now turn stripped supply into reality.
“We have already built Australia’s largest online community of Gen Z diabetics, engaging in vital conversations about mental health, body positivity and sexuality to change the way we view and discuss diabetes.”
From a successful social media platform to a company, Stripped Supply is also Australia’s first diabetes subscription box: automating and delivering custom orders from insulin and other diabetics.
Stripped Supply’s home delivery waiting list already has 300 members and is scheduled to be launched in late 2021.
The startup leverages existing medical infrastructure to bring drugs to people and a subscription model to make drug refills as easy as possible.
Pitch Night panelist, former Queensland entrepreneur and CEO of Everledger, Leanne Kemp, said she was blown by the quality of all 12 startups showing off their big ideas.
“Queensland delivers again – from clean energy cans that also serve as a battery for the home, novel AI capture technologies for geospatial data, an effective fintech and the ultimate ilab winner: the start of the supply chain for diabetics Stripped Supply,” said Ms. Kemp.
“My heart filled.
“The UQ Ventures program takes entrepreneurship seriously again and continues to produce some of the brightest minds building the businesses of the future in the face of the pandemic.”
UQ Ventures programs aim to prepare our students and alumni for a rapidly changing workplace, no matter what sector they ultimately work in.
It also helps instill more graduates with the confidence they need to start their own businesses and create jobs.
Learn more about all 12 startups.
Top left picture by Anjanette Webb: Ashley Hanger
Media: UQ Ventures Head, Mr. Nimrod Klayman, ventures@uq.edu.au61, 7, 3343, 2492.
