Insight into "company building" - mid-term analysis 2024

After a brilliant market launch last year (2023) with our first market-ready version of Isa, we are facing major challenges at Deep Care 2024. We have to deal with three major issues at the same time, which puts a lot of strain on our team and our resources. Despite the difficulties involved in researching, developing and implementing new approaches to workplace prevention, we are delighted with the positive developments and growth we are experiencing. In this blog article, we would like to give you a brief insight into our current challenges and the exciting times that lie ahead.

Growth in core business

Our core business, direct cooperation with our client companies, continues to grow. In the first half of the year, we managed to establish further strong customer relationships and extend or expand existing projects. Now that we have achieved our Product launch 2023 Although we got off to a real flying start and have built up around 100 customer relationships from a standing start, we still face a number of challenges. On the one hand, there is the tense economic situation and, on the other, a looming change in our technology introduction life cycle. As is currently the case in all areas, the poor economy is also making itself felt in the occupational health management is noticeable. We are hearing about cost-cutting measures in many companies, and some are even imposing spending freezes, which poses real challenges for health managers when it comes to designing prevention programmes within the company. Fortunately, with a handful of exceptions, our existing customer projects have been spared the cutbacks. We probably owe this to our good customer relationships and the outstanding successes we have already achieved.

In keeping with the theme: BGM budget in times of crisis (deep-care.de)

There is also a noticeable change in our technology introduction life cycle. But what does this mean in concrete terms? According to Everett M. Rogers, the market launch of an innovative product usually follows a certain pattern over time, in which the acceptance of an innovation can be described according to the demographic and psychological characteristics of the user group.

At the beginning, a new product is usually only requested by a small group of "innovators" and later by a somewhat larger group of "early adopters". Both groups are characterised by a close relationship with research and a high degree of openness towards new technologies. The users in these groups are often opinion leaders who are well informed and enjoy a high level of credibility and recognition in their field. Now that we have reached these user groups to a large extent, our challenge is to reach the "early majority" and get them excited about our new approach. This group of people is significantly larger. As they are generally open to new ideas and actively seek information, but are also less willing to take risks, we need to focus on addressing their doubts and are particularly dependent on the support of our opinion leaders to convince them to break new ground with Isa.

Dynamic partner business

Our partner business is also picking up speed. In particular, partnerships with renowned organisations such as B-A-D, TK, AOK-BW and mhplus are developing rapidly and could soon overtake our direct business. These partnerships enable us to extend our reach and give even more people access to healthy working with Isa. Working with such strong partners demonstrates the trust placed in our work and reinforces our mission to take workplace health promotion to the next level. Although these partnerships are very fruitful, they require considerable effort to move forward. Be it the strategic partnership with B-A-D, where we are intensively involved in product development and joint marketing, or the collaboration with health insurance companies, which involves creating internal processes. As a small start-up with just a few employees, this means that our team often has to juggle many issues at the same time.

Transformation to a platform

One of the biggest challenges is transforming Isa into a comprehensive platform that includes various modules that can be activated as required. This expansion requires not only technological innovation, but also a rethink of our entire way of working. Together with Fraunhofer IGD, Fraunhofer IOSB, the Institute of Sports Science at KIT and B-A-D, we are continuously working on innovations and improvements. Part of this is to develop new functions for Isa that meet the needs of our users and help them to improve their health and well-being in more and more areas.

The new modules include "Trainer" and "Risk Assessment". The "Trainer" module includes work-related course programmes to address musculoskeletal complaints, while "Risk Assessment" offers a module for carrying out a risk assessment for VDU workstations. Together with Fraunhofer IGD, we are also working on a new module that enables employees to find out more about their own mental well-being and learn better strategies for dealing with mental workloads.

Further information on the modules mentioned:

• Movement exercises in the Isa - trainer course programme
• Risk assessment with Isa - risk assessment
• Recognising mental stress in the workplace - state of research

The team at the centre

To master these challenges, we need a rapidly growing team. Over the last few months, we have therefore had an increase in personnel in all areas, from software development to marketing. Training new employees and integrating them into our existing processes takes up a lot of capacity, but is crucial for our joint success and growth. That's why we are happy to invest a lot of time and resources in training and developing our team to ensure that we can achieve our goals together. Because one thing is clear to us: without personal growth in the team, we cannot grow sustainably as a company.

Conclusion?

2024 will be a year full of challenges and opportunities for Deep Care. Despite the difficult economic conditions, we are grateful for the growth and positive developments we are experiencing. The positive feedback from our Isa users and corporate customers motivates us to continue on this often challenging path. One example of the positive response is the feedback from Isa users such as these:

"I think the device is really great and would like employers to distribute it across the board!"

"I used to get headaches sometimes, even if I had the wrong posture, but that has actually decreased as a result."

"I just love it and think that it will do something for me and my mobility over time. And yes, the little bit of back I had is gone!

More feedback from Isa users: User feedback - Deep Care

These votes show us that we are on the right track and motivate us to continue to give our best. We are excited about the coming months and look forward to continuing to develop innovative solutions for workplace health promotion.