Meet Kelly McCabe and Morgan Fitzsimons, co-founders of Perci Health
In this founder interview, we spoke with Kelly McCabe and Morgan Fitzsimons, co-founder of Perci Health.
Kelly McCabe: Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. Previously the COO of a private cancer network (HCA International). She has worked for over 11 years in cancer care and is a registered oncology dietitian with first-hand experience of working with hundreds of cancer patients in the NHS and private setting.
Morgan Fitzsimons: Co-Founder and Chief Experience Officer. Previously Global Head of Marketing at ASOS and Digital Director at CBS Television in New York, with 12 years of direct-to-consumer digital marketing experience.
You’ve both just completed a £1.5m seed funding round. What does this mean for Perci Health?
This funding will enable us to grow our team of professionals, and further enhance our technology, meaning we can make affordable, high quality cancer care more accessible to people living with and beyond cancer, their friends, family and carers. We strongly believe no treatable side effect should be left untreated.
We’ve been able to bring together an incredible collective of caring experts who are passionate about reducing the ripple effects of cancer, for individuals, their loved ones and society as a whole.
To backtrack a little bit - what sparked the inspiration behind this business venture?
With the advances in the screening and treatment of cancer, more people are being diagnosed earlier and survival rates are increasing, which is fantastic. The population of people living with cancer in the UK is set to grow from 2.8m to 4m by 2030, with over 50% of people living 10 years or more after their cancer diagnosis. On top of this, novel treatments have introduced new constellations of long term side effects, which require specialist input to manage.
During treatment, access to support is more readily available, however after treatment people living with cancer persistently report a sense of abandonment as access to their healthcare team reduces. At this point there is a reliance on patient-led support groups, charities or GPs, whilst people are still experiencing limiting side effects such as changes in energy levels, reduced strength, sleep disturbance, physical changes, low mood and difficulties with intimacy.
Through my hands-on experience of cancer care, and overseeing similar services in the private and public sector, I realised there was a gap. Myself and Morgan envisioned giving equal access to personalised care with high quality cancer experts focused on the after effects of cancer treatment. The idea was for this care to be led by a collective of allied health professionals, rather than consultant led, as these professionals are the real experts when it comes to managing the longer term consequences of cancer, and supporting someone to fully recover.
You both bring very different experiences and expertise to the table. When did you both decide that this was the right business to combine the two?
We had worked together previously at another startup and had great respect for each other's skills and expertise. We realised that a more patient-centric approach was needed within the cancer space, with people often describing the feeling that the cancer is treated, instead of the person. With Morgan’s experience in consumer brands, where the customer is always right, and my in-depth understanding of the subject matter, it made perfect sense to join together and give people living with and beyond cancer increased choice and exceptional digital experiences, improving access and quality of care.
What are your roles in the business?
I am the Chief Executive Officer, overseeing the entire business, but with a key focus on operations and clinical excellence. Morgan is the Chief Experience officer, leading our growth and digital experience.
How does Perci Health work?
Perci Health is the first online platform giving people access to multiple cancer-related support types in one accessible location, available within 1-2 days of booking. We built it based on the strong belief that no treatable side effect should be left untreated. It is backed with £1.5m from top cancer doctors around the UK.
Our mission is to proactively challenge the current status quo for those living with and beyond cancer and change perceptions about life after treatment. We offer clients access to a range of vetted, high quality cancer professionals - all with a minimum of three years cancer experience - focused on recovery from a physical, mental, social and emotional point-of-view.
Our Perci Professionals can help with all sorts of problems that people living with cancer (and their families) may face. These include the below and more:
The management of chronic fatigue
Relationship counselling
Advice on helping communicate with children
Support in safely returning to work
Genetic counselling for those with a strong family history of cancer
Management of sexual consequences or menopausal effects
Dietary advice
Support to safely return to exercise and build strength/stamina
One of the biggest invisible costs of covid-19 is cancer. From the lack of diagnosis to delayed treatments. What impact do you think Perci Health will have on those who fell through the net?
Perci Health is a complementary service provider, plugging the gaps that currently exist in holistic cancer care. We support people’s core cancer treatment, we don’t replace it. The NHS, charities, and private healthcare providers have done an incredible job under very difficult circumstances. We can help by taking on some of the strain that these supplementary services are under. When waiting lists are long, or services are not accessible, we can be referred to and ensure patients are seen in a timely manner. Clients also have easy access to their records so continuity of care is made easy.
What do you see when you think about the future and how tech can lend a helping hand to fight cancer?
Digital solutions can have numerous benefits, from helping doctors and nurses be more efficient with their time to predicting outcomes, and even helping identify recurrence faster.
For example, digital platforms can support doctors and their staff by automating simple tasks and integrating knowledge. We hear from healthcare professionals and patients that records are hard to access and digital can fix this issue and support the delivery of a more joined up approach to people’s health.
We’ve seen lots of innovation in the space, which is really exciting. I predict that digital will help us move more towards preventative care in the near future.
How do you lean into fear?
Fear is a natural response and something that never fades. It is also a sign that you are doing something new/out of your comfort zone, which in turn leads to learning and growth. We are doing something new and innovative so as a result there is always an element of fear. But I just focus on the outcomes of this - failing in some capacity is inevitable, but the important thing is to continue learning and evolving, And that excites me.
Throughout the build of Perci Health - did you come up against any challenges and how did you handle them?
Global venture funding to female-founded companies fell significantly in 2020, according to Crunchbase data. This wasn’t just part of an overall decrease in VC funding. In 2019, 2.8% of funding went to women-led startups; in 2020, that fell to 2.3%, Crunchbase figures show.
This is happening despite analysis showing that when women-led startups do get funded, they’re more likely to be successful. They “ultimately deliver higher revenue — more than twice as much per dollar invested,” a Boston Consulting Group analysis found.
Being young, female, not from wealthy families and first-time entrepreneurs has felt like a struggle at times, but has made us even more determined to challenge the status quo of how businesses are run and champion diversity throughout the business.
Top three tips for entrepreneurs working on solving health problems through technology?
Never lose sight of why you started. There is a lot of noise and many opinions when you are running a business - it can make you doubt yourself sometimes. But if you return to your ‘why’ then that will always centre you and bring clarity.
Following on from this, clarity leads to action. Not making decisions or being vague about what direction to go in can cause paralysis. Your team will thank you for being clear in your intentions and the goals of the business. It means everyone is moving in the same direction and can pivot quickly when required (and pivoting is always needed in the startup world!)
Involve the users of the service, your customers, every step of the way. Their voice should be the north star for your business, guiding every decision that is made to ensure you end up building a product that truly solves their problems. At Perci Health we have had customer involvement every step of the way, and it has radically changed the language we use, the way we have designed the product, and our future product roadmap
What’s next for Perci Health?
We’re focused on making affordable, high quality cancer care more accessible for anyone looking for support.
We launched to the public in July 2021 and have had a fantastic response. Over the next few months we’ll be working with healthcare providers and charities on partnerships, providing lots of educational sessions for doctors, nurses and all involved in cancer care to raise awareness about the services we offer and the positive impact we can have on people's quality of life after a cancer diagnosis.
