MEMiO is an app to program pill dosages and to ensure correct usage for all patients. Developed by a team including two LUISS students, the startup has already been recognized several times: in May it won the annual InnovAction Lab, in October they joined the Startupbootcamp accelerator in Barcelona, and in December it will participate in the Premio Nazionale Innovazione PNIcube finals, having been one of the StartCup Lazio 2015 winners.
“MEMiO is the first smart pillbox,” explain Roberta Musarò and Lorenzo Del Zozzo, LUISS students and founders of the startup alongside Manuel De Iuliis. Medication doses are managed by an app and synchronized with a bracelet that reminds people when to take their pills that also notifies caregivers’ smartphones when patients miss doses.”
They got the idea during LUISS Geek Café workshops, the Soft Skills module dedicated to designing startups and new technology. “Geek Café can be defined as our trampoline: it gave us the opportunity to approach and understand the exciting world of startups. After our success in the Geek Café competition and with a growing passion, we decided to keep going and participate in InnovAction Lab.”
For a few months, the group learned to face problems frequently encountered by those launching innovative companies. “The path was intense and exhausting. We had to adapt and understand how to develop a winning idea. We combined our energy and learned to use new tools. By making the most of our flexibility, creativity and multitasking skills, we found the right path and implemented a concrete prototype.”
Like most startups, MEMiO simplifies practical aspects of everyday life. What makes them different is their ethical objective. “Our desire to solve a real problem for millions of families drove us to keep going. We wanted to simplify people’s lives and at the same time have a positive effect on the healthcare system and its costs. Our mission is to improve accuracy in following medications, improve adherence to medical treatments, help patients, and improve the lives of caregivers.”
Results were fast and overwhelming. At the last edition of InnovAction Lab, a course to promote an idea and find investors, MEMiO won first prize in front of Italian and foreign financers. “At InnovAction Lab, nothing can be taken for granted. You put your idea out there and develop the ability to analyze and notice details. Continuous critical feedback helps you understand that your intuition needs to be shaped and defined. Ideas are one thing, but the most important thing is your team, and how you bring the idea to life.”
In addition to awards and attention, product production counts for these types of projects. The team is working to begin selling in 2016. “At the moment,” conclude Roberta and Lorenzo, “ we are preparing to go to Spain where we can experience their market and understand how it differs from Italy’s. We hope to learn a lot inside an accelerator like Startupbootcamp. We know that managing a startup is a path full of risks, but one that can also lead to deep satisfaction and many experiences.”