Founder of Pitchfest 2022 winner named Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year
The founder of this year’s Digital Health Rewired Pitchfest winner, CardMedic, has been named Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, recognising the work being done by the healthcare communications app.
Dr Rachael Grimaldi was one of over 5,500 entrants from eight regions in the UK to be nominated for the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, which are run in partnership with Starling Bank and champion the most inspiring entrepreneurial success stories.
Dr Grimaldi said: “I’m delighted CardMedic has been recognised as one of Britain’s most pioneering start-ups.
“CardMedic was founded during the Covid-19 pandemic to help ensure better treatment for patients and reduce healthcare inequalities due to communication difficulties.
“We’re growing rapidly in our user base at NHS Trusts and in the USA, and are delighted that our innovative app has been recognised on a national level.”
The solution is a web and mobile-based healthcare app that uses flashcards to minimise communication barriers between healthcare professionals and patients.
Those barriers could be language, deafness, blindness or cognitive difficulties. By removing them CardMedic can help to reduce healthcare inequalities and ensure access for all.
Great British Entrepreneur Awards founder Francesca James said: “The extraordinary circumstances of the last few years have tested the resilience of our business communities, and the challenges were enough to give many entrepreneurs an excuse to give up.
“Instead, our award winners did the opposite and, through ingenuity, innovation and the ability to adapt, they thrived.
“These challenges certainly haven’t gone away, and the next few years will present new obstacles to overcome – but one only needed to look around the room at our tenth anniversary to see some of the truly special founders and doers, to gain confidence that this snapshot of the economy can go on and adapt again.”
Not only has Dr Rachael Grimaldi won the Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year award since CardMedic was crowned Pitchfest winner, but the company also won its first major US contract in August after inking a deal with critical access hospital, Nor-Lea, in New Mexico.
