Somnox helps the world sleep better

Somnox began as an initiative born out of co-founder Julian Jagtenberg’s personal experience. He wanted to help a family member with sleep problems without medication. Then he noticed that actually many people struggle with insomnia due to stress and tension. And what began as a graduation project at Technische Universiteit Delft, quickly grew when others began to show interest. ‘Breathing slowly slows your heart rate and calms your thoughts. Our product addresses this through a cushion you hold, making you feel physical movement. Sensors measure your breathing rate and simulate it, causing you to subconsciously take over breathing while you relax more at the same time. With a built-in speaker, we can also play sleep meditations or audiobooks. And our mobile app also helps you to get a better night of sleep. It’s a digital sleep coach,’ Julian says. By now, some 20.000 copies have been sold.

The collaboration with Rabobank’s Startup & Scale-up team began when Somnox was awarded the Rabobank Sustainable Innovation Prize in 2018. Rabobank saw potential in Somnox due to the increasing interest in stress reduction and sleep improvement. Martijn Starre, Startup & Scale-up Banker Healthcare, says: ‘Sleep problems are a major societal challenge and lead to ever-increasing costs for employers due to staff downtime. This creates a growing market for distinctive solutions like Somnox’. Jagtenberg adds: ‘Rabobank has supported us from the beginning. We received prize money from the Rabobank Sustainable Innovation Prize with which we were able to finance 3D printers. At a later stage, we were able to secure three more financings through Rabobank. This helped us in different growth phases. Rabobank has been and continues to be a truly valuable partner in our journey.'

Rabobank assisted Somnox on multiple fronts. In addition to financial support, Rabobank also shared its expertise, knowledge and network with Somnox. Starre: ‘We put Somnox in touch with potential investors and opened up our network to them. Now we are looking together at opportunities within the healthcare sector and how they can grow in it.’

Recently, Somnox decided to stop selling the product separately and to move forward with a sleep-as-a-service-model. ‘You now take a subscription to Somnox for a number of months and go through a program with a clear start and end to it. After the program, you can choose to buy the product or return it. This model has been picked up by health insurance companies and is now reimbursed by some of them,’ Jagtenberg says.

According to Starre, this is a good move: 'The move to a subscription model at Somnox has a lot of potential. From there they can continue to work on alternatives, such as expanding to more healthcare target groups. Think of children with sleep problems, people with dementia or mental health issues.'

Whereas Somnox previously relied on large investors and funding to grow, they can now reinvest every euro earned back into the company themselves. Starre confirms: ‘Somnox has grown from an early-stage startup to a solid scale-up, with all the challenges that come with that. It’s great to be able to guide them in that process.

Future prospects for Somnox are positive. The focus is on the sleep-as-a-service model and expansion into international markets. Jagtenberg: ‘We believe that good sleep benefits not only individuals but the entire society. It prevents problems such as diseases, and a good night of sleep leads to healthier choices – think of nutrition. Moreover, most car accidents are caused by tired drivers. Even the economy shows a correlation between average hours of sleep and gross national product. Somnox aims to help 100 million people sleep better by 2030. With our product and knowledge sharing through a podcast and blog posts, we are going to achieve this goal. We are starting in the Netherlands and Belgium, but aim to make an impact worldwide.’

Thanks to Rabobank's support, Somnox was able to grow further in the early stages. Curious about what we can do for your startup or scale-up? Explore our various financing products and innovation funds for sustainable growth at every stage of development. In addition to financing, the Startup & Scale-up team is eager to leverage its knowledge and network for your benefit.

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