TechCrunch Disrupt 2023

Inside Kinhub’s plan to democratize employee wellness

Comment

Erika Brodnock, the co-founder of Kinhub
Image Credits: Erika Brodnock

Erika Brodnock describes herself as an outside-the-box thinker. That’s no surprise: Her father is a founder, and now she herself is an academic DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) researcher. Early, Brodnock had the drive and understanding that change is created — and data can help her drive it.

Last year, she took her passions to bat and co-founded the London-based Kinhub, a B2B SaaS platform powered by AI to democratize access to coaching and wellness support for employees. She founded the company alongside Helen Yannakoudakis and Jacob Herandi to help employers navigate the needs of their workforce. Kinhub helps employees find resources for circumstances such as elder care, pregnancy, managing the cost of living, and even navigating corporate environments as a minority.

The Kinhub onboarding process asks users about their personal lives — like if they have children or are experiencing menopause. From there, the algorithm collects data to then suggest resources to help that user with their wants and needs. It works with consultants who offer one-on-one support, group sessions, and coaching programs. Much attention was paid to the consultants on the platform, Brodnock said — there are those from all sexual orientations, neurodivergence, and ethnic backgrounds. The attention to diversity was so every employee could find someone they identified with; in other words, no one was left behind.

“If we put the network around people to enable them to get the support they need to go through various life circumstances, we will enable them to be their best selves at work,” she said. “If you as an organization want to encourage more people back into the office, we can send one of our consultants to do sessions on a particular day if it’s more convenient for people to access it at 3 a.m. when they have a crying baby who’s teething, then we’re there as well.”

Product imagery of Kinhub by Erika Brodnock
Image Credits: Kinhub

The Kinhub team has filed patent applications around the technology they use to build generative agents that understand human emotions and urgency, Brodnock said. Though Kinhub is primarily sold to employers, for every three people who are paid for by a company, Brodnock says Kinhub offers its service free of charge to low-income families. This was done as a way to contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, one of which is equality for all.

Though the product right now is sold only in the U.K., Brodnock is keen to break into the U.S. market. For that reason, she is flying across the pond to join us for the Disrupt Battlefield 200, where her company will compete for the grand prize. Kinhub is in the process of raising a $2.5 million seed, with already a few U.S. investors in the mix. “We think we’ll be incredibly well received in the U.S., where the market is slightly more tolerant of racial innovation and, we hope, more open to backing the future of workplace well-being,” she said.

Wellness in the workplace became a mainstay topic during the pandemic, which revealed and exacerbated a global mental crisis. The result is that more employers are looking to find ways to further support the well-being of employees. In the U.S., a topic such as this is equally as pressing, given the fact that healthcare is very expensive, unlike the U.K., where public healthcare is free. Many people do not know of and cannot afford the coaching and mental resources that would greatly assist them. And that’s another reason why Kinhub is here. “People really do need our service and support,” Brodnock said.

More TechCrunch

If you��ve ever bought a sofa online, have you thought about the homes you can see in the background of the product shots? When it’s time to release a new…

Presti is using GenAI to replace costly furniture industry photo shoots

Google has become one of the latest investors in Moving Tech, the parent firm of Indian open-source ride-sharing app Namma Yatri that is quickly capturing market share from Uber and…

Google backs Indian open-source Uber rival

These messaging features, announced at WWDC 2024, will have a significant impact on how people communicate every day.

At last, Apple’s Messages app will support RCS and scheduling texts

iOS 18 will be available in the fall as a free software update.

Here are all the devices compatible with iOS 18

The tests indicate there are loopholes in TikTok’s ability to apply its parental controls and policies effectively in a situation where the teen user originally lied about their age, as…

TikTok glitch allows Shop to appear to users under 18, despite adults-only policy

Lhoopa has raised $80 million to address the lack of affordable housing in Southeast Asian markets, starting with the Philippines.

Lhoopa raises $80M to spur more affordable housing in the Philippines

Former President Donald Trump picked Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate on Monday, as he runs to reclaim the office he lost to President Joe Biden in 2020.…

Trump’s VP candidate JD Vance has long ties to Silicon Valley, and was a VC himself

Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. Is it just me, or is the news cycle only accelerating this summer?!

TechCrunch Space: Space cowboys

Apple Intelligence features are not available in the developer beta, which is out now.

Without Apple Intelligence, iOS 18 beta feels like a TV show that’s waiting for the finale

Apple released the public betas for its next generation of software on the iPhone, Mac, iPad and Apple Watch on Monday. You can now test out iOS 18 and many…

Apple’s public betas for iOS 18 are here to test out

One major dissenter threatens to upend Fisker’s apparent best chance at offloading its unsold EVs, a deal that would keep the startup’s bankruptcy proceeding alive and pave the way for…

Fisker has one major objector to its Ocean SUV fire sale

Payments giant Stripe has delayed going public for so long that its major investor Sequoia Capital is getting creative to offer returns to its limited partners. The venture firm emailed…

Major Stripe investor Sequoia confirms $70B valuation, offers its investors a payday

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is in advanced talks to acquire Wiz for $23 billion, a person close to the company told TechCrunch. The deal discussions were previously reported by The…

Google’s Kurian approached Wiz, $23B deal could take a week to land, source says

Name That Bird determines individual members of a species by identifying distinguishing characteristics that most humans would be hard-pressed to spot.

Bird Buddy’s new AI feature lets people name and identify individual birds

YouTube Music is introducing two new ways to boost song discovery on its platform. YouTube announced on Monday that it’s experimenting with an AI-generated conversational radio feature, and rolling out…

YouTube Music is testing an AI-generated radio feature and adding a song recognition tool

Tesla had internally planned to build the dedicated robotaxi and the $25,000 car, often referred to as the Model 2, on the same platform.

Elon Musk confirms Tesla ‘robotaxi’ event delayed due to design change

What this means for the space industry is that theory has become reality: The possibility of designing a habitation within a lunar tunnel is a reasonable proposition.

Moon cave! Discovery could redirect lunar colony and startup plays

Get ready for a prime week of savings at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 with the launch of Disrupt Deal Days! From now to July 19 at 11:59 p.m. PT, we’re going…

Disrupt Deal Days are here: Prime savings for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024!

Deezer is the latest music streaming app to introduce an AI playlist feature. The company announced on Monday that a select number of paid users will be able to create…

Deezer chases Spotify and Amazon Music with its own AI playlist generator

Real-time payments are becoming commonplace for individuals and businesses, but not yet for cross-border transactions. That’s what Caliza is hoping to change, starting with Latin America. Founded in 2021 by…

Caliza lands $8.5 million to bring real-time money transfers to Latin America using USDC

Adaptive is a platform that provides tools designed to simplify payments and accounting for general construction contractors.

Adaptive builds automation tools to speed up construction payments

When VanMoof declared bankruptcy last year, it left around 5,000 customers who had preordered e-bikes in the lurch. Now VanMoof is up and running under new management, and the company’s…

How VanMoof’s new owners plan to win over its old customers

Mitti Labs aims to transform rice farming in India and other South Asian markets by reducing methane emissions by 50% and water consumption by 30%.

Mitti Labs aims to make rice farming less harmful to the climate, starting in India

This is a guide on how to check whether someone compromised your online accounts.

How to tell if your online accounts have been hacked

There is a general consensus today that generative AI is going to transform business in a profound way, and companies and individuals who don’t get on board will be quickly…

The AI financial results paradox

Google’s parent company Alphabet might be on the verge of making its biggest acquisition ever. The Wall Street Journal reports that Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire Wiz for…

Google reportedly in talks to acquire cloud security company Wiz for $23B

Featured Article

Hank Green reckons with the power — and the powerlessness — of the creator

Hank Green has had a while to think about how social media has changed us. He started making YouTube videos in 2007 with his brother, novelist John Green, at a time when the first iPhone was in development, Myspace was still relevant and Instagram didn’t exist. Seventeen years later, posting…

Hank Green reckons with the power — and the powerlessness — of the creator

Here is a timeline of Synapse’s troubles and the ongoing impact it is having on banking consumers. 

Synapse’s collapse has frozen nearly $160M from fintech users — here’s how it happened

Featured Article

Helixx wants to bring fast-food economics and Netflix pricing to EVs

When Helixx co-founder and CEO Steve Pegg looks at Daisy — the startup’s 3D-printed prototype delivery van — he sees a second chance. And he’s pulling inspiration from McDonald’s to get there.  The prototype, which made its global debut this week at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, is an interesting proof…

Helixx wants to bring fast-food economics and Netflix pricing to EVs

Featured Article

India clings to cheap feature phones as brands struggle to tap new smartphone buyers

India is struggling to get new smartphone buyers, as millions of Indians don’t go for an upgrade and continue to be on feature phones.

India clings to cheap feature phones as brands struggle to tap new smartphone buyers