Dr. Ashleigh Kennedy is the CEO and co-founder of Neurovine. She is an NCAA All-American with PhDs in Human Kinetics and Exercise Physiology and a post-doctoral fellowship in Neuroscience. Before founding Neurovine, Ashleigh ran a successful consulting company that validated new innovations for health technology startups and large medical institutions.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

My father played professional football in Canada. Growing up, I witnessed the impact of repetitive concussions on some of his teammates. In fact, when I was very young, one of my dad’s friends committed suicide. And it was related to CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). These experiences drove me to learn as much as I could about the brain.

As a teen, I ran track and represented Canada internationally in the 100 and 200-meter sprints. I attended Stanford on a Track and Field scholarship and studied Human Biology there, pursuing my love of neuroscience. I became involved in researching how the brain heals and have not looked back.

I focused my schooling on the study of the brain and human performance but felt that the years of research were stuck in the laboratory. My husband and co-founder, Dr. Matthew Kennedy spent the beginning of his medical career with concussion patients. He also believed there was a critical need for new technology and research. Together we founded Neurovine and have been performing innovative concussion research since 2019.

Neurovine aims to empower concussion patients by measuring brain health and optimizing their recovery process. Our team has worked with Canada’s leading experts in the MedTech space, conducted trials in the Digital Health program at the Elizabeth Bruyère Research Institute, and worked with individuals diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome to refine the technology.

What inspired you to start your business?

I was working as a post-doctoral fellow using an electroencephalogram (EEG) to examine brain recovery after stroke and concussion. In my practice, I saw patients doing really well in the clinic, but they would not continue their healing journey once they were discharged. This led to a series of discussions with Matthew Kennedy, my husband, and co-founder. Matthew was looking for a way to better support the concussion patients in his family practice. He felt concussion was such an invisible injury for these people and so we created Neurovine to make this injury visible to patients and those caring for them.

Where is your business based?

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

As a researcher by training, my first step was a literature review to discover what technology existed and what was lacking in concussion recovery. Next, I spoke with concussion patients and doctors and decided to make the simplest version of our minimal viable product, or MVP, to test our solution. At that point, we needed to hire an engineer, so Matt and I worked overtime on evenings and weekends to help pay someone to create the first version of our technology.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

Digital marketing has been really effective for amplifying our message. We maintain a regular social media presence and have created the Virtual Vine Blog to provide thought leadership and education on best practices in concussion recovery and brain health. This reaches patients as well as health care providers who are always searching for additional ways to help their concussion patients. The Neurovine research team has presented our technology and evidence-based research findings at concussion conferences. This has been a key component in engaging with health care providers in North America and has established our team as thought leaders in this space.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

Our biggest challenge has been raising capital to build this AI-driven platform. Our team is very talented and experienced. My focus has been to support them financially and steer them as they develop and continue to refine this incredible technology.

How do you stay focused?

We deal directly with patients who are desperate to recover and return to their normal lives. That keeps all of us focused on our mission to connect concussion patients with their own brain data so they can take control of their recovery.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Our competition is focused on clinic-based care for patients. Our differentiator is to walk alongside patients as they heal and to connect them to their data and their clinician so they can take control of their recovery.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Thought leadership has been a really important part of connecting with the clinicians caring for concussion patients. This has been facilitated through our blog series, our conference presentations, and social media engagement.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

For aspiring entrepreneurs, my advice is to be sure you only pursue an idea that you truly and whole-heartedly believe in. Once you find your killer idea, jump off the cliff and learn how to fly on the way down. You can prepare and prepare, but you’ll never feel totally ready, so you just need to go for it.

For new entrepreneurs, my best advice is to be sure you have some boundaries in place to keep yourself emotionally and physically healthy. That is critical for your success.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

Audible is one of my favorites right now. This allows me to continue to learn as I get exercise. Recently, I have really loved the book Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. Entrepreneurship is gritty and the highs are so high and the lows are so tough. Phil Knight does a great job of capturing the heart of entrepreneurship. As a runner, I identified with every line.

I have been listening to the Thrive podcast by Startup Canada a lot lately. Again, it’s the real story of people pursuing their passion. It’s inspiring and relatable.

I love the blog Still Small Moments. It’s food for the soul in a wild world of deadlines and fear. It brings a little bit of music, literature, and wisdom to my desk every Friday.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

Visible and Canva. They keep me connected to my community and get my message out with style.

Who is your business role model? Why?

Sonja Perkins. She's one of the first female venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. One of the reasons she inspires me so much is because she was brave enough to enter rooms with only men in them. This paved the way for female entrepreneurs like myself.

How do you balance work and life?

I don’t balance work and life well but I do give myself grace. I leave my phone at home during my daily dog walk in nature. I take time off for massages and dates with my kids and then I work until midnight. This is a sustainable rhythm for me, but it’s definitely not balanced. I don’t know any entrepreneur who is also a parent who has found balance during this global pandemic. But if you are passionate about your company, you find a way to make it work.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

I run in the woods with my dog and without my cellphone. If I can get myself lost all the better. It’s a moment to be surrounded by something grounded and solid and to test my limits physically rather than mentally. While I run, I think and pray and zone out, all of which allows me to be more present for the rest of my life. I also play the guitar with my kids. This is a silly time for us to laugh and it reminds me of what the important things are in life. Finally, I take time to eat good food with my husband. This usually does not happen until after 9 pm and the kids are in bed, but it’s always worth the wait.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

We are launching a large-scale Beta program in the United States in the next six months. We are looking for 200 concussion patients across the country to join our program.

We are in the process of building our own EEG headband for our patients. This is the first time I have brought a product from start to finish through the manufacturing process. It’s exciting and a little daunting at the same time. We are looking forward to placing our first small batch order and receiving our first physical product in six months' time.

How can our readers connect with you?

You can find me on LinkedIn or send me an email. I’m always happy to connect with new people.

· Audible

· Thrive Podcast

· Still Small Moments Blog

· Visible

· Canva

· Sonja Perkins

· Ashleigh Kennedy’s LinkedIn

· Ashleigh Kennedy’s email

· Neurovine website: https://www.neurovine.ai/

· Neurovine’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn