WoW Woman in Health Tech I Abigail Barnes, co-founder and CEO of Allergy Amulet

Abigail Barnes is the Co-Founder & CEO of Allergy Amulet. She is an attorney, author, and lifelong food allergy sufferer. Abi was named to Business Insider’s 2019 Top 100 Coolest People in Food & Drink. Her work has been published in several well-known periodicals and journals, including Forbes and The Atlantic, and her research has been featured in The Economist. Abi authored two guidebooks on corporate social responsibility, published by Patagonia & Yale. She holds advanced degrees from Vermont Law School and Yale University and is the co-inventor on one issued patent. Abi is committed to making the world a safer place for the food allergy community and using business as a force for good.

Abi, what is the idea behind your project and how did you come up with it? 

For me, this is very much personal. I’ve been managing food allergies since childhood and went into anaphylaxis as a teenager after eating a cookie that I misguidedly thought was safe.  The Amulet was inspired by the hope for individuals like me to have more information about what’s in their food, to better discern what’s safe, and alleviate some of the stress and anxiety around eating.  

How long did it take you to be where you are now? 

Short answer? Longer than I expected. I’d had the idea for some time, but it wasn’t until I met my co-founder, Dr. Joseph BelBruno, around 2012, that the idea started to become a reality. The company took off in earnest in 2016 when we secured our first round of financing and started to grow our team.

What was the biggest obstacle?

There were lots of obstacles. As a start-up, your existence is pretty tenuous. You’re routinely operating in survival mode. That said, fundraising was probably our biggest obstacle. We were largely beholden to institutional capital to fund us to market. University, federal, and state funding were scarce and competitive. 

What are you most proud of? 

Our team. Grateful every day to be working with such an amazing crew. 

What are the challenges of being an entrepreneur in the niche you are in? How about being a female founder/entrepreneur?

One of our biggest challenges (and opportunities!) is introducing a relatively new product category to the market. We’re not just launching a product; we’re introducing a whole new era of food allergy management. 

In this article that I wrote a few years back, I mention how only 2% of venture capital is invested in women entrepreneurs. Interestingly, companies with female CEOs generate a 19% higher return on equity and a 10% higher dividend payout. There’s a strong business case for investing in women and underrepresented founders! 

What is a recent success your company had?

We launched pre-orders this past January and sold out in just a few hours! It was heartening and reaffirming to see how much demand there is out there for the Amulet. 

What are the projects you are currently working on?

We are laser-focused on manufacturing and shipping our product later this year. 

Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you, and if yes, why? 

YES! We need more examples of women in tech for young girls out there who need to see the world of possibilities available to them. 

What is the most important piece of advice you can give to all female founders and female entrepreneurs out there?

Surround yourself with individuals and advisors that earnestly want you to succeed, and are genuinely there to lend support. Also, enjoy the process and leave room for magic. 

What will be the key trends in the health tech industry in the next 5 years and where do you see it heading?

One key trend seems to be the shift towards value-based care models. Businesses are starting to test out these newer models, and patients are starting to expect them. 

Wearables are likely to play a key role in this shift. Unlike fee-based models, value-based care incentivizes proactive patient treatment, so we may see more wearables used as preventative tools to help monitor and alert care teams in the event of abnormal or suspicious readouts (e.g. the Oura ring identifying the onset of COVID symptoms).

Who are your 3 inspirational women in health tech?

Meridith Cass, founder and CEO of Nix. Nix has developed a hydration wearable for athletes and soldiers. Our companies were both finalists at MassChallenge Boston, where we first connected. We also wrote this article together on fundraising.     

Kristen Carbone, founder and CEO of Brilliantly. Kristen’s founding story is incredibly inspiring. Her company is committed to helping women navigate life after a mastectomy. Their first product, Brilliantly Warm, is a warming wearable for women that discreetly fits into a bra. It helps to compare notes with other female founders along the way, and Kristen has been one of those women. 

Aniyia L. Williams, former founder and CEO of Tinsel. I read about Aniyia and her company in an article recently and was blown away by her story. As someone who has not jumped on the AirPods bandwagon, I would love a product like the one to exist—an audio necklace that allows you to convert your headphones into a stylish necklace. She nailed every aspect of the design, and I am surprised their company didn’t raise more funding given the sizable market. I even tried to buy one after reading the article, but they’ve sadly closed their doors.

Find out more about Allergy Amulet on their website.

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This interview was conducted by Marija Butkovic, Digital Marketing and PR strategist, founder, and CEO of Women of Wearables. She regularly writes and speaks on topics of wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT, entrepreneurship, and diversity. Follow Marija on Twitter @MarijaButkovic and read her stories for Forbes here.