Passion is nothing but an inherent drive that compels one to dig success out of anything by investing the time and skillset. Having a track record of professional achievements and years of experiential knowhow, Nic Klopper is passionate about transforming startups into incredible business successes. With his unique set of team management and “do more with less” skills, he built hearX^Ⓡ Group—an impact-driven company that has provided over 1.2 million hearing tests in 191 countries globally.

Ensuring credibility

Curious and courageous as he is, Klopper discovered that a lot of health tech startups are developed by non-healthcare people. “Youngsters think of an idea; add some AI to it and push apps to the app store or solutions to the market which are not backed by science, research, and clinical studies. This in turn actually threatens the credibility of health tech as a whole,” says Klopper. The startups ought to get strategic advisors to consult and advise on clinical direction and clinical studies. “Clinical validation and studies are vital to produce accurate products, something that we feel is ethical, especially in the health and wellness space that is so unregulated.”

hearX, on the other hand, built technology that is clinically validated and research backed, being the most well published hearing healthcare company. “We stringently validate our tech, do numerous user studies, and hold multiple patents and certifications, including ISO 13485 etc.,” he confirms.

Technology as an enabler

Healthcare today is evolving like never before and technology makes it more accessible. However, as Klopper points out, technology isn’t healthcare; it’s only an enabler of healthcare. With technological innovation, hearX scales hearing healthcare at an incredible pace which wouldn’t have been possible without it. “We provide an entirely new way to overcome traditional barriers to the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of disabling hearing loss,” he notes.

For instance, Lexie Hearing®, developed by hearX, is the embodiment of using technology to democratize and decentralize hearing healthcare and to get it into the hands of the people who need it most. Lexie is an innovative game-changer in the US hearing aid market with a mission to make better hearing affordable and accessible to everyone. The team at Lexie is passionately committed to helping people enjoy healthy hearing without having to spend thousands of dollars, recognizing that too many people do not wear hearing aids because they are so expensive. That’s why Lexie Hearing is changing the industry. “We bring a great experience to customers with high-quality hearing aids, a customer care program that proves that people with hearing loss are at the heart of everything we do, and smart technology that gives customers control of their hearing experience.”

Over and above Lexie Hearing, the company also developed over 12 other health tech products, including an AI-based otoscope called hearScope for the diagnosis of in-ear pathologies of the tympanic membrane. It is a digital video and image otoscope that comes with a phone or desktop app. The solution has an AI image classification tool built into it that outperforms the accuracy of specialist diagnosis by far.

Persistence at all times

In a world of immense competition, Klopper believes in finding the niche to build a successful business. Moreover, entrepreneurship requires a clear value-proposition, headstrong persistence and stamina to reach heights. As a passionate serial entrepreneur, Klopper is keen on building his company around the vision for impact, partnering with people and businesses that are larger and more successful than his, and persevering through failures. “The best way to be okay with failure is to realize that you will probably fail at something everyday, so fail fast; learn faster; iterate and persist.”