Episode 26: Anjali Raja Beharelle - Path from academia into entrepreneurship, and how Collabree helps people to make lasting habit changes thanks to behavioral economics

Dr. Anjali Raja Beharelle is the CSO (Chief Science Officer) and one of the founders of collabree.com. Collabree is a Swiss eHealth / digital adherence start-up focusing on improving therapy compliance of chronically ill patients by applying behavioural economics principles. Collabree is helping patients to make lasting behavioral changes and stick to their therapy regimen by combining human engagement with scalable algorithms and using the most relevant gamification factors: fun, friends and feedback.

Anjali is responsible for the clinical track and integrating insights from behavioral economics and neuroscience into the app. Before founding Collabree, Anjali worked as a neuroscientist. Her research focused on the neuro(chemical) and behavioral components of decision making between short-term and long-term rewards (e.g. should I have a candy bar or some broccoli) and how to optimize these decisions.

We discuss:

• How behavioral economics can help us to make long-lasting positive habit changes
• Taking the leap from Academia into the world of startups
• Why medication adherence is so important
• Collabree’s mission and future plans
• Tips for forming habits

Show notes:

• 03:41 -- Intro of Anjali
• 04:19 -- Why Anjali decided to leave academia and to join a startup
• 05:38 -- Anjali’s academic research focus and how it links to her role at Collabree
• 08:55 -- How Anjali joined Collabree / found her co-founders
• 10:45 -- What is Collabree’s mission and what problem is the startup trying to solve
• 15:52 -- Development status of Collabree
• 17:18 -- More info about the Collabree app
• 17:36 -- Deep dive into scientific results from behavioral economics and how it can help us to form healthier habits
• 22:15 -- Pricing model of Collabree
• 24:26 -- Broader focus of Collabree - healthy habits
• 25:19 -- Deep dive into what habits are and habit formation from a scientific perspective
• 31:11 -- Practical & actionable tips for forming positive habits
• 34:49 -- Future plans for Collabree and status of fundraising
• 37:04 -- Learnings from switching from academia to the world of startups
• 40:43 -- Anjali’s favorite book
• 42:43 -- Role model of Anjali
• 43:35 -- Advice to your younger self
• 44:28 -- What courage means to Anjali
• 45:09 -- How to find out more about Collabree

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