Aatish, founder of Varalign
By Joseph Bradfield, Sussex Innovation
A graduate of the University of Sussex venture creation year and participant in Sussex Innovation’s 2024-25 Momentum Incubator has launched a new platform designed to support carers looking after patients with complex medical needs.
Aatish was inspired to create Varalign, an appointment scheduling and reminder platform, after his experiences caring for an elderly relative whilst working for a high street optician during his university studies.
“Varalign began with my grandma in my mind,” he explains. “I found I was constantly acting as a go-between, reminding her of appointments and managing them on her behalf, since she was not tech-savvy and couldn’t understand English. From my job, it was clear to see others having the same issue of trying to manage appointments around other people, being busy with work or forgetting them altogether.”
It is estimated that missed hospital and GP appointments cost the NHS over £1.5bn annually due to a range of causes including forgetfulness, communication issues, difficulties cancelling, and practical barriers such as transport and caring responsibilities.
Varalign was designed by Aatish based on extensive market research and built in collaboration with fellow Momentum Incubator participant Olivier Hinds of Unified Projects. It syncs with calendar appointments and delivers customised alerts and reminders directly to patient, carer or both by WhatsApp, SMS, email or phone. Recognising the importance of protecting sensitive health information, it has been built from the ground up to ensure data privacy, confidentiality and industry-leading security.
“I created Varalign to help book and manage appointments on behalf of individuals to reduce stress, save time, and overcome language and accessibility barriers, just like my Grandma experienced,” says Aatish. “Varalign has one clear objective: Providing Ease, Simplifying Care.”
About the University of Sussex Venture Creation Year
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