Interactive software for health enhancement, general well-being

Following a personal tragedy, Doron Tzur decided to change his occupation. A mathematician and physicist by training, Tzur was a partner in a data mining technology company when his young wife succumbed to cancer a year after their daughter's birth. "I decided to do something good. My perspectives greatly changed. However, not all the problems the software deals with are straight out of tear-jerking Turkish movie," Tzur says.

Tzur decided to develop a software which would enable people to face their daily worries more easily. Zur: "The idea is an old one. When something is bothering a person, it helps if he writes it down. Many people wrote diaries in the 19th century. Nowadays, most people give up after a few sentences.

And the program answers. "For example, I can ask how to find investors for my company." Tzur asks the question via the keyboard. Four cartoon images appear on the screen, and he can choose which of the images he would like an answer from. He chooses a rather obedient-looking girl named Diva, who answers: "G-d said His kingdom is within us."

"Globes": This answer sounds suitable more or less in response to any question.

Tzur: "We don't give answers, we provide food for thought."

We tried Jane, a juicy redhead, who turned out to be less enlightened and more practical. "You don't learn about capitalism at university," she quotes a great thinker. Tzur believes this comment adds something of value to him. He then moves to a place where he can enter the emotional impact of Jane's comment on him. This is a sort of "emotions meter", allowing the user to rate whether he feels 'lighter' or 'heavier', more relaxed or frustrated, clearer or more confused, weaker or energy-boosted. Tzur feels more alert.

Tzur is now invited to report his conclusions. "I need to stick to potential investors who see the dangers, but believe they can be managed, rather than to those who stress the possibility of failing with such a crazy project," he writes. He now requests a response of an image named Fred, who believes that "what's important is to invest in good will".

Tzur likes this answer. It's exactly what he's trying to do with his start-up, and doesn't understand why people can't see it. "I expected people to invest in the project because of its humanistic value. However, even those engaged in social action say that as investors, they need to look at the money aspect, and the fact that they like the software interferes with this."

It sounds rather naive. How do you make money from it?

"It will be profitable. People have a need for emotional quality of life. The 'feel-good' industry is hugely profitable. People buy a Mercedes in order to feel good, they smoke tobacco to feel better, they take Prosaic and attend workshops. People reach a certain age around forty, and feel they have achieved material goals and ask if that's all there is. People feeling good about themselves is something that has clear economic implications."

Let's get down to the micro level. How you plan to make money out the product?

"Firstly, people will pay for the service. In a survey we conducted, over 70% said they were willing to pay for a service of this sort. At the organizational level, employers pay for assistance programs for employees, which contributes to their productivity and loyalty to the company. Their economic interest is obvious: if a Boeing employee is an alcoholic and assembles a part upside down, the company's liability in case legal steps are taken will be lower if it proves it takes care of its employees. Moreover, the software can serve as a barometer for the mood of employees - particularly in corporations undergoing a demoralizing process, such as Microsoft."

The start-up has three psychologists, who contribute their knowledge to making the product suitable for meeting users' needs. Nevertheless, Tzur admits the product is more philosophical-practical-spiritual than psychological.

All this would sound like sheer fantasy but for the fact that giant US insurance company Aetna has shown an interest in the software. Living Software plans to start testing the product shortly. "They believe someone insured who works with the software will spend less of the insurance company's money on health. The person may not take the next cigarette if he's using the software. Athena has 35 million policy-holders, and to save one visit to the doctor, it's worthwhile for it to pay us $10-15 a user. A giant pharmaceutical company dealing in mental health is also considering using the product in order to measure the effectiveness of its product," Tzur says.

Another potential use for the product: the 'correspondence' can be used as a sort of monitoring report by psychologists regarding their patients feelings. This would shorten initial exposure known as the 'intake period'. Plans also exist for setting up a portal offering the software to users and possible international cooperations.

I find that the software interface is one of the product's weaknesses. The images are graphically unprofessional, with pale colors and the fonts (often resembling handwriting) give a messy look to the site. Tzur accepts this criticism openly, and even invites the graphic artist to hear it. At the same time, he cannot resist a psychological remark: "I bet you're not an orderly person," he says. He's right.

Tzur says the start-up has no direct competition. Internet chats and advisory services, however, constitute indirect competition.

In the meantime, Tzur has raised $300,000 from private investors and bridge funding from a US fund. The private investors include Yoav Avtalion (Nice), Dr. Amnon Shefi (Composit), Prof. Danny Dolev, contractors (Israel Nevo of Luki Construction & Development), a group of diamond dealers and Tzur himself. The US fund wanted to invest several million dollars, but Tzur, in contrast to their opinion, believed the company was not yet ripe to burst into the US market with full force, and therefore decided to forego the investment.

Published by Israel's Business Arena on 12 June, 2000