M AGAZINE
NOVA
April 2021
BETTER TOGETHER Introducing Georgia Wheadon, Founder of Umii
Nova is an EIS and SEIS fund provider with a difference. Its pioneering Nova Cofoundery was started in 2008 to build successful startups with ambitious tech founders - such as Georgia Wheadon, Founder of UMII. Here we talk to Georgia about her business and its development and find out how the support of Nova has made such a difference to its overall success.
GBI: COULD YOU START BY EXPLAINING TO US EXACTLY WHAT DOES UMII OFFER?
GBI: SO WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE FOR YOU BEFORE UMII?
GW: Very simply it is a well-being app. It’s designed to prevent social isolation and to help students at college or university to build friendships.
GW: Back in 2018 I was studying Human Geography and Sociology at Leeds University, and secured a placement at Nova (Nova Cofoundery Ltd). It was the first time that I got involved with start-up businesses, and I absolutely caught the bug. I then left university the following year and Nova was good enough to offer me a full-time role as a product manager.
Somehow, people seemed increasingly reluctant to introduce themselves to others face to face, whether in coffee shops, the union, or the library. There is a lack of social confidence. The app provides a safe digital environment for students to connect. The Umii app is built on shared interests and personality traits, so that there is every chance that a friendship can be formed. We see it as a way to reduce the number of drop-outs from university, with all the heartache and waste of resources that this entails.
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GBI: WHAT GAVE YOU THE IDEA FOR THE BUSINESS? GW: The original idea of the Umii app wasn’t mine but it was a concept that I completely empathised with. In my first year at university, I had a real issue with loneliness
GB Investment Magazine
