There’s this startup term everyone loves to use — unfair advantage. Most of the time it sounds like marketing fluff, but in my case I actually have one, and it’s a bit unusual: my hobby in neuroscience. I didn’t just watch a couple of YouTube videos — I studied neuroscience at Cambridge, took a full course there, and ended up deep in neuroeconomics, social behavior, and brain-computer interfaces. That whole field is basically about how humans make decisions, what actually motivates us, and why we do things that make zero sense — and then somehow justify them afterward.
From Sapolsky to Kahneman, tons of legendary scientists have explored this space. My favorite part is how the brain evaluates risk, reward, time, and social context. And this is exactly what we deal with in HealthCare: real human behavior, real motivation, and the very real tendency to avoid doing anything uncomfortable… even when it’s obviously in your best interest. Neuroscience isn’t just a cool word here — it’s a practical tool that helps us design a product people will actually use, not just theoretically like.
One of the best examples is hyperbolic discounting — our brain’s habit of overvaluing “I’ll deal with it later” and undervaluing future consequences. That’s the main reason people avoid screenings. Nothing hurts today, so it feels safe to ignore; tomorrow feels the same; and suddenly ten years have passed and prevention turns into treatment. It’s not laziness — it’s literally how the human brain is wired.
And this is where my “unfair advantage” comes in. Understanding these mechanisms helps us build a product that works with human nature instead of fighting it. Not forcing people, but nudging them. Reducing friction instead of adding more tasks. So yes — if I have an unfair advantage, it’s the years I’ve spent digging into how the brain works, and the fact that we can now use all of that to actually improve HealthCare in a meaningful way.
