Company

Name: MotiSpark

Legal: SmartSpark, Inc.

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Founded: 2015

Founder(s): Ariel McNichol Langer 

Website: www.motispark.com

Social Media: 47 followers on Twitter, 163 likes on Facebook, 72 followers on LinkedIn and 55 followers on Instagram

INDUSTRY – Healthcare SaaS Market

Size:  USD 2.5B in 2018 (Source: GrandView Research)

Introduction

MotiSpark is an AI-driven patient engagement app that empowers patients with chronic illnesses to follow healthier lifestyles and self-care effectively. As a therapeutic personalization engine, MotiSpark takes a cue from behavioral sciences and social media to transform habits by conveying it in bite-sized videos to spark purpose and action. The app sends customized video nudges to patients to help strengthen their intrinsic motivation for lasting behavior changes. 

The Product

Los Angeles-based MotiSpark partners with select organizations to enhance outpatient engagement. Condition-specific and culturally relevant messages are tailored to drive adherence to care plans and to improve health literacy among remote patients. Current partnerships focus on patients with two or more chronic illnesses such as kidney failure, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension. 

MotiSpark’s type 2 diabetes program is a specially curated lifestyle management program to inspire patients to stick to healthy practices that improve outcomes. Short, engaging, and easy-to-understand videos are customized to enhance knowledge about the illness and intrinsically motivate patients to adopt a wholesome lifestyle. Spark’s personalization engine identifies when patients most need support to send video nudges based on cognitive behavioral therapy and other evidence-based motivational learning techniques to modify behaviors for lasting change. 

Recovery Spark, MotiSpark’s unique addiction recovery program, uses personalized videos that inspire and make it easier to reinforce sticking to the plan with effective ongoing support. Addiction recovery patients with higher chances of relapse can quickly receive a newfound sense of purpose and motivation through the app by watching personalized videos with a human connection. Patients using the platform can customize basis their personal coping mechanisms to receive support when they need it the most. 

MotiSpark’s dialysis program offers condition-specific motivation to reduce hospitalization and improve morale for patients undergoing kidney failure. Apart from personalized images, MotiSpark videos also feature local health counselors and caregivers to build rapport with outpatients and encourage them to come back to the clinic. 

Passionately driven to use technology to reform an individual’s well-being, MotiSpark is designed to trigger regular exercise, healthier eating, and improved sleep cycles. MotiSpark leverages the rising smartphone usage among all age groups to inspire healthier lifestyles. By involving caregivers and counselors in its videos, the app deepens trust and enhances adherence to plans and continuity with health-care providers. 

Origin and Founding Team

Ariel McNichol Langer founded MotiSpark in 2015. Langer first worked on creative design backed by evidence-based behavioral science when she designed games for children with learning disabilities under Dr. Michael Merzenich for Scientific Learning and then at Forensic Technologies International.  As a creative director, she has designed innovative experiences for companies such as Apple, Lucas Arts, Disney, and the Annenberg Institute.  

As an entrepreneur, she co-founded and scaled multiple businesses, including popular avatar-based company mEgo.com, that went on to attract millions of users and had successful partnerships with Adidas and the NBA. She came up with the idea for Motispark when she found herself struggling to adhere to doctor-recommended lifestyle changes. Innovatively using technology, behavioral science, and the impact of creative visual motivation, MotiSpark aims to empower people to lead healthier lives.