87% has raised £1.6 million in seed funding to accelerate its expansion and further its mission to improve the wellbeing of society, percent by percent.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, 87% focused its efforts on supporting frontline staff as the wellbeing of those in this highly pressurised sector suffered. Through a series of partnerships with healthcare services that include the College of Paramedics, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Air Ambulances UK, NHS Practitioner Health and the London Ambulance Service, a total of over 45,000 emergency workers now have access to the platform.

This work expanded rapidly into commercial and other sectors requiring similar services amongst their employees, including household brands in the media and marketing, logistics, veterinary and housing sectors, with arrangements in place for providing international support. An increase of over 4000% in total users since the beginning of the pandemic has seen 87%’s compound annual growth rate soar to 400%, sparking high demand for investment in the next stage of the company’s expansion.

The latest round of funding was committed in just 14 days, secured purely from existing shareholders and those that had previously expressed an interest. With the additional capital, 87% has secured the services of specialists, including two senior names from the world of wellbeing to drive sales, and will develop its educational capability and user experience, and expand its digital services across a wider variety of channels and devices.

Founded in 2017 by Richard Glynn, former CEO of Ladbrokes and Special Trustee of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, and run by a team of psychologists and technologists, 87% uses sophisticated, clinically-validated measurements to give individuals the means to understand, address and strengthen their mental health. Customised tools and content, daily exercises and reflections and nudge theory techniques promote healthy habits that build mental fitness as a part of everyday life. Personalised coaching in a safe environment gives the broader workforce the means to develop enduring wellbeing techniques, while those exhibiting areas for focus are automatically signposted to support services.

By analysing emotional and behavioural trends amongst staff, 87% works with organisations to help them make informed decisions about targeted wellbeing strategies, whilst measuring efficacy against ongoing data to prove effectiveness. Research and insights facilitate continual improvements, with organisations also benefitting from a full range of digital and physical wellbeing programmes delivered by a team of clinical psychologists. These include e-learning modules, specialist webinars and organisational culture and design consultancy, based on areas of need derived from the data.

Meanwhile, 87% has secured additional funding from the Aviva Foundation to implement a new comprehensive solution for small-medium businesses to improve mental wellbeing in the workplace. Proprietary data from 87% during the first phase of the pandemic showed the impact of the virus on employees personal and work lives, with for example women 81% more likely to suffer from fatigue and 89% more likely to suffer from anxiety than men. The importance of such data and insights encouraged Aviva to help SMEs, often unable to access such support.

Richard Glynn, Founder and Chairman of 87%, comments, “At 87%, we see building mental fitness foundations as a critical part of everyday life. Without strong foundations, we all struggle to fulfil our potential or recover quickly when the winds of change shift against us. With data sitting at the heart of our proposition, we can make this tangible for users and businesses. Whether it’s the user benefitting from better focus and performance, and therefore greater fulfilment in life, or businesses getting more from staff through improved productivity and efficiency, our measurements drive the insights needed to take appropriate action. This funding is testament to our team’s work in the last 18 months and will pave the way for us to further realise our vision of improving the mental wellbeing of society, percent by percent.”