Mica from Diabetes Now was the 2021 recipient of the IdeaFunding Social Impact Prize. The Social Impact Prize is awarded to companies with an exceptional social and community impact. Diabetes Now is an exciting and impact-oriented business focused on serving people with diabetes. Keep reading to learn more!
Q: Describe your company. What’s your product and what problem are you solving for your customers?
A: Diabetes Now is a patient-driven healthcare and pharmacy company putting diabetes patients back in control of their health and wellness. Too many people with diabetes struggle to afford healthcare and diabetes-related medications such as insulin. They have to make choices between their healthcare and basic necessities such as food and housing. We offer low-cost healthcare and prescriptions.
Q: Congratulations on winning the IdeaFunding Social Impact award! What are your next steps? How will this money help you achieve your goals?
A: Thank you so much! I still can’t believe that we won, especially against such a talented group. Our next steps are to create a community that helps with all aspects of this affliction, from diet to wound care and everything in between. This prize money will be used for branding and marketing purposes. We need to increase patient awareness so that we can help as many people as possible.
Q: What inspired you to start Diabetes Now? Was social impact one of your initial goals?
A: I was motivated by my friend Lisa who had to pay more for her son’s insulin every month than her mortgage. She had to work three jobs just to keep her son alive. The more I researched the issue the more people I found that this issue profoundly affected.
Social impact was definitely one of my initial goals. The scope of that impact and our goals has changed and grown dramatically along the way until it has become something that I never would have dreamed when I first started.
Q: What advice do you have for entrepreneurs who want to start a business with a strong social impact?
A: Do it! It may not look the same as when you started but if you are resilient enough to persevere, you can achieve something that will change peoples’ lives and there is no greater honor. Some of the greatest things in the world started because someone cared enough to try.