Our story - Moment of Truth

Central to a US TV game show, "Moment of Truth" is a polygraph or lie detector. When the format lands in Finland, the producers go on a mission to hunt one down.

After a borrowing request to the National Bureau of Investigation produces a stern no and importing regulations stop a purchase from the US, the resourceful team turns to the University of Technology and the Applied Electronics lab. There the lab master Matti agrees to make one. Of course. Because that's what engineers, especially the ones from Finland, do. And here's the moment of truth, under the lucky stars — Matti gives a demo to an inquisitive graduate student Henry. The demo comes with a commentary that goes something like: "Check out this curve. It shows how I'm GOING to bite my tongue BEFORE I bite my tongue." Henry is mesmerized. He will have to build one for himself. Just about this time, low energy Bluetooth has come out, and Henry's lightbulbs fire up. The technology is small enough for a ring. In a matter of weeks, Henry has a party shop ring, minus a giant ruby plus a tiny polygraph, and an app to boot. A rudimentary tool for measuring emotion. It's 2009, and Vigofere-to-be-Nuanic has taken its first steps.

From these beginnings starts the familiar story of a startup business. It's always about the team. Individuals join and leave, the team with the belief stays. There were the hustle moments of being the new kid on the startup block and the venture capitalist radar, Slush launch, and National Geographic running a story about the mood ring from Finland. The focus kept evolving, and pivots were made. Future direction remained elusive, as it often does. But the core idea stayed — a ring for telling "How am I?". Detecting stress levels truthfully, objectively, scientifically.

The ring was the soul of the concept but also the challenge. Unlike a platform business with a light structure and a swift exit plan, this was a device business. Expensive to develop, capital intensive to manufacture. Nobody wants an MVP ring in their hand.

Measuring EDA or electrodermal activity utilizes the skin's sweat response to emotions like excitement, fear, thrill, and anxiety. Just like a lie detector does. In 2015 Vigofere brought out Moodmetric, a ring and an app that measures EDA to follow personal stress levels to help people help themselves. The funny thing with stress is that it can also feel good, sometimes too good. By recognizing their stressors, the right amount of stimulus, and the best ways to relax, people could learn to prevent chronic stress and burnout. Moodmetric provided valuable lessons about the user experience but struggled to find the right customers, partners, and funding.

The solution with genuine market fit started to emerge through the zigzagging path. The worsening epidemic of chronic stress among knowledge workers was certainly screaming for it. 2020 was a turning point. The company decided to focus solely on the professional healthcare market, gain a medical grade for the ring and raise capital with a funding round. This quickly turned into a question of "should we sell our souls or not?". And then into a question of getting out or not.

Funding round interrupted, a team of two women, Henna and Sanna rose from the turmoil. The new owners and recent acquaintances, who took to each other immediately. Henna, the COO with a psychology Ph.D. in the works, had already been at the company's helm for five years. Sanna, a lifelong solo entrepreneur and a pioneer of workplace well-being solutions, stepped into the hefty shoes of a CEO. Terrifying would describe the point of no-turning-back for the pair, now financially married to each other and the company.

From the bold move emerged fresh energy, sharp focus, deeply shared values, and a team ready to revolutionize mental health treatment. To bring about a watershed moment in the sector, where medication and irregular diagnosis have been allowed to thrive under the shroud of mental illness taboo.

Behind the new leadership is a fresh funding round and a team of believers and advisors, half of whom are now investors. There's startup mastery and renowned expertise in neurology. Henry, the progenitor, and lord of the ring is back too.

New beginnings demand new totems. First, there's a 2nd generation ring in the works. Briefed to be gentle by design. Universal, non-gendered, unobtrusive, and comfortable. Second, a new name and a brand — Nuanic. A mind health technology company. Here to help healthcare professionals detect, prevent, and treat chronic stress.

And why is that important?
When facing several existential threats, humankind needs hope. And trust that there is hope. Solutions and care that make for a more resilient human being. To find our way out of the crisis, we need people with the health of mind and body to function under difficult circumstances. Make the right decisions, act for cohesiveness rather than destruction. People with the drive to change themselves and the scope for empathy to help others around them.

Sanna and Henna, now fortified with CTO Ville and Data Scientist Pasi, are steering Nuanic to become a global phenomenon and a mission to increase human capacity for resilience and compassion.