April 28th, 2022 - St. John’s, NL – Cyno, Newfoundland-based Health technology platform for corporate wellness, announced today that it has raised $2.3 million in seed funding which will enable the company to grow its team and expand its offering across North America. Pelorus Venture Capital (VNL II) led the round, with participation from existing strategic angels and experienced tech-sector entrepreneurs and executives.
Cyno, which is a platform that enables employees to easily search, book, and meet with top health and wellness providers from the comfort of their own home, was started originally due to the challenges surrounding the accessibility of health and wellness services. CEO, Peter Barbour, founded the company in 2017 after hearing about the excessive wait times for health experts that his family members were experiencing while living in rural Newfoundland.
“I came to the realization that equal and comprehensive access to expert health advice has many barriers.” said Barbour. “Weather the barrier is geography, cost, wait times, or various types of inadequate insurance coverage, it really isn’t right that everyone doesn’t have direct and fast access to a health expert who could provide life altering guidance.”
Sarah Murphy, Partner at Pelorus Ventures, has joined Cyno’s board of directors along with Nick Janes, VP of product management at Verafin, and Terry Power, former CEO of Medisys Health Group. “We recognize that Peter and his team have been able to grow an impressive customer base across Canada, and they’ve done it in a very lean fashion to date,” said Murphy. “At Pelorus, we love to see entrepreneurs who have proven out the market demand. This has put Cyno is a great place for strategic investment, which will allow the company to take their growth to the next level.
Cyno’s unique marketplace offers both 1-on-1 and group virtual offerings that can service employees globally in a live and interactive setting. “We were looking for a way to reach the most people, so we started exploring corporations and their health & wellness benefits plans.” said Barbour, “We discovered that many preventative health services were not covered by traditional health insurance, and many of the services that were covered, didn’t have adequate coverage to meet users needs.” Cyno now offers over 250 different virtual health services including mental health counseling, personal training, nutrition consultations, financial coaching, art therapy, and many others.
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About Cyno
Cyno is a health and wellness marketplace that offers comprehensive access to top health experts for corporate employees. It is a one-stop-shop where employees can search, book, and engage with health professionals of their choice from the comfort of their own home. Today Cyno is a trusted tool where employees plan their unique health and wellness journeys. There are currently 15,000 employees with access to Cyno and there have been over 10,000 health sessions booked in the last 12 months. To book a demo to see how Cyno works, visit www.cyno.ca
About Pelorus Ventures
Pelorus Venture Capital began in 2015 because we believe in building the Atlantic Canadian ecosystem. We partner early. We mentor companies, help them commercialize and grow while providing venture returns for the investors. We bring an experienced voice to venture capital. We work with founders who disrupt and who continue to develop their bold ideas. Learn more at www.pelorusvc.com.
Contact:
Peter Barbour, CEO
Cyno
(709)743-7383