STARTUP STORY
FROM SCIENCE LAB TO DIABETES PREVENTION STARTUP
Angelica Lawson of Ceratec Health leverages her biomedical background to address undiagnosed diabetes in our industrial workforce.
When Angelica Lawson founded Ceratec Health, she had a clear mission: to disrupt how people check and prevent type 2 diabetes. With 6+ years of experience in business, microbiology, biomedical science, and digital health, she identified a critical gap in healthcare that was affecting hundreds of millions globally. Through Startup Aotearoa’s coaching, she’s able to confidently transform her scientific knowledge into international business success.
Addressing a Global Health Crisis
Ceratec Health tackles a problem of staggering proportions. "There are around 570 million people globally who suffer from undiagnosed pre-diabetes and diabetes," Angelica explains. Beyond the personal health impacts, there's a massive $37.4T economic cost: approximately 1 in 10 employees are diabetic and receiving inadequate care, which is responsible for 62% of total productivity loss in large firms, with affected workers facing a 315% increased risk of accidents.
Ceratec Health offers two key solutions:
- BeteCheck: An AI-powered app enabling individuals to monitor and prevent their risk of type 2 diabetes.
- Health and Safety Dashboard & Intelligent Insight Reports: Data-driven tools for managers and executives to identify and prevent diabetes-related accidents, productivity delays, and expenses, and to guide strategic initiatives.
This focus on workplace safety, particularly in construction, manufacturing and freight industries, addresses both health outcomes and business productivity.
There are around 570 million people globally who suffer from undiagnosed pre-diabetes and diabetes.
The First-Time Founder Experience
“Being a first-time healthtech founder is very complex and requires a strategic holistic approach” Angelica shares. “I remember the first 3 months of doing this and I just felt like a brand new person. Doing and learning everything is extremely rewarding.”
The transition from scientist to entrepreneur wasn’t straightforward. Angelica explains, “Being in a lab you are essentially working behind the scenes, whereas as a founder you’re on stage, behind the scenes, and everywhere in between which can become a challenge, especially when aligning clinical and commercial goals.”
Coming from a scientific background, Angelica found herself navigating some unfamiliar territory. She had to quickly learn about brand identity, company representation, creating viable business models, market validation, and investment raising. One of her biggest challenges was conducting a national beta trial - a task she describes as "incredibly invaluable.” "We smashed out a national beta trial which was proven to be a huge success that shows soft product market fit - it’s very surreal and a testament to how life-changing our technology is.”
Despite the learning curve, Angelica's scientific background proved to be an asset. It helped her maintain clinical credibility by carefully positioning their technology with scientific rigor and gold standards of care. This approach has helped Ceratec Health avoid potential regulatory pitfalls.
The Power of Startup Coaching
Startup Aotearoa became a pivotal part of Angelica's 2025 founder journey. "I applied online, entered a little blurb, and then within 24 hours, Kim emailed me and I had my triage meeting," she recalls. This quick connection paired her with a coach who could provide tailored guidance.
The motivation to seek support came from recognising the unique challenges of her position: "The reason why I reached out is because I'm a private HealthTech startup rather than a spin out from a university, which means it's a hundred times harder.. So, I really wanted to make sure I could build and get access to high quality professionals with industry experience to help our growth."
Kim Thibault - Startup Aotearoa Coach
This coaching relationship has provided strategic advice that helped Angelica navigate the complex path from idea to market validation. Beyond her coach, she's built an impressive team including:
- One of Australasia's leading occupational health and safety physicians
- A financial adviser with significant experience as CFO for a $660M exit
- A medical adviser with 14+ years in healthcare and diabetes innovation
- An AI doctor (PhD) as head of AI and engineering to support research initiatives
"In 20 months with $25,000 dollars, we have quite literally achieved the impossible as a HealthTech startup"
Remarkable Progress
Ceratec Health has achieved impressive results in a short timeframe. "In 20 months with $25,000 New Zealand dollars, we have quite literally achieved the impossible as a HealthTech startup," Angelica says proudly. "We've taken this from an idea to patent-pending AI software, successfully completed a national beta trial showing how we can save a 260 sized construction firm $1.6million annually, gained testimonies and support from industry leaders and organisations, won a Callaghan Innovation grant and the national HealthTech Validator Challenge, expanded our network across 5 cities, and have large enterprises in our sales pipeline.”
This rapid progress has positioned the company for conversations with major corporations about potential international rollouts across Australia and New Zealand. The structured support has helped Angelica avoid common pitfalls while accelerating her learning.
Advice for Aspiring Founders
When asked what advice she would give to other founders, Angelica offers a refreshing perspective on failure: "If you have a strong solution for a problem, don’t be scared of trying because failure doesn’t exist - you would have accelerated a professional career, validated multiple market opportunities, business models, and novel technology... the “failure” would have been a successful sense of redirection and validation which can lead to better outcomes."
Her message to those hesitating to start their entrepreneurial journey is clear: "Don't give up on something before you've even started, because it might be the best decision you end up making."