Ordo

Ordoclub LTD was founded in 2018 by British entrepreneur Barty Walsh. Beginning as a small business, Ordo toothbrushes are now recommended by more than 400 dental clinics in the UK. The products are represented in all major retail chains like Sainsbarys, Boots, Ocado and Argos. According to the company, Ordo is currently one of the top 3 manufacturers of electric toothbrushes in the UK (in total, there are more than 30 oral care brands in the country).

So why do you need to keep this brand in your radar? According to Barty Walsh, the co-founder of Ordo, the idea to launch a start-up was born as a response to demand for a more affordable, but stylish and easy to use oral care. And I can’t agree more. 

When it comes to electric toothbrushes, it is not that easy to find aesthetically appealing gadgets; usually the market is quite generic and a bit boring when it comes to design choices. The other electric toothbrushes just cost a lot. But it is not in Ordo’s case: the gadgets look sleek and modern, they perform as good as well-known oral care brands, and they are so easy and convenient in everyday use (easy to charge on the go, and the battery life is quite impressive!). For those who want to finally form healthy habits, the Ordo Sonic+ Electric Toothbrush will be a great choice. 

Ordo team also makes big steps in sustainability programs; the company offers a reusable mouthwash bottle to buy along with the mouthwash product that uses significantly less plastic than other traditional concentrated liquids. Oral care is an everyday routine, so why not make it not only efficacious, but also sustainable and beautiful? The electric toothbrush comes in three shades (Charcoal Grey is the most luxurious in my opinion), and with the recently added two unique shades: Mint and Pearl Violet. You definitely need to see those majestic colours!

Flo Health

Imagine a period tracking app that not only tells you when your ovulation starts or reminds you when you should take your birth control pill, but an app which also gives you access to any evidence-based information related to your body, shared by a team of real scientists and medical professionals. Imagine an app which tells you it is normal to have a discharge, that not only you can experience cravings at night or that Postpartum Depression actually exists.

Flo’s aim is not just being a menstruation tracking app and cycle prediction, but rather a shared resource which will answer all your questions you were so afraid to ask. Flo will also warn you if your cycle looks abnormal and when you should visit your GP. Interestingly, the application had been taught to spot various diseases. For example, it will detect if you have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which occurs in 10% of women. 

My favourite feature on the app is definitely when it’s making your cycle report. It is so easy to use if you are having a gynecologist appointment and you need to explain everything in detail (which is not that easy sometimes!), as well as simply to show it to a professional. 

Flo also shares valuable information which makes women powerful. For example, it has a secret chat where you can interact with other Flo users who probably have similar health concerns as you have, and that brings a real sense of community. 

Now, the icing on the cake: the app was co-founded in 2015 by two entrepreneurs (Dmitry and Yuri Gurski), while receiving an investment by a world famous model Natalia Vodianova. She has also played a key role in making Flo's "Let’s Talk About it. Period" worldwide awareness campaign, which breaks the taboo surrounding women's reproductive health and sexual health issues. 

Human Forest

Another bicycle service, what can be special? But actually it is quite special. HumanForest is probably the most beautifully designed e-bike I have ever seen in London. Forget these heavy-looking electric bikes. HumanForest’s e-bicycles have cute baskets in front, and a beautiful deep forest green coloured logo. 

It is also the cheapest micro-mobility platform among the others. The company competes with TfL Santander Cycles and Lime as it does not charge an unlock fee while the first ten minutes of each ride are free. According to its founder, Agustin Guilisasti, a former London PhD student from Chili, he came up with an idea of making this service when he was a student; to him it was extremely expensive to move around the city. (And we can understand him!). Now Guilisasti’s mission has a slightly different context: he wants to encourage more Londoners to use greener ways of transportation. 

Around 40% of Londoners are not motorists, and cycling is the greenest public transport option available at the moment. HumanForest has already completed over a million rides; meaning saving the city from 220 tonnes of CO2 being emitted. But Guilisasti wants to provoke a real societal change. And not only for making our air quality better, but to improve our general well being as cycling can also be a truly fun and active experience. 

Nothing

Have you heard about a successful tech company not being born in the USA or China? Well, then you probably need to hear about Nothing Technology Limited. The company was born in London by a Chinese-born Swedish entrepreneur Carl Pei, who previously launched smartphone company OnePlus with Pete Lau.

Nothing’s first releases, the Ear (1) and (Stick) wireless headphones, and the Phone (1) smartphone, attracted a lot of attention due to their unusual design and affordable price. For instance, the most interesting feature of the Phone 1 is its rear panel. It is covered with transparent glass, which allows you to literally  "look inside" the phone. Under the glass, you can see the individual components which are hidden behind white plates. Some components are also complemented by LED strips that form the so-called Glyph Interface and light up when notifications and calls are received.

Nothing believes that the best technology should be seamless and natural,  intuitive to use. When it is perfect enough, it should fade into its background and seem like nothing. The mission of Nothing is also to remove the barriers between people and technology. To do this, the company creates intuitive connected products that improve the lives of its users. "Beautiful technology doesn't have to be complicated," Nothing's official website says.

Interesting fact: the company is completely independent and is not owned by any parent company. Nothing has its own research and development department, and it is not going to produce rebadged products from others. 

Skin+Me

Why do you need specifically personalized skincare in your routine? The answer is simple: we are different; from genetics to eating habits. We have different skin types, with different needs, so it makes sense that one product, no matter how good it can be, just doesn't work for everyone. In fact, the idea of personalization in care has its origins in targeted medicine, because it is simply impossible to cure everyone with just one medicine. Often the same medicine cures people with the same disease, but a different approach is needed: to take into account the anamnesis, to combine drugs and to consider accompanying therapy. A good example is acne. There are international guidelines with treatment options for each stage of this disease: drugs based on adapalene, benzoyl peroxide, azelaic acid for the first acne stage, antibiotics and retinoids for the second, and so on. The more severe the degree of the disease, the more complex and combined therapy becomes. At the same time, one of the prescriptions may not work for one patient, and it will be necessary to select another drug or a combination of them. The easiest solution for that offers Skin+Me service, founded by the former engineer Horatio Cary.

A dedicated team of professional dermatologists work for you in order you can achieve your skin goals, whether you have a mild form of acne or melasma. There are thousands of before/after photos of Skin+Me users showing their progress, which is quite impressive to see. 

The business started its journey with the Daily Doser, a product that dispenses the exact dose of your personalized ingredients you need to use everyday (so no worries about using too much or too little!). My second favourite product from Skin+Me is their latest launch: Daily Defense Oil-free SPF 50 Sunscreen. It is a fantastic sunscreen with the newest filters against UVB and UVA rays, but incredibly comfortable in use under any makeup. I also really appreciate that Skin+Me provides sustainable packaging and really convenient delivery service (delivering just through your door) via the subscription service you can not only cancel any time, but also change its date as well as to take a pause in your treatment journey.