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A strong collaboration between the University of Copenhagen, municipalities and the company SES Family has resulted in a highly effective tool for families affected by divorce.
SES, Cooperation after Divorce, is a company that offers research-based welfare technology for divorced and blended families. The solution aims to alleviate many of the problems that typically follow in the wake of divorces. In this way, SES aims to help both children and parents.
Regarding the parents, the goal is to make them more aware of themselves and each other, so they learn to handle their emotions and communicate bet-ter with their ex-partner as well as the children. For the children, the tool means, among other things, that they get peers to mirror themselves in, while also learning that it is completely normal to have many different feelings.
“About 40% of marriages today end in divorce. Therefore, we have always worked from the mission of protecting children from distress and helping both children and parents move forward," says Søren Sander, who is behind SES Family."
From startup to established company
Although SES is a thriving business today, it started as a research project at the University of Copenhagen, where psychologist Søren Sander wrote a PhD relat-ed to divorces. Later, he teamed up with his colleague, Professor Gert Martin Hald, to found the company, and in close collaboration with several municipali-ties, they further developed their evidence-based digital tool.
SES, Cooperation after Divorce
Like many other startups, SES’s ambitions were greater than their resources. Therefore, they applied to the Business Lighthouse Life Science for support to further develop the company and expand, and the process was much more straightforward than one might imagine.
“There was very little paperwork associated with the application, and we re-ceived good guidance along the way from both project managers and experts, says Søren Sander."
From 30 Danish municipalities to 160 across the Nordics
The expert panel at Business Lighthouse Life Science assessed that the com-pany met the goal of creating more equality in health, and since they also had a business with plenty of potential, they were granted both funding and ad-vice.
The funding meant they received extra capital without losing control of the company. And with the advice, they significantly refined their product and business plan, enabling them to realize the commercial part of the business.
Søren Sander and his colleagues have also had a series of meetings with, among others, business developer Christian Brix from Business House Capital Region. Here, the focus was on the company’s strategy regarding sales and cooperation with municipalities. Additionally, SES has participated in advisory panels at Business House Capital Region. Valuable networks were created here with several public buyers and decision-makers – just as SES has received advice on export strategy, especially in the Nordic markets, from Business House Capital Region and The Trade Council.
Before the collaboration with Business Lighthouse Life Science, SES delivered their solution to 30 Danish municipalities, while today they are up to 160 mu-nicipalities in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The solution has also been refined, new employees have been hired, and last but not least, the com-pany has doubled its revenue.
SES, Cooperation after Divorce
Three sides of the same coin
The strong academic foundation in the university world means, among other things, that the solution has been tested under the same strict conditions as when testing medicine. Therefore, there is evidence of its effectiveness: Stress and depression are significantly reduced, and the large test group of over 1800 people showed that adult users of SES had approximately six fewer sick days per year. The good results are not just due to the research itself, but also the feedback provided by municipal professionals who deal with fami-lies’ challenges in everyday life.
SES, Cooperation after Divorce
The story of SES is a strong example of a comprehensive Triple Helix collaboration, where research, the public sector, and a private com-pany work together across different fields – with one common goal: to reduce health inequality and protect children from distress relat-ed to divorces.
Small and medium-sized enterprises working to reduce health ine-quality can apply for funding and advice from the Business Light-house Life Science.
The next application deadline is January 15, 2025.
Business Lighthouse Life Science is co-funded by the European Union.
