IBDrelief

An information sharing platform to connect, support and guide those affected by Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) so they can live a better quality of life.

The problem 

For the 400,000 people who have been diagnosed with IBD in the UK and the millions of others around the world, everyday life can be a struggle. This incurable, chronic disease includes symptoms such as diarrhoea, bloody stools, vomiting, nausea, fatigue, stomach pains, joint pain and much more.

IBD - which includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis - is generally managed through strong drugs and/or surgery. But, those living with IBD are often still left with debilitating symptoms which really affect their quality of life. IBD and its associated symptoms are estimated to cost health services around £1bn annually just in the UK.

There are a growing number of people who have an appetite for learning about how to help control their symptoms alongside the medical treatment they are already receiving. At the moment there is no one place where people can get this information or learn from others who have successfully achieved this. Anyone who wants to learn more has to go through a trial and error process themselves.

Our solution

IBDrelief is a support and information platform for the people - and the people around them - who want to find ways to improve their quality of life. It will connect them, give them an opportunity to share their experiences and help them learn other ways to manage their condition, alongside any medication or surgical procedures they have had or may need.

We hope IBDrelief will help improve the symptoms and quality of life for those living with IBD, and in turn reduce the IBD-related bill for health services around the globe.

Who are we?

IBDrelief has been founded by husband and wife team Seb and Emily. Seb was diagnosed in 2008 with ulcerative colitis (UC). He spent several years on powerful drugs and, although these helped to stabilise his condition and reduce the number of toilet trips he was making, he was wary about remaining on them forever. Seb was also still suffering from many of the side effects of IBD including fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headaches and more.

Inspired by the 2012 Olympics he took up athletics and found through doing exercise these side effects improved. He started making other adaptations to his lifestyle - including introducing changes to his diet and learning how to manage the stresses of running his own business - and found his health improved even more. He managed to reduce his medication dosage and achieve remission. Wanting to share what he had learnt, and hopefully learn even more, he started to take part in conversations on social media with others living with IBD.

Seb found there were so many others who were seeking the same information as he was. At the same time he found partners, family and parents of those with IBD who were also seeking information about the condition and how they could support their loved ones. This sparked the idea for IBDrelief.

Seb owns his own web design and marketing company and Emily has a background in media and marketing. At the beginning of 2015 they decided that with their combined skills and passion to help change the lives of other people affected by IBD they wanted to make IBDrelief a reality.

They also wanted to make sure that any profits from IBDrelief were put back into the project and used to help people with the disease - that's why they registered it as a social enterprise. A social enterprise is a company which looks to tackle social problems, improve communities, people's life chances or the environment. Should IBDrelief become a success any money that's left, after expenses and wages, including Seb and Emily's, have been deducted, will be spent on IBDrelief, associated IBD projects and donated to charities.

Who is IBDrelief for?

IBDrelief is for everyone affected by IBD across the world. That includes anyone who has been diagnosed with IBD, their partners, family and friends. The plan is to provide information and resources for all of these groups to use.

Why are we crowdfunding? 

At the moment everything you see on www.ibdrelief.com has been created by Seb and Emily out of their own pockets. But, building websites and paying for expert advice is expensive. They have now reached the limit on the amount of time and money they are able to put into the website themselves. Without investment at this stage they will be unable to continue the project.

What will we do with the money?

We have big plans for IBDrelief. These plans are spread out over 3 phases.

Phase 1

Reaching our initial Crowdfunding target would enable us to complete Phase 1 of the project. This includes:

• Finishing the map feature on the site. This feature shows where our users live and enables them to connect with others nearby so they can offer each other advice and support. We also want to include an event feature so users can add their own IBD-related events for others to view or view IBDrelief's own events
• Creating advice from expert nutritionists and dieticians on the role food plays in managing or causing symptoms, alongside users' own experiences
• Allowing users to create their own profiles. On their profile they will be able to provide information about what helps them, give their personal story, the drugs they are on, add their own recipes, link to products from the shop they find helpful to manage their condition and eventually link their profile to the food dairy in Phase 2.
• Adding a Q&A section where users can ask and help answer questions
• Providing detailed information on medications, how they work and reviews from people who have taken them
• Telling real-life stories to inspire those affected by IBD
• Building an online shop providing IBD-related products at competitive prices
• Hold IBDrelief social events and meet-ups for our members

Phase 2

Raising more than our minimum Crowdfunder target would enable us to start work on Phase 2 of the project.

This includes:

• Building a recipe section with interchangeable ingredients which can be built into full meal plans
• Providing tailor-made exercises, created by experts, especially for those with IBD who may struggle with fatigue, have recently had surgery or who want to increase their weight
• Creating an IBD specific food diary which tracks symptoms alongside foods being eaten
• Carrying out regular surveys to help find trends in areas such as lifestyle, treatment, diet and medication which can then be used by IBD fighters to inform their choices and also be used by medical professionals to aid research
• Hold IBD retreats

Phase 3

Plans for Phase 3 of the project are still under development and we want our users to help decide what features we should build in this stage so some of the features below may change/develop.

Some of our ideas for Phase 3 so far include:

• An IBDrelief recipe book
• Fashion for those with stomas
• A platform for personal fundraising (eg to raise the money so someone can attend a retreat or pay for some private medical care)
• Information and advice on fertility and pregnancy
• Self-management section (to link in with the food diary)
• An app and directory of IBD-friendly businesses, organisations and places
• Appoint patient educators to offer support to fellow patients

When will the website be completed?

IBDrelief will be an ongoing project that will be constantly responding to its users needs so the website will never be completely 'finished'.

However, if we reach our minimum Crowdfunder target, work on Phase 1 of IBDrelief will start straight away. We hope we will have finished everything in Phase 1 of the project by the end of 2015 or in very early 2016.

The timescales for completion of Phase 2 will be dependent upon how long it takes us to raise more funds and/or generate enough income to pay for it. We estimate that to complete Phase 2 of the project in full we will need a further £100,000. However, we would aim to break Phase 2 into smaller sections and build each feature as we raise funds. For example, if we raise a further £20,000 we may be able to build and launch the recipe section of Phase 2. Another £20,000 may then mean we can complete the exercise section.

Phase 3 will be ongoing and for this reason it is impossible to put a timescale or financial figure on it.

How will IBDrelief be sustainable?

The aim is to keep all the content on IBDrelief free for all users, forever.

This means we need to make sure the website will create revenue, and therefore be sustainable, as we won't be charging people to access the website and its features.

Plans to generate revenue include:

• An online shop
• Working with corporate partners
• Advertising on the site
• Grants
• Special events

How can you help?

1. Make a pledge. Of course we are Crowdfunding because we need money to continue with the project. If we don't meet our minimum target then we won't receive any of your money and we won't be able to continue building IBDrelief. So, if you like the sound of what we are trying to achieve then please make a contribution - big or small - every penny counts.

2. Tell your friends about us. If you are unable to donate, or have already made a donation but want to do more to help, then please tell everyone you know about our campaign and encourage them to make a donation too. Tell your family, friends, work colleagues and employers. Share it on your social media accounts. Do anything that will help spread the word!

3. Sign up to the IBDrelief website to keep up-to-date with our news and progress and join our IBD map.

4. Donate your skills. We will be needing people with relevant skills to help us develop the website - such as medical professionals, experts in the fields of exercise, IBD and nutrition, copy writers, bloggers etc. If you think you have a skill which would be helpful then please email us on [email protected]

The rewards

To say thank you for your financial pledges we have a range of rewards available - just choose the reward you want and pledge that amount. If you want to make a pledge but don't want a reward then you can, of course, do this too.

We have worked hard on our rewards so we hope you like them! All of the rewards will either cost you more to buy outside of our Crowdfunding campaign or are exclusive rewards that can't currently be bought anywhere else.

We have two special rewards which Seb and Emily wanted to offer as they are products that have been particularly helpful to Seb. The first is a bundle of products from BetterYou which includes magnesium flakes and vitamin D oil and the second is a 12 week supply of probiotic Symprove.

We are also offering an exclusive IBDrelief Caught Short Kit which includes everything you might need if you happen to be caught short! Please note that the kits will be made up and ordered only if we reach our minimum £50,000 target. This means the images of them are only a likeness and not pictures of the real product!

A selection of our rewards include:

What people are saying

We have been overwhelmed with the generous comments and support people have been offering the project. Here are just a few of things people have already said about us: 

The team

IBDrelief is run by founders Seb Tucknott and Emily Bridges. The development and day-to-day running of the website and other activities such as social media accounts, marketing and admin is carried out by Seb, Emily and staff at Seb's web design and marketing company Brightsite.

We also have on-board a host of experts who will be on-hand to help us develop IBDrelief if we meet our minimum funding target.

To find out more about the team visit www.ibdrelief.com

We are also speaking with many more experts who are interested in supporting the project. If you have skills which you think could help us then please get in touch.

FAQs

If you have a question please contact us through our Crowdfunder page or email [email protected]

Some of the commonly asked questions, with answers, are listed below.

Q: Why is it all or nothing?

A: In this campaign if we don't reach our minimum target then we won't receive any of the money. We could have chosen to run a campaign in which we receive all the money, no matter how little we raise. But, we didn't want to do this because we don't want to disappoint. If we only managed to raise half of the amount we need then we'd only be able to build half a website and that would be pretty disappointing - both for us and for you. Similarly, if you decide to invest £50 in return for becoming a founding member but we are only able to build a little bit of the website you would be pretty disappointed. We also feel it's more motivating to have an end goal. We will be more motivated to reach the target and you will be more motivated to help us if you want your reward!

Q: Are you a business or a charity?

A: We are a social enterprise. This means we are a registered Limited Company but also a registered social enterprise. A social enterprise is a company that looks to tackle social problems, improve communities, people's life chances or the environment. As well as looking to improve the lives of people affected by IBD we will also be investing any profits into improving IBDrelief, giving donations to IBD charities and supporting IBD research.

Q: Can you take pledges from outside the UK?

A: Yes! You can make a pledge from outside the UK using PayPal. Unfortunately, due to the cost of postage and packaging outside of the UK we are unable to get the product-based rewards to you. This includes the Symprove and BetterYou products and the Caught Short Kit.

Q: When will I get my reward?

A: If we are successful in reaching our target then we will work as hard as possible to get your reward to you as soon as we can. If we are not successful in achieving our target then you will not be charged and will not receive a reward.