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Based on a personal story
A few years ago, Peter Green had a shoulder surgery. He followed his physical therapist’s instructions to the fullest after the procedure. However, when it was time to continue doing exercises at home, it turned out that physical therapy was boring, it was painful at times which was not motivating at all.
It occurred to Green that he wasn’t the only one who felt that way. He came up with an idea of a game that would supplement physical therapy, make it fun and get people to do their exercises. But this wasn’t possible until he met his future team.
A hackathon headstart
In 2015, Helsinki University Hospital held a hackathon challenge to make its new children’s hospital a happier place. Team Rehaboo!, at the time, a student team from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences where they were studying humanities, physiotherapy and game development. The team decided to build a physiotherapeutic game to help kids recover from surgeries and won the challenge. At the event, they met the present CEO Green and decided to join forces.
Rehaboo! gameplay was inspired by Hugo Troll Race, a free Danish game designed in 2012. That game uses 3D cameras to sense body movement and control what happens on the screen. Such a setup doesn’t require much to set it up and play anywhere. Gradually, Rehaboo! Active acquired more and more features, some of which are measuring player’s results, customizing games for players with different needs, and having a friendly virtual coach.
How to get people moving
Their determination took Rehaboo! to Slush where they pitched their solution in 2015 and launched a new game in 2016. Rehaboo Ltd was established in November 2016, at the Health Innovation Village at GE Healthcare Finland (a coworking space for Digital Health related startup companies). Same year, the company secured their first angel investment. The company was formed with three original shareholders, a few new co-founders joined in 2017.
Then it was time for game development and polishing. The action started in 2019, with new co-founders, a game designer, artist and two developers joining the team. The MVP game Rehaboo! Active was ready to be sold to organizations that wish to make people active. In 2019, Rehaboo! started a few pilot projects, one of which was at the freshly opened Helsinki University Children’s Hospital, the one that challenged Rehaboo! to make the hospital a happier place back in 2015.
At the end of 2019, Rehaboo! opened a seed round to keep on developing the game and adjusting it to the needs of different players, from children and hospital patients to working adults and the residents of care homes.