Copy of About SwimCount
History and MotilityCount ApS
In 2010, Jacob Mollenbach and Steen Laursen came up with a bold vision. With more than 15 years of experience within the field of infertility products – Steen as a researcher and co-owner of a fertility clinic, and Jacob as an R&D manager – they created a home test that could give valid results on male fertility (sperm quality). The background for this was that both had worked in the field of infertility products (IVF) for more than 15 years - Steen as a researcher and later co-owner of a fertility clinic, and Jacob as a R&D manager.
Steen and Jacob made three important observations:
- Most men are very reluctant to visit a fertility clinic or hospital to get their sperm tested. It's not only inconvenient but also feels embarrassing (also because the sperm sample in most cases has to be produced in the clinic).
- The existing home tests do not give a reliable answer on male fertility, since they only measure sperm quantity and not the number of sperm cells that can swim, which is the most predictive factor to achieve pregnancy.
- Jacob and Steen had an innovative idea on how to measure the sperm cells ability to swim, and thereby create a valid test of male fertility.
In 2011 the company MotilityCount ApS was formally established as a Danish limited company, and a serial entrepreneur (Nicolaj H Nielsen) joined the team. In the same year the company got professional investors in the form of SEED Capital (Denmark's largest early-stage venture capital fund) and the product won the 1st prize for innovation at the 2011 Hi11 trade show. Then in October 2013 MotilityCount got through the EVC HealthTech semi-finals before reaching the final at the European Venture Summit in December 2013.
In 2014 MotilityCount got further financing from two important sources:
- Overland A/S who is the owner of Knudsen Plast (specialists in plastic moulding for healthcare products) decided to invest in MotilityCount, and became the company's very important production partner.
- The same year MotilityCount was awarded funding from the Danish Market Development Fund, to help MotilityCount to start the production of the sperm quality test.
The SwimCount product was launched on the market in 2015 after being accredited the CE mark approval.