Episode 26: Anjali Raja Beharelle - Path from academia into entrepreneurship, and how Collabree helps people to make lasting habit changes thanks to behavioral economics Leap Takers

Dr. Anjali Raja Beharelle is the CSO (Chief Science Officer) and one of the founders of collabree.com. Collabree is a Swiss eHealth / digital adherence start-up focusing on improving therapy compliance of chronically ill patients by applying behavioural economics principles. Collabree is helping patients to make lasting behavioral changes and stick to their therapy regimen by combining human engagement with scalable algorithms and using the most relevant gamification factors: fun, friends and feedback.


Anjali is responsible for the clinical track and integrating insights from behavioral economics and neuroscience into the app. Before founding Collabree, Anjali worked as a neuroscientist. Her research focused on the neuro(chemical) and behavioral components of decision making between short-term and long-term rewards (e.g. should I have a candy bar or some broccoli) and how to optimize these decisions.


We discuss:



How behavioral economics can help us to make long-lasting positive habit changes
Taking the leap from Academia into the world of startups
Why medication adherence is so important
Collabree’s mission and future plans
Tips for forming habits


Show notes:



03:41 -- Intro of Anjali
04:19 -- Why Anjali decided to leave academia and to join a startup
05:38 -- Anjali’s academic research focus and how it links to her role at Collabree
08:55 -- How Anjali joined Collabree / found her co-founders
10:45 -- What is Collabree’s mission and what problem is the startup trying to solve
15:52 -- Development status of Collabree
17:18 -- More info about the Collabree app
17:36 -- Deep dive into scientific results from behavioral economics and how it can help us to form healthier habits
22:15 -- Pricing model of Collabree
24:26 -- Broader focus of Collabree - healthy habits
25:19 -- Deep dive into what habits are and habit formation from a scientific perspective
31:11 -- Practical & actionable tips for forming positive habits
34:49 -- Future plans for Collabree and status of fundraising
37:04 -- Learnings from switching from academia to the world of startups
40:43 -- Anjali’s favorite book
42:43 -- Role model of Anjali
43:35 -- Advice to your younger self
44:28 -- What courage means to Anjali
45:09 -- How to find out more about Collabree


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Special Guest: Anjali Raja Beharelle.
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Links:
Collabree WebsiteCollabree BlogCollabree LinkedInOliver Sacks, M.D., Author, Neurologist | Official Website | On The Move, Hallucinations, Musicophilia, Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a HatUniversitätsspital BaselBehavioral economicsPresent biasLoss aversionEndowment effectCommon neural value representations of hedonic and utilitarian products in the ventral striatum: An fMRI study | Scientific ReportsHabit FormationThe Habit LoopAtomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James ClearPhilip Seymour Hoffman USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences" rel="nofollow">Professor Wendy Wood > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesA Prayer for Owen Meany - John IrvingJocelyn Bell Burnell