Pictured: Peter Foley, Founder and CEO of LetsGetChecked
In association with KPMG, the Business & Finance Business Person of the Month for July 2021 is Peter Foley, founder and CEO of LetsGetChecked.
Peter Foley is the Business & Finance Person of the Month for July 2021. Foley founded LetsGetChecked in 2015 with the intention of providing testing kits for people from the comfort of their own homes. The company supplies tests for general health, men’s health, women’s health and sexual health. Foley has brought the company international, catering for the US, Canada, and Europe.
With over two million tests performed, and almost 130,000 diagnoses, the company has had a huge impact on people’s health.
Foley (34), from Dublin, possesses a Bachelor of Laws and a Masters in Management. Previously working in KBC, he moved on to become the Director of The Health Partnership in 2013.
The reasoning behind setting up the business stems from Foley’s intuitive initiative to remove the wait of getting necessary tests, taking the pressure off general practitioners. The company also permits customers to test cholesterol levels, hormone levels, and pre-screening for the presence of cancers.
As reported by the Business Insider, Foley revealed he was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 16. His diagnosis was delayed as doctors believed his pain was due to a rugby accident. Following months of check ups and constant hospital appointments, Foley was finally diagnosed correctly.
“They should have just done a scan on me at the time, and they just never bothered”, he explained. It was a “drawn-out process” when it “should have been a quick one”.
“When the pandemic broke, it felt like we spent the last five years building the business just for this scenario.
Recently expanding his testing kits to involve COVID-19 tests, LetsGetChecked raised $71 million (€65.4 million) in funding last May for this quest. As reported by the Irish Independent, Foley explained “When the pandemic broke, it felt like we spent the last five years building the business just for this scenario. We are super fortunate we were in a position to help”.
Lets Get Checked is the main official partner of the Irish Olympic team, providing COVID-19 testing kits for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Pre-travel tests were provided to 260 athletes and staff prior to flying to Tokyo. Tests will also be provided upon their return.
In the running to potentially become EY Entrepreneur of the Year ™, running across three categories – Emerging, Industry, and International, Foley has attracted major attention. The winner is expected to be picked in November 2021.
With his own income, Foley invested €80,000 into his new venture. He was later granted €350,000 in seed capital, permitting at home orders. The kits cater for tests involving STIs, along with prostate and breast cancer tests. Further funds were raised in 2018 through Optum Ventures, a company which partners with “extraordinary entrepreneurs to fundamentally change healthcare”. Optum Ventures invested $12 million (€9.7 million) into the business.
The company recently surpassed unicorn status in Ireland following an additional $150 million raised in a Series D funding, pushing the company to a $1 billion valuation.
With over 600 staff members internationally and in Ireland, LetsGetChecked has taken the country by storm. Manufacturing takes place in both Ireland and the US, with laboratories located in both countries. Offices can be found in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, and New York, the United States.
The company has grown and attracted major media attention, featured on CNBC, Bloomberg and Cosmopolitan, among others.
Business & Finance, Business Person of the Month
