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01 Aug 2010 | Press Release
It shouldn't be surprising that Dr Kim Chilman-Blair found her business niche in the world of superheroes. Now London based, Chilman-Blair is the founder of Medikidz, a business that's growing globally due in no small part to her superhuman efforts.
Medikidz is a world-first series of comic books that explain medical conditions to children. In each comic a group of five superheroes called the 'Medikidz' address a particular medicai condition, detailing why and how it occurs and its treatments. Medikidz has so far covered more than 20 conditions and since the books launched last September more than 600.000 have sold worldwide.
"All of the information is written by doctors for kids," says Chilman-Blair. "We get these graphic novelists from New York to co-create the content with us so that we do the medical, tough-to-understand parts and they do the dialogue and make it funny ... together we've forged this new genre."
It's been a hard slog for Chilman-Blair and her Medikidz co-founder (and med-school mate) Dr Kate Hersov, especially since landing in the UK to set up the business and raise funds there a couple of years ago. The pair were used to working long hours as doctors, but they've worked twice as hard. Chilman- Blair reckons. on their own business.
"This is the only chance we'll have to do this and be the very best in the world at it and so were quite happy to devote 101% of our time to it."
It was while studying medicine in Dunedin that Chilman-Blair became aware of a dearth
of resources to explain medical conditions to children. About five years ago, while still a Student, she decided to write her first book, about epilepsy.
"It was a complete disaster," she says. "I could understand how I wanted to get the analogies across but I didn't quite know how to make it funny and page turning, so it went straight into the rubbish bin unfortunately."
Medikidz was incorporated here in 2006, while Chilman-Blair was still a full-time doctor, working in paediatrics. When a contact mentioned they knew Bill Jemas, former executive vice-president of Marvel Comics, she picked up the phone and called New York to pitch her idea.
"I said I've got this great idea for a series of comic books, this is what I want to do and it hasn't been done anywhere eise in the world and I think a graphic novel approach would really work," she recalls. "And he just went 'not only do I think this is the most amazing idea, I want to be involved'. Now he's officially our creative director." Jemas also Shoulder tapped New York-based graphic novelists John Taddeo and Shawn Deloache. who co- create the books with Chilman-Blair.
Medikidz' New Zealand agent, Wellington GP Barney Montgomery, says Chilman- Blair's ability to communicate and pass on her vision for Medikidz has helped her get the right people involved.
"She's got a very clear vision of where she wants to go and she doesn't really let anything stand in her way," says Montgomery. "She won't take no for an answer and just keeps pushing and fighting until things happen."
Medikidz received some seed funding from Stephen Tindall's KIWI investment vehicle, and its first couple of years in New Zealand were focused on generating content. Chilman- Blair and Hersov made the leap to the UK in 2008, pinning their hopes on a bigger market in which to find further investment.
Despite the global recession, the Company was able to raise £1.8 million from a handful of investors. Chilman-Blair says part of the appeal for investors is Medikidz is a social enterprise. Content and IP generated by the business is also given away to children in the Third World through the Medikidz Foundation, which recently sent 100,000 books on HIV to Swaziland. The foundation hopes to carry our similar initiatives explaining TB and malaria.
"To be able to improve the quality of life for sick children as your business aim that's charitable in itself, which lends itself to having a charitable business model. It suits us, and all of our investors are philanthropic," says Chilman-Blair.
Medikidz has a list of 300 conditions it wants to cover and so far the books have been translated into Hindi, Tamil and Spanish. With no other such resources available worldwide, the business plans to continue extending into new countries.
"Were watching it grow and we're getting the feedback from the kids, that's the amazing thing that keeps you going and feeling it's worth it," she says.