The start of Hearoll dates back to 2006 while Sørnes was a student of audiology at HIST (now NTNU). Sørnes had been thinking of the challenges clients in rural areas of Norway had if they needed a audiologist. Sørnes was visiting his girlfriends grandparents in Glomfjord in northern Norway. He found the cost for treatment to be sky-high, due to the fact that in Norway travel expenses are covered by the state. In a worst case scenario a single persons auditory rehabilitation(3-4 visits) could cost 2k $ just in travel/accommodation expenses.

The solution Sørnes came up with was a van with a hearing lab in the back. And plans for telemedicine for the required ENT consultation. This resulted in a entrepeneurial-scolarship from HIST back in 2007. The idea never left Sørnes mind, as he knew this was the future. Sørnes got some experience in Denmark, first at Vejle hospital, before he started in Audionova, at the time northern Europe’s largest chain of hearing clinics. This experience was an eye opener and a very valuable learning experience. Changes where made as technology allowed it, and when Sørnes finally put the thoughts into practical solutions, with his company Hørselshjelp AS in 2015, the van was exchanged with a small car, performing Home-audiology.

Although the solutions worked flawlessly and the company ran very well, sickness stroke the one man company and it eventually went bankrupt. However it can be considered as a very successful pre-project. Today the idea have grown into a chain of mobile hearing clinics, performing the services in the comfort of the clients own home. Follow-ups is performed by the producers remote care apps. 

HEAROLL’S MISSION: MAKE HOME-AUDIOLOGY SERVICES EASY ACCESSABLE WORLDWIDE. BE THE BEST REMOTE WORKPLACE, ON A CONSTANT QUEST TO MAKE NEW INNOVATIONS IN THE FIELDS OF AUDIOLOGY AND CLIENT CARE.

Also the development of new AI video-otoscopy devices with high grade of accuracy speaks in Hearoll’s favor. Canadian Shoebox who recently aqcuired Koalys, will release their home audiology solution very soon, this may be a option for Hearoll.
As Sørnes did not get the response he was hoping for on the mobile audiology idea, he decided to change subject for his bachelor thesis by developing a new clinical test equipment for free field testing. A speech in noise test equipment, as free field testing was believed to be the future of audiology at that time. Most countries with a modern health system got speech audiometry developed, both as numbers and sentence tests. Today this are presented to clients by headphones. These tests can be used on Sørnes speaker-hat, with minor adjustments. Sørnes system would produce more accurate test results in free field, due to less variables. It was the perfect fit for the HINT pro system made by Bio-logic, which at that point consisted of two independent speakers. Sadly the HINT pro system was however put away for unknown reasons, free field testing however seems to resurface today.

HEAROLL MEDICAL’S MISSION: DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND TESTS TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF HEARING, BY DIRECT INVOLVEMENT OF AUDIOLOGISTS.

Today both these ideas have been proven by time. Sørnes had a hard time deciding which one to persue, eventually he went with both. Now he saw the contours of a future giant in the field of audiology.

Through his experience in Audionova Sørnes learnt a lot of how a huge chain of hearing clinics was ran. He also picked up the 2010 prices of hearing aids, these later changed the industry. Today most the big hearing chains are owned by the producers, so there is a need for an independent contractor globally.

Sørnes has always been the clients man, to deliver supreme quality service is a genuine wish. The first step in producing high level services is to create supreme remote workplaces. The secret weapon of Hearoll is it’s unique organizational structure which is flat under management and HR. Instead of the traditional middle managers, Hearoll’s employees will elect their own influencers. The elected will be empowered by HR, and perform 2hours of streaming each week during working hours. This tool allows Hearoll to implement and maintain the special culture and values of the company, in addition it gives every employee a voice, and create a funnel for new ideas in the fields of audiology and client care. In Hearoll every employee is a innovator.

The way to make this work, is by focusing on company culture and values already on interview stage. We are one team, not afraid of change, and in constant evolvement. Build people not processes!
Employee wellness is of huge importance for Hearoll. There are no managers in Hearoll, they are replaced by employee influencers and wellness consultants. And the HR department will be the best. Hearoll will go out of line and assist employees both physically and mentally, to make them the best version of themselves. This effort will result in loyal workers and increased retention level.
To be the highly expansive company Hearoll wants to be we need to build two platforms. The first will be a global crowdfunding platform which allows users all over the world to create a project to get a local mobile audiologist to their home area. This will hopefully create some local engagement and also secure audiologists in rural areas. The material cost of a new mobile clinic will be around 30K $, this will be the goal for the campaigns. Both donations (reward free hearing test 10$) and lending options for local businesses will be parameters. The other is a learning platform, containing video explanations of everyday problems for hearing aid users. Both platforms developed with translation in mind.

To grow incredibly fast Hearoll will parter with companies like Globalization Partners. This will allow Hearoll to get the HR department in the next country in place in record time. And also opens for marketing stunts, like implementing one clinic in a new country as the goals for the crowdfunding project is met. The single clinic will then be managed from a neighboring country.

Next milestones for Hearoll is to secure an initial investment that allows us to build a prototype, the core team, start building the platforms and get the ERP systems in order. Sørnes has found that many of his principles are in alignment with articles from Harward business review and business research.