(interviewed in 2024)

Dagmar Möbius

Hannes Klöpper could have become a diplomat after completing his Bachelor’s in International Relations at TU Dresden. However, he continued to study, co-founded and managed two start-ups, and wrote a book. As CEO of HelloBetter, a leading global provider of digital health applications, he now uses his negotiating skills for mental health.

During his childhood, the 40-year-old Hannes Klöpper never had the light-bulb moment revealing what he wanted to study. In 2003, he moved from his hometown of Göttingen to Dresden because at the time, TUD was the only university in Germany offering a Bachelor's degree in International Relations. Although he was also offered a place at St. Gallen, Hanner Klöpper chose to study in Dresden. Why? “Back then, just a decade after reunification, Dresden seemed to me to be a more vibrant, urban and dynamic place.”

Innovation as the connecting factor

It was the 5th year of this course at the Center for International Studies. An academic start-up, so to speak. “I was always interested in things that seemed innovative to me,” says Hannes Klöpper and remembers: ”One applicant out of 19 was accepted.” The effect: “Everyone who was there really wanted to be there, they were all very ambitious.” The program was very demanding: politics, law with an international perspective, history, economics. Above all, he learned a lot from his fellow students. And he admits: “The course prepares you for the Federal Foreign Office. But it's a relatively static world. If I had been on my own, I wouldn't have got so involved, many people pulled me along.” He cites the ability to engage in interdisciplinary dialog as the most important skill he took away from his studies in Dresden and a semester abroad at the University of Strasbourg. He felt well prepared for life. When asked, he remembers a fantastic seminar with Prof. Marco Lehmann-Waffenschmidt from the Chair of Economics at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, where he learned a lot about the limits of human rationality in decision-making situations.

Additional studies, a book and the first start-up

Hannes Klöpper continued his studies in Berlin. He studied Liberal Arts at the European College of Liberal Arts and Public Policy at the Hertie School and Columbia University in New York. Internships took him to the European Parliament and at the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung. “I have always found education exciting and have co-authored a book on how university teaching could be developed further.” The university in the 21st century: Towards a New Unity of Teaching, Research and Society he had published together with Yehuda Elkana (†) in 2012. At the same time, Hannes Klöpper founded the start-up iversity in 2011, which he ran as Managing Director until 2017. The online platform, which specializes in higher and further education, is now part of Springer Nature. “I left it in good hands,” he laughs.

Bringing digital applications to healthcare with HelloBetter

The next challenge was already waiting. „It was serendipity,“ smiles the Berlin resident of 18 years, referring to HelloBetter, a provider of evidence-based digital therapy programs in the field of mental health. Hannes Klöpper initially advised the founding team of the GET.ON Institute for Online Health Training, which emerged from a research project at the University of Lüneburg. In 2019, he then joined the founding team himself and has served as Chief Executive Officer ever since. The company changed its name a year later. HelloBetter was the result of a creative process. “It was a compromise between two proposals. We want the name to convey our value proposition,” explains the CEO. Over the years, around ten million research funds have been invested in the development and clinical trials of the products. In addition, 25 million in venture capital from private investors. “Bringing digital applications (DiGAs) into healthcare” is the declared goal. The company has developed ten DiGAs. Six of these are currently approved by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) and are therefore available free of charge on prescription for all people with statutory health insurance. Over 80,000 people are already using them. For anxiety, burnout, sleep disorders, stress or chronic pain, but also for vaginismus. There are also contracts with certain health insurance companies for these and other digital therapy programs not yet listed in the DiGA directory, for example for the treatment of depression and alcoholism.

Daily agenda: Strategy & financing

Hannes Klöpper's professional focus is on financing and strategic challenges for HelloBetter. He negotiates with investors, holds political talks and informs payers and multipliers: “People need to know that DiGAs exist.” A program is only approved as a digital application (DiGA) if it is demonstrably effective, safe in terms of data protection and meets other requirements. “They are also only approved if they are treatments. Preventive offers are not DiGAs,” explains Hannes Klöpper. He and his team of over 150 employees in Berlin and Hamburg would like to change this in the long term.

“Mental health is a human right”

“We believe that mental health is a human right and support people in improving their mental health in a self-determined way,” Klöpper says, explaining HelloBetter's mission. The company is a popular employer. Last year, there were 3,000 applications without any major advertising. “Everyone works wherever they open their laptop,” he says, outlining just one practiced aspect of new work. He is currently working on merger plans with other entrepreneurs. Once everything is in the bag, further specialists for development, IT, marketing, sales and distribution are welcome. Students or alumni of the TUD, with which Hannes Klöpper currently no longer has a direct connection, are also welcome. However, he is still in contact with his former fellow students, even if many of them have moved into academia.

A technology pioneer at the Summer Davos in China

Hannes Klöpper doesn't talk much about himself. But he can be proud of his work: HelloBetter has just been recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of 100 Technology Pioneers for 2024. He advises the umbrella organization Digital Healthcare and took part in the World Economic Forum's Summer Davos in China with more than 1,500 international leaders from business, government, civil society and academia. One thing is certain: Innovation remains the common thread in his life.

Contact:

Dr. Hannes Klöpper
CEO HelloBetter

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