Our Story

Chronica’s History

In 2008, graphic and digital designers Chris Drabsch and Gianna Grbich received a scholarship to attend the MEGA Entrepreneurship Masterclass in Adelaide, South Australia. It was in this program that the idea for Chronica was formed, and the necessary skills to take it to market were gained.

At the completion of the MEGA course, all participants are required to pitch their idea to a panel of technology experts and submit a detailed business plan. The idea of Chronica helped Chris and Gianna win all three awards on the day – best pitch, best business plan and best overall team, as voted by the other course participants. This gave them the invaluable opportunity to travel to Sydney, and pitch their idea at the MEGA National Pitch Day at the Telstra Innovation Center in front of a national audience of technology investors and leaders. At this event, Chronica received the top award for best pitch in the national category.

Building on this success, Chris and Gianna applied for and recieved a Creative Industries Start Grant through the Government of South Australia, which enabled them to commission 2moro Mobile to turn the idea of Chronica into a fully developed iPhone application.

Gianna’s Personal Story

I have lived with chronic pain for several years, and I know first-hand the difficulties associated with managing it.

To manage my pain, I have tried a vast array of different treatments, medications and life style changes, and I continue to do so today. However, I found it impossible to keep track of these approaches using conventional methods. Without any means to easily record my chronic pain experiences, I have often unnecessarily repeated various treatments and medications – simply because I couldn’t remember if they had provided more relief than my current approaches.

I felt that the key to better pain management lay in the ability to record and compare detailed information; review pain levels relative to treatments, medications and other influences, even to just be able to compare how different pain sites interacted.

I was often distressed to find myself in medical practitioners appointments, without the ability to recall how my pain had responded to various interventions. I felt that it would be invaluable to have a tool that allowed me to easily communicate my experiences, taking the stress out of trying to remember my history.

For me, chronic pain is a daily struggle – often a battle by the hour – and it becomes far too complex and distracting to remember specific or subtle details that may be useful to my pain management.

Out of this situation, Chronica was born, and it has assisted me to manage my pain and take control. And Chronica can give insight to those close to you as well – as it has done so for my partner Chris, whose support is ever strong as a result of a better understanding of my chronic pain.

- Gianna Grbich, co-creator of Chronica

Acknowledgements

Conceived & Designed by
Gianna Grbich & Chris Drabsch
of Daydream Graphics

Chronica iPhone application v. 1.0
Developed by 2moro Mobile

Supported by the
Creative Industries Program
of the South Australian Government

Assisted by
MEGA

Assisted by
Adelta Legal

Personal thanks to:
Peter O’Neill, Derek Munneke, Andreas Wulf @ 2moro Mobile
Peta Pash @ MEGA
Michael Davis, Elise Morris @ Adelta Legal
Paul Daly, Ruth Conry @ Creative Industries
Tim Waterhouse, Sasha Grbich, Steve Soso
All the testers and supporters of Chronica
& our families and friends for your care and support.