Our Entrepreneurs: Nicki Allen
Welcome to #OurEntrepreneurs, a series where we meet our innovators and uncover what inspired them to create change. Today, we’re thrilled to reconnect with Cohort 7 Clinical Entrepreneur Nicki Allen as she shares the latest progress on Haptiv8 and the journey that sparked her drive to create change.
Tell us a bit about yourself
With 25 years’ experience as a Senior Neurological and Paediatric NHS Physiotherapist, I bring extensive clinical expertise to my work. I am an NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme Graduate and have specialised in supporting children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for over a decade. In 2023, I established Haptiv8 Ltd and now serve as its full‑time CEO and founder.
Name: Nicki Allen, NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Cohort 7
Occupation: CEO and Founder
Tell us about your innovation
Haptiv8 makes smart insoles that teach children with tip toe walking (TTW) to put their heels back down, using gamified haptic feedback. The system works by sensors detecting when the heel makes contact with the ground and delivers configurable haptic rewards that encourage the child to walk with their heels down. It also provides real‑time data on progress and effectiveness.
This approach supports better outcomes, particularly for children with sensory or communication difficulties who may struggle to engage with traditional therapy, and offers objective data without the need for splints or surgery.
Tip‑toe walking affects around 2% of children by age 5.5, rising to 45% among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (1). If left untreated, TTW can lead to musculoskeletal deformities, gait and balance issues, chronic pain, and an increased risk of arthritis. Treatment varies depending on the age of the child, the severity, and the cause of the tip toe walking. The treatment pathway is based on the clinical judgement of the clinician and the need of the individual child and their circumstances. Current interventions, including physiotherapy, bracing, Botox injections, and surgery, are often invasive, costly, and less effective for children with ASD, who undergo surgery nearly three times more often as their neurotypical peers. In the UK, the annual cost of tendon lengthening surgery for ASD‑related TTW exceeds £26 million (2).
Why did you join the programme and how has your innovation developed so far?
I first learned about the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme through a communications leaflet in the trust where I was working. I applied because I had a clear idea for how tip‑toe walking could be treated differently, but I didn’t yet know how to turn that idea into a real, deliverable innovation.
Since joining, Haptiv8 has made significant progress across development, validation and early commercialisation:
- Applied for both a UK Patent and a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) filing.
- Built a fully functioning prototype that has been reviewed by clinicians at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and their youth forum through the Paediatric Open Innovation Zone (POIZ) programme.
“Clinicians supported the underlying idea of using gamified, real-time feedback to encourage plantar-grade walking. They also highlighted strong opportunities not only in early idiopathic toe walking, but also in post-operative rehabilitation and objective weight-bearing monitoring, where existing practice is currently subjective and resource-intensive.”
Alder Hey Innovation POIZ (Paediatric Open Innovation Zone) April 2026.
- Awarded an i4i FAST Grant, enabling a usability study in partnership with Alder Hey and Liverpool John Moores University.
- Formed a manufacturing and distribution partnership with Steeper Orthotics, one of the UK’s largest orthotics providers, owned by Eqwal, a major European distributor with a growing presence in the US.
- Raised over £475k in venture capital and grant funding, including investment from Lyva Labs.
- Expanded from a one‑person project into a multidisciplinary team comprising two board investors, a NED, an accountant, a medical regulatory and QMS advisor, a COO and a CTO.
Despite zero spend on marketing to date, 34 parents and clinicians have already registered via the website to trial the product, an encouraging signal of demand ahead of anticipated regulatory approvals later this year.
How have the learning elements of the programme supported the development of your idea?
The CEP Pit Stops and Big Pitches have been a constant source of inspiration throughout my journey. Through the programme, I was fortunate to meet my mentor, Nicola Wheeler Thorne from And Technology and Research, whose guidance has shaped Haptiv8 from its earliest concept to the working prototype we have today.
One Pit Stop introduced me to Lyva Labs, which provides innovation support for founders in the Liverpool City Region. I applied to their incubator programme and was awarded initial funding that enabled Haptiv8 to become SEIS‑certified, protect our IP, and develop a benchtop prototype. Combined with pitching practice and business support, the CEP helped us secure VC funding at our very first pitch.
The CEP network has also opened doors to fellow innovators who have generously championed Haptiv8. Tim Allardyce, a physiotherapist turned entrepreneur, featured Haptiv8 on his app Rehab My Patient for three days, generating eight new customer enquiries. Dr Tamsin Holland Brown has also been extremely supportive, encouraging me to apply to pitch at the Big Pitch last year, an opportunity that resulted in five additional leads.
Watch Nicki’s pitch at the Big Pitch 2025 (2:11:07):
Another invaluable aspect of the programme was access to a career coach. When I first joined the CEP, I was genuinely in awe of my colleagues and their innovations, and that admiration came with a dose of imposter syndrome. The coach’s questioning style was challenging in the best possible way, it made me uncomfortable enough to confront my own assumptions, but ultimately helped me recognise the value of my innovation. That shift in perspective changed everything. Since then, I’ve approached my work with a new mindset: one that embraces curiosity, seeks out learning opportunities, and tackles problems with confidence rather than hesitation.
Do you have any further reflections or advice to share?
The Clinical Entrepreneur Programme has challenged me to grow in ways I never expected and has reshaped my outlook. I used to believe that the care we provide was limited by the provisions we have. I was often (gently) teased for my crazy ideas, usually followed by, “Oh yeah, Nicki… and how exactly is that going to happen?” I genuinely didn’t realise that innovation was even an option for physiotherapists.
That changed at one of my first Pit Stops, where we completed a personality test. Every single clinical entrepreneur, myself included, came out as an innovator. In that moment, I felt like I had finally found my tribe. The CEP made me feel inspired, energised, and, if I’m honest, a little disruptive. I now wholeheartedly believe that we should kindly challenge the gaps we see in the care we provide and always look for ways to make it better. It’s not an easy ride, but it has been fun, fulfilling and incredibly rewarding.
If I could offer one piece of advice, it would be this: believe in what you’re doing, and find a way to make it happen. That mindset has changed everything for me.
What are your ambitions for the next year?
My ambitions for the next year are to achieve CA certification, complete our usability study sponsored by NIHR through an i4i FAST grant, and successfully commercialise our first product. Alongside this, I aim to raise investment, grow our team further, and scale our in‑house manufacturing capabilities.
Why do you think innovation in healthcare is important?
I deeply believe healthcare innovation is vitally important. It has the power to save time and resources while ultimately improving patients’ quality of life and overall experience. Innovation can also enhance the working lives of the multidisciplinary team, supporting retention and helping to train and sustain high‑quality staff.
- Cleveland Clinic (2022), Toe Walking. Available at: Toe Walking: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
- Haptiv8 Health Economics Study
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