Hyphen Health expands to become Australia’s largest online sexual health service
After nearly a decade building the business, co-founder and CEO James Sneddon was ready to lead Hyphen Health into its next phase. He used non-dilutive financing to grow the business, improve financials, and prep the business for future M&A opportunities.
1
Rounds:
$250,000 AUD
Non-dilutive financing:
Use of funds:
Invest in marketing and optimize business financials to pursue expansion opportunities
Lighter Capital Funding
Restructured cap table and bought out co-founder
Expanded via strategic acquisitions
Achieved 60% annual revenue growth rate
Growth & Achievements
More on
Hyphen Health
About
Hyphen Health
Hyphen Health Group is Australia’s largest digital-first healthcare provider, specializing in sexual health and wellbeing. Their mission is to provide inclusive, accessible, and non-judgmental healthcare services while breaking down the stigma surrounding sensitive health issues. By leveraging technology, Hyphen Health offers a seamless, patient-centric experience, ensuring healthcare is available on people’s terms, wherever they are.
“Lighter allowed me to buy out my co-founder and promote Hyphen Health like we'd never done before. That positioned us to explore acquisitions.”
James Sneddon
CEO and Co-Founder, Hyphen Health
Quick Stats
Stage:
Growth
Industry:
Healthcare
Headquarters:
Newcastle, NSW
Founded:
2015
James Sneddon and Dr. Mitchell Tanner founded Hyphen Health in 2015. Based in Newcastle, NSW, Hyphen Health would grow steadily to deliver discreet sexual health services and comprehensive online support to customers across Australia through three different platforms: PrEP Health, Stigma Health, and Roidsafe.
After nearly a decade building the business, co-founder and CEO James Sneddon was ready to lead Hyphen Health into its next phase with an intensified focus on innovating and expanding access to sexual health.
Sneddon had the systems and industry knowledge needed to be successful. When he learned about Hey Fella, a similar but complementary suite of sexual health services, he knew they’d be stronger together. Sneddon set his sights on a future partnership that would capture more of the market and achieve bigger goals, but his business wasn’t quite ready.
Prepping for long-term growth and agility
In 2024, Sneddon came to Lighter Capital for financing that wouldn’t dilute equity or ownership. A modest round of non-dilutive funding gave the healthtech startup cushion to not only invest in marketing and brand building, but also financially prepare the business for potential M&A opportunities.
Total Financing: $250,000 AUD
Results:
Restructured the company’s cap table
Grew its customer base to more than 50,000
Doubled year over year revenue growth
“Lighter allowed me to buy out my co-founder and promote Hyphen Health like we'd never done before. That positioned us to explore acquisitions.” Sneddon said.
Reflecting on the journey up to this point, Sneddon told Business News Australia:
“We pioneered an industry, set standards, turned heads, sparked conversations, and made an impact. We’ve overcome many challenges to reach where we are today, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve built together.”
Fresh off another year of solid growth and eager to keep the momentum going, Sneddon was ready to pursue a strategic partnership that would rapidly expand the business.
Building a movement from a merger
In January 2025, Hyphen Health announced their merger with the digital medical health service Hey Fella, which specializes in sexual health for gay men. Working in concert, the two businesses transformed Hyphen Health into Australia’s largest online sexual health clinic with a customer base surpassing 70,000.
“Hey Fella achieved so much in the last two years,” said Sneddon. “Together, we’re expediting Hyphen Health’s growth and broadening the services we can provide to become Australia's go-to online sexual health hub.”
The combined business is estimated to support nearly one in two patients Australia-wide on HIV PrEP, while diagnosing more than one in 20 STIs nationally.
Hey Fella founders Dr. Cris Quitral, a telemedicine entrepreneur, and Luke Fuller, an experienced software developer and entrepreneur, assumed the roles of Chief Medical Officer and Chief Technology Officer, respectively, at Hyphen Health.
"Bringing two powerhouse online sexual health clinics together under Hyphen Health ensures more people have access to respectful, non-discriminatory, sexual health services,” said Sneddon. “I’m beyond excited to join forces with Cris and Luke to continue making sexual health sexy and something we can all be proud of."
Pursuing further growth, Sneddon is exploring opportunities in female sexual health, including fertility services.
A winning capital strategy
Sneddon’s decision to partner with Lighter Capital for non-dilutive funding opened the door to significant growth and market expansion in a short amount of time. Now growing annually at a rate of 60%, it proved to be a smart investment for Hyphen Health that took the business from startup to market leader.
“It was a wonderful feeling to have money in the bank while we reinvested profits in growth—at least until this recent acquisition, but the bank looks good now!” said Sneddon.
Well-positioned for future acquisistion opportunities, Hyphen Health has a bright future ahead breaking down the barriers that stop people from accessing vital medical care.
