Why we exist
Three years ago, Josh's father was diagnosed with stage-4 colon cancer. For years before that, he knew something was wrong — but fragmented care across three countries meant crucial information never made it to the right doctor at the right time.
During treatment, he tracked everything in a meticulous Excel sheet. His doctors appreciated it. They never had time to read it.
That gap — between what patients live, what they can communicate, and what clinicians can act on — costs lives.
The current state of UK healthcare
People with chronic health conditions feel these pressures the most. Having to explain a complex health history (often spanning multiple conditions) in the same ten-minute window as everyone else leads to incomplete consultations, missed context, and mounting frustration on both sides of the desk.
Our mission
"Yarn empowers every person to take ownership of their health journey and communicate it with confidence."
Listen first, structure later
Yarn starts with natural speech, not forms. People share what matters in their own words — the system does the organising. This keeps the barrier low and the signal rich.
Your data stays yours
Privacy isn't a feature we bolt on. Patient data is encrypted, and stored under UK GDPR laws. You can export or delete everything, anytime.
Prepare, don't replace
Yarn doesn't sit between patients and clinicians — it prepares them for each other. Technology should make human care better, not substitute it.
Built with users
Every feature in Yarn was shaped by real patients and practising clinicians. Not focus groups. Not assumptions. Ongoing collaboration, not consultation.
Reflect, don't interpret
Yarn surfaces what you've said — it doesn't tell you what it means. Clinical judgement belongs to clinicians. Yarn just makes sure they have the full picture.
The people behind Yarn
Clinicians, designers and engineers working together to reduce chaos in care. Many of the team have experienced chronic conditions first-hand, which is why we build with empathy, not assumption.
Josh Williams
Co-Founder"Keeping the user at the heart of a project is critical"
Anne Lee
Co-Founder"No one should be too complicated to be seen"
Josh Reynolds
Co-Founder"Yarn exists because of a community generous enough to share their experiences and strong enough to face chronic illness every day"
Krzysztof Wancerski
Co-Founder"Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection"
Stefan Saar
Co-Founder"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"
Supporting Specialists
Dr Suzie
"You'll often be halfway through and think, 'hang on, no one's actually diagnosed you with IBS — you're just telling me you've got IBS.' You have to always start from the beginning of the symptoms."
Tristan Taylor
"The clinical and the diagnostic world is broken. It's very peristaltic and it starts, stops and there's no viewpoint or insight into the welfare of the individual in between those diagnostic points or stamps in time."
Dr Laura
Factors that aggravate or relieve a symptom — if you ask 'is it aggravated on exertion?' they'll look at you blankly. You have to make it real: 'Do you get it when you're running the Hoover?'
Rafael Calvo
Rafael A. Calvo internationally recognized and cited for his work in design research, Human-Computer Interaction and Intelligent Systems. He focuses on systems for learning, wellbeing and health.
Dr Sylwia
"I have not seen the chronic conditions diaries on the NHS app. There is quite a lot of room for putting new diaries, new sorts of software into the system."
Dr Tao Bi
"Through self-reporting, people gain greater self-reflection and self-awareness. They develop a more holistic understanding of when pain might occur and how they respond to it. This level of self-learning is one of the primary outcomes or benefits."
Vicky Grandon
"Yarn gives you the space that you find difficult to create for yourself — to explore what's going on with your physical health."