A Hong Kong Doctor Turned Canadian Startup Founder — Fandy Ting, Ur Health Chart

Fandy Ting, a successful health practitioner in Hong Kong, came to realize that with a tech product, she could help a lot more patients than she currently was working at the clinic. Inspired by the idea of connecting elderly patients with their families abroad and doctors, she began building a health app called Ur Health Chart, relocated to Canada to develop the product for the North American market, and joined the Launch community. Here’s her story.

Pursuing a Medical Career

As a kid, Fandy never imagined she’d become a doctor. But in high school, when it came time to think seriously about the future, she realized there weren’t many options. In Hong Kong, law and medicine were considered the most prestigious careers. Fandy chose to pursue medicine because she loved the idea of working with people and helping them.

She focused on gynecology and obstetrics and, after graduating from medical school, joined a hospital team. “It was the best period of my career, although the most stressful, with lots of emergencies. Still, I loved seeing how the entire team of doctors and nurses came together to help just one person — and how much patients benefited from that teamwork.”

After three intense years, the stress began to take a toll. Fandy transitioned to working as a family physician in a clinic.

While the environment was calmer, it came with new challenges — especially during COVID-19. “At first, no one knew what was going on. As family physicians, we didn’t have protective equipment, and patients would come to us first. I wanted to help, but I also wanted to protect myself and my family. I had to figure out how to keep everyone safe.”

Fandy’s career as a family physician in Hong Kong spanned over a decade — until she made a major life and career change.

Fandy Ting with her colleagues

Fandy Ting (third from the left) with her colleagues from the clinic in Hong Kong

Transitioning Into Tech

Fandy realized that the number of people she could help was limited by working hours. As a mother of three, she couldn’t spend more time at work. “Instead of staying in the clinic, I started thinking — what if I built a system that could solve the same problems at scale?”

The idea came naturally. Migration from Hong Kong had been steadily rising, often leaving elderly parents behind while their families moved abroad. These seniors had to manage their health alone, adding more stress. “As a doctor working with elderly patients, I wanted to help families stay connected — even across continents. My idea was to build a platform that could connect seniors with their families and doctors.”

COVID accelerated digital literacy among seniors, who had to adapt to video calls and mobile apps to stay connected. That shift inspired confidence in launching a tech solution.

The Ur Health Chart platform was designed to help patients maintain healthy habits and keep a personalized doctor-patient relationship. It offered tele-consultation, a secure personal health database, AI-assisted booking and reminders, home-care monitoring, and an emergency alert system for falls.

If health data entered by a patient was normal, the system encouraged them to keep going. If the data was concerning, it notified the doctor to follow up and alerted family members as well.

Moving to Canada and Joining Launch

In early 2020, Fandy and her family began considering relocation. She wanted her kids to have a more well-rounded education — and she wanted more opportunities for her startup.

“Canada, the UK, and Australia are the main destinations for people moving from Hong Kong. I felt Canada would be the best place to grow a startup. It’s a big market with many immigrants from Hong Kong and China. Even those who speak English often prefer to use their native language when speaking with a healthcare provider.”

With its large Cantonese and Mandarin-speaking population, Vancouver was the perfect fit.

Fandy joined Launch Academy on a friend’s recommendation and appreciated how the program supported both business growth and founder relocation — from housing and banking to community building.

“When I landed in Vancouver, I met many entrepreneurs at the same stage as me. Some were also from Hong Kong. We’re working in completely different industries — education, even boat rentals — but we’re all solving similar problems. Apart from business, we share tips on life here: where to live, what to eat, where to go.”

Meeting with Richmond Cantonese-speaking health professionals

Fandy’s biggest initial hurdle? Building a tech product with no prior experience in app development. Most of her network in Hong Kong came from the medical field. That’s where Launch Academy stepped in. Through its network, she found several developers interested in the idea — but many lacked experience working in healthcare and its strict data privacy requirements. Eventually, she found the right match.

By summer 2021, the first prototype of Ur Health Chart was ready. After testing it within her network and gathering feedback, Fandy began working on the next version.

Today, she continues building Ur Health Chart. The original model was patient-focused, but she’s now shifting to a B2B approach — targeting care institutions that can offer the platform to groups of elderly patients.

“When we start working with institutions, we’ll also look to expand our reach to local Canadian communities.”

She’s also working on getting licensed to practice medicine in Canada. “Staying involved in medical practice helps me keep my product relevant and up to date.”

Screenshot from the platform

About Fandy

Fandy Ting

Fandy Ting is a family physician from Hong Kong, who is now building a health tech startup Ur Health Chart, which focuses on maintaining a healthy lifestyle of users and keeping a personalised doctor-patient relationship, in Canada. You can reach on LinkedIn.

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