CEO and co-founder Maya Lebow and CSO and co-founder Yael Kuperman are the winners of 2025 Next-Gen Womens Entrepreneurship Award, sponsored by the Luzzatto Group at the Jerusalem Post Womens Leadership Summit on March 25.
The women met during their respective PhD studies at the Department of Neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute (now called Department of Brain Sciences) where Maya was studying brain development and psychiatric disorders and Yael was working on the interconnection between stress and metabolism.
Together after their PhD studies, they looked into different developmental disorders, and more specifically autism, seeing the impact on these conditions of certain nutrients; specific vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. The issue with developmental disorders is that they are very heterogenous, and there are no biomarkers, which makes them inherently difficult to test for. As a result, certain biological pathways simply do not function as they should. This is due to various reasons, including improper digestion or absorption, excess secretion, increased demand by the body, and more.
ANeustart – a vision and a goal
Yael, who is also a registered dietitian, explains, "Our challenge is to find the specific needs of each child, and to give the parents some recommendations of how to overcome it [with supplements]." These supplements are the foundation of what these children need, they do not replace their other various therapies. "It's a synergistic effect, " Yael stated, "All the treatments are very valuable, but this is just, the secret sauce that you have to add."
How did this startup take off?
Yael and Maya started by participating in an entrepreneurship program, and then took part in the 8200 Impact Acceleration program, for early-stage startups in the fields of accessibility, diversity, and inclusion. With their love for children and a deep-seated desire to help those with developmental difficulties, they began approaching individual parents, offering them help which could otherwise have been incredibly costly.
They did a clinical urine collection trial, together with Bar Ilan University, the Autism Bio Bank, and Leumit HMO, where they analyzed the urine samples by two different techniques. One was untargeted, and the other was targeted, where they looked for metabolites (small molecules indicating what the body is using or losing) in the urine. Simultaneously, they collected questionnaires from the parents, where they were able to correlate specific questions with specific urine metabolites.
After 3 years of work and data analysis, together with the data scientist, Dr. Eyal Soreq, they have their own unique algorithm. Maya explained the practical application of their research. "If a new parent comes in and wants to know what their child needs, we don’t need their urine anymore […] We already know what the child needs based on the AI and predictive modelling of our vast database of clinical samples."
The tests required to see what precise nutritional imbalance exists are expensive, to say the least. What Yael and Maya have done is found a way to make the process simpler, faster and affordable, because when it comes to brain development, each passing day is precious. In just a week with ANeustart, parents are able to start giving their children the supplements they truly need.
Hearing from Parents - Glowing Feedback
Maya and Yael started working with individual parents 4 years ago and within the last year they have been helping patients through their company. And the results speak for themselves. Parents report improved eye contact, the child being more present in the moment, listening and noticing the details of their surroundings, being more engaged in general.
The impact also extends to their diet, with parents saying their children are willing to eat a greater variety of food, which any parent of a fussy eater will tell you, is a huge milestone. They are also seeing improvements in their sleeping habits, being calmer in the classroom and being more relaxed overall.
Beyond these impressive improvements, there are those "wow" moments. Such as a young boy who has been working with a behavioral analyst for the past 2 years. After starting to work with ANeustart, the analyst said, "I felt like he finally started to see me. " This means, he suddenly understood who she was and what they were doing – a wake-up moment as it were.
It all begins with nutrition
The brain, the body and the gut need certain nutrients to work to the best of their ability, Yael explained. Maya added that, "We give first aid to the developing brain […] There are a lot of children that are not at their optimal, and they can be learning, focusing, communicating better, though the start points vary greatly from one child to another."
They can help children as soon as they are diagnosed – and today children are being diagnosed as young as 18 months. As soon as the parent or teachers involved with the child notice that they are struggling, this is where ANeustart can step into the picture.
The medical community has known for some time that there are nutrient imbalances in children with autism and ADHD. What ANeustart is doing differently is that they are making this knowledge easily and quickly accessible. The other significant advantage is that Maya and Yael have found a way to personalize the supplements they suggest to each individual child, through the research they have conducted.
A healthy future
ANeustart's goal is to reach as many parents as possible. And it is not about just reaching them – it is about helping them understood the importance of their research. While more parents in the US are aware of the toxicity in the environment impacting their children, it is less spoken about in Israel.
50% of American parents report they are already giving their kids supplements, so it is an issue of guiding them; reducing the guesswork. Maya and Yael would like to bring that message to the Israeli market and explain how important these supplements are for brain development. In order to grow, ANeustart is looking for partners. They would like to be part of Child Therapy centers, where they are already focused on children's therapy plans.
Their central goal is to give the parents tools to make a difference in their child's life. It is highly empowering to give parents a sense of control in a situation where they often feel so helpless. "We are here for the parents," Yael concluded.