Tag: venture capital

This is the mindset you need in the digital health world

Written by Tjasa Zajc on . Posted in Weblog.

In 2010, an idea was born: to build an army of entrepreneurs to improve healthcare worldwide. That was the beginning of StartUp Health. According to their data, in five years, the organization grew to an allegiance of more than 30,000 investors, entrepreneurs and customers from all over the globe.

As is explained by its co-founder, Unity Stoakes, 4000 startups have tried to get in Startup Health so far, but only 180 have made it. What are they looking for?

10 specific problems

StartUp Health supports companies working in at least one of the so-called moonshots. (PICTURE)

 

 

Mindset

In the competitive process of choosing new entrants, the essential criterion is the mindset of the entrepreneur. They are looking for those that have a clear idea why they are doing what they are doing, who think long-term, want to work collaboratively, and are “batteries-included”.

The most important characteristics are passion, motivation, energy. “Most of the entrepreneurs we are working with are entering healthcare not because they would want to get rich, but because they – often due to personal reasons – care deeply about the problem they are solving.”

Perseverance

Are you someone who brings energy into the room or are you draining it out of the room? If you’re in the first group, you have a chance to get into StartUp Health. As emphasised by Mr. Stoakes, “this attracts customers and investors. A positive, hopeful attitude attracts other people with similar way of thinking.”

Long-term partnerships

StartUp Health is backed by Google, Amazon, Keiser Permanente, Cleveland Clinic, Allianz, SAP and other prominent corporations with which they have formed multi-year strategic relationships aimed at creating opportunities for capital and means of scaling solutions.

“We don’t believe in the model of short-term random mentorships programs,” says Mr. Stoakes, emphasizing they only want to work with partners that have a transformative mindset from the top down. These are organisations focusing on external innovation, because they understand real change comes from collaboration.

Find out more by listening to my conversation with Unity Stoakes in Medicine Today on Digital Health.

You can find, listen, subscribe, rate, follow, share the podcast in Soundcloud or in iTunes, follow news about it on Medium.

Opportunities in India from the VC perspective

Written by Tjasa Zajc on . Posted in Data, India, MEDICA, Mobile.

“Just creating an app does not mean you have a company. The key key question is: are you solving a problem?” These were the opening words  of Pradeep K. Jaisingh, Founder of HealthStart India, at the VC Panel at #FTR4H program at MEDICAL FAIR India in New Delhi. Panel was organised by HealthStart. The main aim was to highlight VC perspective on the digital health startups scene in India.

As said by Mr. Jaisingh, the basic background of technology needs to be that it improves the outcome. A solution needs to solve a problem and be sustainable. From the macro perspective, potential for disruptive innovation in India is big, said Mr. Jaisingh. Especially in terms of diagnostics, treatment and management of chronic diseases.

The doctor’s expectations in the near future are high. Artificial intelligence can be utilized to effectively synthesize patient information before his visit in the hospital or a doctor’s office.

What do the doctors need?

Private Equity Professional Mayur Sirdesai, Director at Somerset Indus Capital Partners, warned, the key issue in digital health technology and innovation is probability of adoption. “When a doctor has a line of patients in the waiting room, he can’t be bothered by entering data in the computer,” he mentioned. The second challenge is  payment for digital solutions. Revenue model of a startup is crucial to implementation of a solution in practice. In India, most payments are still out of pocket which might change with the development of the insurance market.

From the perspective of Shuchin Bajaj, Founder Director at Cygnus Medicare, a big potential in India is in putting more effort into medical education of other specialists and healthcare providers, apart from doctors. “We are to doctor-centric. I am a big fan of personalized medicine and “ayurveda” in that sense. These sciences look at the patient as an individual while medicine takes the patient as a dataset. Ayurveda does not treat the disease,” he said.

Needs and payments

Partha Dey, Healthcare Leader and SME at IBM India mentioned the need for more collaboration: “It is clear and we agree we need to walk together and collaborate. Technology can work as a platform and our idea is to use it to solve real life problems. We are working on longterm solutions. The first issue is always the business case. What do users need? What are they prepared to pay for? A lot of startups have ideas, but struggle with translation and implementation in practice.”

Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner at IvyCap Ventures Advisors described India as a unique market because of the payment system. “In the developed world insurance takes care of healthcare. Our environment drives behaviour. Hence healthcare consumption is different compared to the rest of the world. The opportunities here are of different nature than in other countries. One thing to look at is infrastructure. Ratio of hospitals does not match population needs.”  Huge opportunities lay in financial assistance for healthcare, concluded Vikram Gupta.

Digital Health Startups from India, are you ready to join the future?

Written by Tjasa Zajc on . Posted in India.

MEDICAL FAIR INDIA 2017 is approaching fast and Future For Health team (FTR4H) is very excited! Why? Because lively discussions, inspiring pitches, good energy and networking with creative people is always something to look forward to! That is exactly how our FTR4H Lab & Lounge at MEDICAL FAIR INDIA 2017 will look like. Join us!

Write to Bhardwaj Love (BhardwajL@md-india.com), to take part in our programme!

If you do not want to pitch, register for the “FTR4H: Digital Health futurists Reception” in Delhi on April 7th! 

FTR4H Lab & Lounge at MEDICAL FAIR INDIA 2017

Which VIPs will you meet at the FTR4H – Lab & Lounge event at http://www.medicalfair-india.com/? 

The FTR4H health lounge will be featured to the 13,000+ healthcare professionals who will be attending Medical Fair India 2017. In terms of Digital Health angels, mentors and the venture capital ecosystem, we have representatives present of companies like Bertelsmann India Invest, HealthStart, iB Hubs, Peppermint VenturePartners, pi Ventures, t-hub, Utilis Capital Advisor.

Will the Medical Fair India (MFI) floor be open to FTR4H – Lab & Lounge participants?

Yes, FTR4H is an integral part of Medical Fair India, and it will be open for MFI visitor to visit FTR4H and vice versa. MFI is expected to be attended by 13,000+ healthcare professionals.

“Will the Pitch Your Solution” be open for Medical Fair India participants & visitors, or will it be restricted to FTR4H Lab & Lounge visitors & participants?

The opportunity to pitch will be restricted to FTR4H lounge participants (Sponsors, Startups) but every visitor interested in Digital Health can attend it.

Who are the Industry experts who will be moderating and judging the Digital Health Panel discussion & the “Pitch Your Solution” competition?

Pitching your solution means that you will present it to the interested public. It is a great chance to test your own story. We will not judge the pitch. For selecting the best Digital Health solution a dedicated FTR4H Award ceremony will be held on Friday afternoon April 7 at the lounge. The following names are currently aboard for hosting and guiding the pitches:

  •      Dr Vishal Bansal – Investor, Mentor, Technology Enthusiast & Docpreneur  Pradeep K. Jaisingh – Chairman HealthStart India
  •         Mark Wächter – FTR4H Chief Evangelist & Mobile Strategist
  •         Dr. Tarun Ramole – Digital Health Evangelist, Director Utilis Capital
  •         Tjaša Zajc – FTR4H Global Audience Developer & Journalist

[learn_more caption=”What is FTR4H?” state=”open”] FTR4H is an international platform, which enables discussions, meetings, dialogs and networking among thousands of Digital Health start-ups, corporations and investors, including accelerators and media from around the world. [/learn_more]

What are the parameters for presenting at “Pitch Your Solution”?

Each startup will have 5 minutes to pitch every day during the whole fair  (3 times). This is no competition, but a presentation offering you an opportunity to practice your pitch among your targeted public and get valuable feedback.

What is the format of the “Digital Health Panel” discussion? When will the topics for the discussion be made known to the participants?

Each startup has one pitch and one panel discussion per day. The panel discussion will be held with 5 startups in total plus a moderator. The topic will be decided based on represented solutions. Overall topic is how Mobile, IOT, AI and Data changes healthcare in a mobile-only country like India.

Are both the “Pitch your Solution” and “Digital Health Panel Discussion” part of the FTR4H – India competition?

No. All exhibiting startups at the FTR4H lounge automatically qualify for participation. The FTR4H India Award is a dedicated award ceremony taking place on Friday, April 7th, at 4 pm at the FTR4H lounge.

What are the benefits of the FTR4H India Award? Are there mentorship opportunities to be gained from the award? 

The winner of FTR4H will get a mentorship by HealthStart Accelerator for their upcoming Accelerator programme. FTR4H acts as a Think Tank and connector of Digital Health ecosystems in China, Europe, India, Israel and the US with the World of MEDICA. The winner of FTR4H India Award will receive a global recognition through our global initiatives and exposure on our website: www.FTR4H.org.

Who is in the audience for the Blog Post and the teasers? How big and diversified is this audience base?

The FTR4H website is promoted on all Medica Trade Fair websites corresponding with the global roadshow, therefore the attracted audience are experts from the MedTech industry from around the globe.

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