Beyond the Scalpel: Leveraging Medical Expertise for Start-Up Innovation

From Operating Room to Start-Up World

Almost six years ago, I embarked on a transformative journey as part of an international team dedicated to using micro-organisms to treat chronic diseases and cancers. During this experience, I realised that despite the vast potential for innovation in healthcare, many opportunities were missed because start-ups were predominantly led by technical experts lacking a deep understanding of healthcare and the human body. This observation was a catalyst for my decision to bring about change.

Recognising the Gap in Healthcare Start-Ups

At the time, the start-up ecosystem was just beginning to bloom, and it seemed like everyone was jumping on the entrepreneurial bandwagon. However, I noticed a critical gap: most healthcare start-ups did not include doctors in their teams until after the proof of concept (POC) phase, usually when approaching investors. This late involvement often resulted in misaligned solutions and missed opportunities. To truly understand and impact the start-up ecosystem, I knew I had to immerse myself in it.

Immersing in the Start-Up Ecosystem

I began by becoming a National Mentor, where I gained insights into the country's vision, the need for innovation, and why incubators and start-ups were being promoted. This role allowed me to understand the broader landscape and the specific challenges faced by healthcare start-ups.

Founding My Own Start-Up: Challenges and Lessons

Subsequently, I founded my own start-up, navigating the complexities of formation, the bootstrapping phase, and converting ideas into viable solutions. I learned the importance of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), manoeuvring through regulatory systems, entering international markets, scaling up, and the unique challenges of collaborating with governments and corporates.

The Importance of Having "Skin in the Game"

One key lesson I learned is that true understanding comes from having "skin in the game." It’s only through direct involvement that one grasps the intricacies of time, effort, resource allocation, partnership dynamics, and realistic expectations. Here are the invaluable lessons and practical guidance I gathered through my journey:

1. Necessity of Healthcare Solutions: With 80% of healthcare devices being imported, there is an urgent need for local innovation.
2. Power of Healthcare Entrepreneurship: If a start-up or an investor in the healthcare space isn’t profitable, fundamental mistakes have been made.
3. Cost-Reduction Myths: Claims that innovation will inherently lower healthcare costs are often misleading and can deceive the gullible.
4. Start-up Accountability: Start-ups often blame the medical community for failures because they are unwilling to share equity and expect everything to be provided for free.
5. Early Involvement of Doctors: The high failure rate (75% within two years) is largely due to the lack of doctors who can effectively integrate ecosystem understanding into the decision-making process from the start.
6. Balanced Teams: Every healthcare start-up should include both medical and technical experts to ensure the comprehensive integration of medical knowledge and technical expertise for optimal development and success.
7. Institutional Benefits: Healthcare innovations contribute to valuable IPR, PhD, post graduate thesis and academic advancements, as evidenced by my work being used for a thesis at AIIMS.
8. Critical Screening: Many ideas deemed lucrative by incubators and investors turn out to be worthless. Having a doctor, preferably with entrepreneurial experience, can mitigate risks and ensure informed decisions.
9. Deep System Understanding: Solutions that appear simple (like EHR or appointment systems) often fail because their creators don’t fully understand healthcare operations and there is no uniqueness.
10. IPR Importance: Without strong IPR, long-term sustainability and international market entry are compromised.
11. Value Consistency: Maintaining firm pricing policies is crucial; discounting can lead to devaluation and eventual failure.
12. Avoid Aggregators: Aggregators can significantly reduce the perceived value of services, in the medical field, for instance, where aggregators claim a significant portion, such as 70%, the quality of the product or service may be compromised
13. Early Price Setting: Establishing clear pricing for both national and international markets early on is essential.
14. Avoiding Free Solutions: Providing products for free can diminish their perceived value, attracting unsuitable partners and hindering scalability.
15. Phenomenal Profit Potential: The healthcare start-up sector holds tremendous profit potential due to the high volume of demand.

These lessons are just the tip of the iceberg. The path from surgeon to entrepreneur has been filled with challenges and insights, reinforcing the transformative potential of involving doctors in healthcare innovation from the very beginning. By bridging the gap between medicine and technology, we can drive meaningful and scalable healthcare solutions.

Interested in connecting or collaborating?

Reach out to me at entrepreneur@drkumaresh.com.

I am keen to hear from fellow entrepreneurs, incubators, and investors regarding partnership proposals, advisory roles, or vetting ideas before investing.

Let's connect and explore opportunities for growth together!"