By Anne Blackwood, Chief Executive at Health Tech Enterprise
Growing a business from the ground up can be hard for new entrepreneurs. There are so many aspects of developing an innovation from concept through to market that go beyond just building the technology platform. Seeking access to entrepreneurship coaching is crucial for startup businesses to be successful, particularly in complex and highly regulated markets like healthcare. Here at Health Tech Enterprise, we’re passionate about supporting early-stage tech businesses to get access to the skills and experience they need to make an impact in their chosen field. That’s why we love getting involved in entrepreneurship accelerator programmes.
Ambitious Essex Accelerator
We recently collaborated with Medilink Midlands to deliver the Ambitious Essex Innovation Accelerator, a programme crafted to transform early-stage ideas into viable business ventures. Tailored specifically for pre-startup companies, this accelerator provided the essential support needed to navigate the initial and often most challenging phase of business development.
Aimed at empowering early-stage startups across Essex, the Ambitious Essex Innovation Accelerator supported two cohorts of entrepreneurs from various sectors over a 12 week period. Participants attended weekly sessions that equipped them with the skills and confidence to take their ideas forward. The Health Tech Enterprise team, led by Chief Executive Dr. Anne Blackwood and our Head of Innovation Dr. Karen Law, delivered several sessions covering the following topics:
- Soft skills: pitching & networking
- Intellectual Property: an overview, how it can be developed and protected
- The funding buffet: choosing the correct type of funding for your business
Drawing on their combined experience of over 40 years in the IP & commercialisation sector, Anne and Karen understand the challenges and hurdles that aspiring innovators face when bringing ideas to market. With a passion for commercialising groundbreaking innovations in health, they can apply their knowledge across multiple sectors to nurture the untapped potential of aspiring entrepreneurs.
We look forward to seeing the businesses involved grow as they develop their ideas and go-to-market strategies.
Royal Academy of Engineering – Leaders in Innovation Fellowships
We were also delighted to lend support to the Royal Academy of Engineering Leaders in Innovation Fellowships (LIF) programme earlier this year. The programme supports talented entrepreneurs from around the globe to turn their engineering innovation into impactful, sustainable businesses.
Brought in to support delivery of the medical technology stream for 10 start-up businesses, we provided on-line sessions in marketing, health economics, and scale-up in addition to proving one-to-one coaching for several business over the 6 month programme.
We also hosted a final session during the UK residential visit covering topics such as how to sell to the NHS and an introduction to the health innovation ecosystem in the UK.
It was definitely inspiring to support and nurture these bold, scalable innovations from the fields of engineering and technology and we look forward to seeing their solutions address some of the major unmet health needs in the UK and international markets in the near future.
