In the event that you take interest in the Health industry, you are currently developing a project in the sector or you have an idea in mind, I want to share with you a roadmap that will help you take your project from a simple idea to a successful and sustainable startup.
Spain is the fourth country in the world with the most startups in the Health industry. Health and Wellness was the second most active industry in 2021, with 51 operations and a total investment of more than 196 million euros.
If there is one thing we learned during 2020, it was the importance of taking care of our health and that of our closest ones. Because of the real impact it has on people, we can see how the health sector is getting more importance and value every day.
The first thing to do is to generate a business idea that provides a solution to a real problem. If you already have this idea or you know you want to start a business but you don't have the idea yet, there are programmes that help you come up with them, such as competitions or health hackathons. On the web hackathonspain you can find very interesting opportunities in all sectors.
Once you have the idea of the project you want to develop, you need to immerse yourself in an entrepreneurial environment, network and surround yourself with experts in the sector.
When you are a first-time entrepreneur, you are constantly faced with new and sometimes difficult situations, so having the support of a community that is in the same situation as you will make everything easier. One way to do this by applying to acceleration or incubation programmes. The health sector is booming, and there are many recently created programmes dedicated exclusively to developing health projects, but there are also generic programmes where you can interact with entrepreneurs from different sectors.
During the ideation phase and MVP development, you usually need some funding to, for example, buy materials, create a website or ads. Getting public subsidies and grants can help you during this period when your project does have revenue or is not economically sustainable. This web of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism from Spain informs about currently available grants for entrepreneurs and SMEs.
When you already have a prototype that has been tested in the market by users and validated your business model, it is time to get private funding, as this will help you to launch your project. You can get private funding at different stages of the project, even before you have a prototype, but actually, having it shows that the probability of success of the project is higher and this will make it easier to get the funding. In addition, having the support of investors or funding funds will give credibility to you as an entrepreneur and to your project or startup. Some of the Spanish funding funds specialised in healthcare are Capital Cell, Nina Capital and Alta Life Science.
TheCUBE, Pfizer and Fundación Pfizer launch an annual competition that you might find interesting, Innomakers4Health. It starts with the ideation of solutions to current challenges in the health sector and ends with an acceleration programme for the winners of the competition. The registration period for the IV edition will open soon, so stay tuned!
Finally, I wish you all the best in this path of health entrepreneurship, one of the essential parts of our society,in which entrepreneurs are key to accelerate the advances that will occur in the future.
PATRICIA MUÑOZ
