Due to significant interest and the need for healthcare innovations, this year we partnered with the University of Zagreb to organize a specialized support program for the first time – Get Started in Health Innovation.Through an interdisciplinary approach based on university resources, industry partner support, and international reach, the program offered unique development support and education for healthcare innovators.
The Journey of Get Started in Health Innovation
The program began in late May with a kickoff bootcamp and culminated on December 6th with the Get Started in Health Innovation Demo Day. Participants demonstrated that Croatian startups have global ambitions, and a panel discussion provided insights into investments in healthtech startups. Beyond discussions, six exceptional teams presented their innovative projects.
Using a hybrid format and nine digital tools, participants experienced . During the second phase, focused on market entry, the teams were guided by contemporary startup development methods experienced experts such as Filip Šardi, Damir Brčić, Branka Lasić, Tihana Petričević, Adrijana Vinter, Radan Spaventi, Aleksandra Love, Marijana Šarolić Robić, and Anita Tripalo.
The quality of the solutions was assessed by an expert jury of professionals and venture capital experts. Startups also had the opportunity to seek investments for their projects. More about the conditions and how to secure investments can be found below.
Panel on Venture Capital trends
“Trends in biosciences align with the slow development of this sector because startups in this area experience slower growth and higher investments, but also greater exit value and eventual growth,” noted Filip Stipančić from Lean Startup Croatia, an innovation agency focused on education and startup team development.
The demo day panel focused on the perspective of startup investments, particularly through venture capital. Venture capital (VC) funds primarily invest in startups they believe have strong business potential and execution capabilities. By collaborating with accelerators and participating in demo days, VCs help startups build networks and make strategic decisions through close relationships and participation on boards.
Vedran Blagus (South Central Ventures) and Mirna Marović (VentureXchange) discussed various VC models and shared their experiences investing in startups. They agreed on trends in biosciences, emphasizing that biotech and healthtech investments are often extremely costly and time-consuming.
How to secure Venture Capital investments
Experienced individuals shared what startups need to become VC investment candidates from the start:
“In our case, it’s important for a startup to already have initial revenue and the potential for sales or shares. We prefer startups with rapid growth tendencies and ideas we understand. Investing significant capital is like entering a ‘temporary marriage’—it’s important for investors and teams to click. Numbers are equally critical—it’s a 50-50 balance,” commented Vedran Blagus.
Mirna Marović, a seasoned business angel, shared her perspective:
“In the pre-revenue phase, business angels play a key role. They evaluate team quality and agility, such as the ability to pivot a product if it’s unsuccessful. Angels must recognize a company’s potential to scale its idea early on, which is particularly challenging in the service sector,” explained Marović, a financial expert with nearly 30 years of experience.
How to Access Grants as a Startup
When it comes to sources of grants, the panelists explained that there are significant differences depending on the stage of the startup:
“When we talk about funding an idea where the startup does not yet have an MVP (Minimum Viable Product), or the first version of the product, we refer to POC (Proof of Concept) grants. These fund everything from the initial idea, as it is still too early for venture capital. Of course, there are also certain criteria that need to be met. The team must simply be globally competitive in today’s market. I would say that startups are expected to perform like in soccer—win the World Cup.
When it comes to corporate venture capital, the goal here is sustainability. Corporations gather startups to develop the ideas they need, open calls for projects, and integrate the startup into their company,” they explained.
“Companies like ours have slightly greater financial resources but also much stricter criteria, and disbursement often takes quite a long time. In America, for instance, funds can be transferred within a few days. I’d say they’re more risk-tolerant because of the larger market, but I think there are plenty of investors in Croatia, maybe even too many.
Venture capital, however, requires commitment and seriousness from both sides, along with a complete focus on the project the startup is working on. When a startup decides to pursue this path, a list of all venture capitals can be found on various platforms, such as Crunchbase,” advised Vedran.
If you have an idea you’ve been contemplating for a while, now you know what to do! And if you don’t have an idea yet, get inspired by the healthtech innovators from the Get Started in Health Innovation program.
Startups present their projects
From the program’s start, participants included:
- 13 teams
- 33 team members
- 60% female participants
- 21 members with bioscience education
- 6 PhDs and 4 doctoral students in biomedicine
After six months of idea development, six teams—CollisGriseo, OH, SAMO, Tinka Therapeutics, Corona Dentis, and MenoAge—presented their projects. Mentor Anita Tripalo, a phonetics expert, prepared the teams for their pitches with various exercises.
Find out more about the teams.
The pitches are bellow.
CollisGriseo
Corona Dentis
Menoage
SAMO
Tinka Therapeutics
OH
If you didn’t have the chance to apply this year, don’t worry! Applications for the Get Started in Health Innovation program for 2023 are now open! You can apply here. here.
For everyone who missed this event, we invite you to follow our social media channels on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to stay updated on future gatherings and discussions on pressing topics!
P.S. We share more entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, and opportunities through the Innovation Bento Box, which you can sign up for here.
Career opportunities and open positions can always be found on the TeamUp website.
