Top Tips for Digital Health Startups

Times, they are definitely a changing. These days, technology has made our lives simultaneously simpler and more complicated, but in the field of digital health, it is very exciting times.  With the majority of people carrying around a smartphone, there is an incredibly high tech piece of kit which can be used for all sorts of health tech. This creates a wealth of opportunities for innovators in the health tech area. So if you’re just starting out, here’s a few hints and tips to help you:

1. Do it for the right reason, and use available resources. Make sure you are building something that you want to be involved with, and that matters to you. Don’t build something just to make money. Use existing technologies to create something better.

2. Aim high.  Look at the top regulations or standards you need to comply with for your tech, and make sure you build to that standard. It’s much easier to do it at the beginning than to try and retrofit it later on. If the FDA is the top level of regulation, make sure you comply with their rules.

3. Play the long game.  Most health tech startups will not be overnight successes. . . you need to be in it for the long haul, and be able to finance it in some way. There are plenty of hurdles such as regulation, long sales cycles, and resistance to change that you will need to overcome. Patience is, as they say, a virtue, and none more so that in heath tech.

4. Listen and learn.  Know when to take advice and be smart about collaboration. Finding an experienced cofounder or team member is worthwhile in a sector such as health, as is understanding the sector you’re in, but remember you don’t always need a specific medical expert.  You can always call on expertise if you need it.

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