EIT Health's Product/Market Fit open to e-health companies looking to expand
With a good idea, some investment and hard work, start-ups in the health and life sciences fields can get started in their local market.
But if these firms are going to achieve meaningful growth, and if their innovations are going to benefit a wider audience, they will have to go abroad – which means understanding new regulations, a different culture and an unknown set of market realities.
This is where Product/Market Fit comes in. An EIT Health Accelerator programme, Product/Market Fit helps start-ups that have already established themselves in one market and are ready to expand beyond their borders. The support this programme offers has an estimated market value of EUR 25 000, but the opportunities it provides can be worth much more than that.
There is still time to join the programme this year, as applications are being accepted until the end of April.
'Based on our experience in the Accelerator, grownup startups start needing support with going to other markets,' according to Katrien Van Gucht, a Co-Coordinator of the EIT Health Accelerator Strategy and Digital Health Program Manager at EIT Health partner IMEC.
The Product Market/Fit programme was designed by EIT Health’s Accelerator pillar to meet that specific need.
'We wanted to get in that sweet spot, right when they are ready to expand,' said Johnny Waterschoot, who project manages European open calls for IMEC . 'We are looking for companies that are ready to go beyond their borders, but lack the necessary funding to do just that. This programme will help them decide what markets to address next.'
According to Van Gucht, companies that are mature enough to qualify for this programme have typically raised about EUR 500 000 in investment and they generally consist of two or three people. She said the companies obtain great value from the market testing that the programme can do.
'The trial and error ratio of going out and seeing for themselves if they can make it in another market, we reduce this a great deal for them,' she said. 'They will see if they still need some work before they start growing in that market. Or the outcome could be that this market is not for them.'
Easy to apply
Find out how to apply for Product/Market Fit.
According to Van Gucht, applying is not difficult and only takes a few hours. She noted that it is important that companies applying for the programme can prove that they already have some customers for their product or service. 'What they need to show us is that they have some traction in their own market, whether it’s a statement from a hospital or some other kind of indication,' she said.
Another key part of the application is to show a video presenting the project, but as Waterschoot notes, this need not be something that was produced professionally. 'It can just be a person sitting behind his or her computer, talking us through a powerpoint presentation, showing slides. We just want to see them talking, we just want to hear them talking passionately and convince us about their product,' he said.
If the entrepreneurs have the passion and drive to expand, the Product/Market Fit programme can provide them with many of the other tools they need.
Find out how easy it is to apply here.
EIT Health Partners involved in Product/Market Fit:
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