episode 18: how to build a million-dollar healthcare business orthohub see one do one

We are joined in the studio by 2 special guests for this fun episode.

Virtually all of us have had an idea for an app or a company at some point in our lives (and not always healthcare-related), but it very rarely goes any further- until we see someone else getting millions in investment a few years later and we are left kicking ourselves at what might have been!

Well if you have ever had an idea for a product or a business, this is the podcast for you!

In this episode we talk about how to take an idea and develop it, who to approach and when, how to bring in the right people to grow your company, when and how to bring in investment, and how to protect your interests.

We use a healthcare business as a basis for our discussion, but the principles, lessons and tips are applicable to any start-up in any field.

Our special guests are Ash Kalraiya and Anton Lin.

Ash is an orthopaedic resident (surgical trainee) and the founder and CEO of Medishout, healthcare’s first one-stop app to help hospitals predict problems and prevent bottlenecks so that staff can focus on patient care. Medishout have been chosen to join Microsoft’s AI for Social Impact programme, which aims to develop Artificial Intelligence solutions to improve people’s lives around the world. They have recently closed a million pound funding round.

Ash describes his journey and how he went from an idea one morning when he had to cancel 3 operations due to a faulty light bulb above the operating table, to developing a company that has raised over $1.5 million dollars in investment, and is continuing to grow.

But how do you do it if you have limited money, business and IT experience?

What’s it like to then receive a million pounds in funding- and how do you spend that money??

Ash tells us about the challenges, pitfalls and some of the missteps along the way- such as what do you do when you wake up in a foreign country to a barrage of irate error messages and have no apparent way of fixing it!

He opens up about something that many medics have not experienced before and was certainly new to him- the concept of rejection. Ash tells us about the times that things didn’t work out the way he had planned, how he bounced back and succeeded, and what skills he has developed now that he didn’t possess before.

Ash also talks about how to pitch for investment and what makes a good pitch. He speaks our language and also the language of Venture Capitalists, and so is excellent at guiding us through the maze.

Anton is the money man.

He completed a law degree at Oxford and then trained at Sandhurst and was a Captain in the British Army for 5 years. He has an MBA from Insead and is a Partner at Steed Capital, a Venture Capital Fund. Anton is also the Head of Strategy at Cognism, a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Statecraft and a mentor on the NHS Clinical Entrepreneurship Programme
He gives us a unique insight into what medics are good at and not so good at. He also talks about topics such as whether medics should leave their comfort zone and take time out of training / work to focus on the business, or to do it alongside the day job. Anton tells us what it is that investors are looking for in a business idea that will convince them to finance it. He also discusses Intellectual Property and secret recipes!

This is our most fun and wide-reaching episode yet so there really is something in it for everyone, even far beyond healthcare!