In this podcast episode on turning research into societal value, host Søren is joined by co-host Per Christensen of Black Swans Exist and guest Jesper Grønbæk, CEO and founder of the nonprofit Health Tech Hub Copenhagen (supported by the Danish Industry Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation). Jesper shares key learnings from supporting 100+ health tech startups and scale-ups, as well as collaborating with hospitals, pharma, insurers, and a 200+ investor network - including enabling hospital “speed-dating” access in markets like Germany.
Key pitfalls discussed include solving “nice-to-have” problems instead of top-priority hospital needs, failing to secure an influential key opinion leader early, starting fundraising too late while overlooking non-dilutive “soft money” grants, and lacking commercial traction due to staying overly project-focused. He emphasizes the importance of early investor relationship-building, being selective with investors, and maintaining a strong commercial focus - sometimes even launching below MDR/CE-mark requirements first.
Jesper also introduces the upcoming Health Tech Pathways platform, which uses expert-trained AI to guide EU MDR medical device regulation and improve documentation quality - ultimately reducing the time and cost associated with today’s multi-year EU processes.
TIMESTAMP
00:42 Meet Health Tech Hub
01:47 Ecosystem Connections
02:47 Hospital Access Speed Dating
03:50 Why Jesper Started
05:42 Healthcare Pressure Ahead
06:23 Mistake One Nice to Have
08:43 Key Opinion Leaders
10:12 Mistake Two Fundraising
10:53 Soft Money and Accelerators
12:14 Choosing Investors Wisely
14:48 Mistake Three Commercial Traction
16:42 Traction Under Regulation
18:18 Consumers Paying for Health Apps
19:14 Who Pays for Health Tech
19:56 Building Health Tech Pathways
21:27 MDR Explained and Risk Classes
22:38 Why EU Approval Takes Longer
23:50 Ideal Users and Early Strategy
24:32 Plain English Plus Compliance
26:56 AI Powered Regulatory Guidance
27:38 Cutting Time with Better Docs
28:31 Ecosystem Wishlist Reimbursement
30:33 Community Call to Collaborate
31:30 Denmark Strengths and Next Steps
Quote:
"Finding a co-founder is like finding a spouse — it's somebody you want to work with for a very long time in a harsh environment." — Jesper
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