From idea to healthcare revolution in 7 days. The story of MedicPad
On June 10, 2019 it was the official launch of MedicPad at Techsylvania Cluj 2019. MedicPad is an innovative ICT solution incorporated in the Medicover Express innovation strategy. During the event, at Medicovers’ booth, we were live, showing how technology can revolutionize the healthcare industry, while on the main stage, Medicover staff explained how startups can & should work with corporations to provide timely innovative solutions.
We all know that success without hard work can never be accomplished. The story of how MedicPad came to life is another great example of what happens when three business people with the same mindset meet, work hard and act fast to see their ideas implemented in real life.
As any good story our main characters were oblivious to what was to come, although their chemistry is what made a company that will help patients receive better care. Mihai “Mike” DRĂGHICI, had developed a mobile application, available on iOS and Android, meant to help doctors anywhere keep a better track of their patients and massively improve the communication and management between the medical system and those who need medical services. In the same time, Elena UNCIULEANU was determined to scout for the first portfolio company for her online incubator, TechVentures and Olimpiu” Oly” BALAȘ was looking to invest in a company, thus the table was set, so let’s see how their fate crossed.
Day 1: Discovery
It all started when Elena sent an email to Mike to talk about his activities as a mentor in techventures.ro (you can read more about it here), his role and how to further help startup companies to become more aware of their national and, most importantly, their international opportunities as Mike is an international serial entrepreneur with having launched start-ups in Romania, Canada, Mexico, USA and India, with almost 20 years of experience as a software developer in the USA.
Day 2: Inception
Mike pitched to Elena his newest MedTech startup solutions, MedicPad and HomeDoctor, asking if she knew somebody interested to invest in his apps and help him scale them up quicker. Elena called up Oly to inform him about this innovation and they agreed to meet the next day to talk more and demo the new apps.
Day 3: Research
Then the magic happened. They all met at TechVentures headquarters with nothing but thoughts on getting things done so they can go about their regular daily activities. But, within 10 minutes into the meeting they all became more and more excited about the business opportunity. Especially because Mike came highly prepared to the meeting – financial statements, plans for the next months, and the app installed on 2 devices to show a working demo.
” I was surprised by his devotion for innovation and truly happy to see how prepared he came to the meeting. Maybe the difference is made by his years of experience and from being raised in the US, but is was clear that he had a very different vision of how you should pitch your business” said Elena. The meeting started slow, as any meeting does. But it got electrifying very fast.” Ideas were flying all over the place. We were laughing and had on point debates. We had nothing signed but we were already talking and behaving like a team” added Elena.
Day 4: Design
Walking in, Mike wanted to ask for money towards advertising the product. On the other hand, the advertising budget seemed to be equal to alternatively launching a hospital pilot program to test the appa first before advertising. Elena and Oly said that investing in advertising towards a product which has never seen the daylight may be a little premature and the direction should be towards finding a client willing to use a free trial period. At the same time, looking through the financial statements Mike provided, Elena figured out that numbers were not feasible as the company was in a very, very early stage; with little to no actual knowledge of how this app would perform in the marketplace and what the costs would be in order to make it profitable after a implementation and deployment.
They started to walk through what needs to be done next for their new “go to market” strategy. Oly, as an entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience and at the core of some of the applications that revolutionized the banking system in Romania, brought up the need of having a ”breach in the industry” through a big client, that could have a huge impact in the life of both doctors, but patients as well. Elena, as a successful woman in tech, with a vast knowledge of how the Romanian market works, strengthen Oly’s statement and said that this step is one of the most important.
They left shaking hands and with a promising future in mind for the new company that will be brought to life in a short period. Little did they know just how short that period would actually be.
Day 5: Invest
The next morning, Elena received a WhatsApp update at 8 o’clock from Mike saying: “One of the biggest public hospitals in Romania accepted our solution. They want to start a pilot program”. They have accepted MedicPad for a trial period of 3 months. This trial period states that all the parties involved must work together in order to make the platform bring value and improve the hospitals’ process for providing healthcare to their patients. Mike and his team would install the applications and transform legacy systems into a more modern technical platform, while the hospital provided expertise on the medical side and test the user interfaces and reporting to align with their internal processes and validate the value proposition.
That was the moment Elena and Oly realized they share the same vision with Mike. They liked Mike’s speed & vibe and they were convinced MedicPad would be a good investment. They contacted the lawyers to finish the paperwork and that was techventures.ro first portfolio company.
Day 6: Market-to-lead
Mike started to share the innovation at specific local healthcare events. The audience was receptive to use the applications and we obtained a second pilot project! This time a private hospital!
With a spark in his eyes, Oly added “I remember a rush. I believe this is the word. I have more than 20 years’ experience in this field, and I still get this rush when we have the OK from a client. It’s amazing really, and I somehow see myself in Mike. We are both very passionate, with an unlimited source of energy and ideas”.
Day 7: Launch
We have chosen to be part of The Medicover Express strategy because they recognized the huge value this solution can bring from the start and they wanted to be the first ones in the market to have it. Usually time is money, but when it comes to healthcare, time means a chance to live a healthier life. We proposed to minimize the waiting time at a clinic by using smart intake forms for patients’ self-assessment process, so that once the patient is waiting to see the doctor, he/she knows that they will receive quality care in a timely manner.
MedicPad – Innovation that improves lives.
