How to Navigate the Business of Healthcare

Your HealthTech startup isn’t a tech company. Treating it like one can be fatal. I’ve watched brilliant founders from SaaS, fintech, and AI stumble in healthcare. Not because they lacked skill, but because they assumed healthcare works like every other industry. It doesn’t. Here’s what makes HealthTech a world of its own: 1. You’re selling to institutions, not individuals. Hospitals, insurers, and regulators move carefully, not quickly. Procurement in large systems can take 18+ months, with decisions driven by risk and compliance over hype. Committees replace single decision-makers, and the biggest competitor is often the status quo. 2. Trust is everything. In healthcare, one misstep - clinical, ethical, or regulatory - can destroy credibility overnight. I’ve seen startups lose traction after minor compliance lapses. The rules around AI and digital health evolve constantly, and staying ahead of regulation is now a core competency, not a checkbox. 3. Adoption is the hardest challenge. Clinicians spend roughly 40% of their day on admin tasks. Patients are already overloaded. If your product doesn’t fit seamlessly into existing workflows, it won’t get used... no matter how elegant the tech. True adoption takes empathy, support, and time. 4. Solve a mission-critical problem. In healthcare, survival depends on necessity, not novelty. “Nice-to-have” tools don’t last. Clinical validation through peer-reviewed studies and real-world evidence matters more than hype. Evidence earns trust—and trust drives growth. 5. Investors now expect proof of outcomes. Funding is shifting toward startups that demonstrate measurable clinical impact and sustainable revenue models, especially in high-need areas like maternal health and chronic disease management. Impact now trumps velocity. 6. Partnerships power growth. Strategic collaborations, like those between pharmaceutical companies and AI imaging startups, are shaping healthcare innovation. They help new entrants navigate regulation, gain credibility, and scale responsibly. 7. Play the long game. Healthcare rewards patience, resilience, and humility. Quick hacks and blitz-scaling don’t work here. The founders who listen, learn, and adapt to the system’s realities are the ones who thrive. HealthTech is healthcare. With just enough technology to make it work better, not worse. What would you add?

The instinct that scales every other sector will stall you in healthtech. That is not what most people building want to hear. It is also not what most investors want to fund. But it is consistently what separates the companies that scale from the ones that don't. Healthtech is not SaaS with a stethoscope. The instinct that got you here - ship fast, learn fast, iterate - is the instinct that will cost you your most important relationships if you apply it without adjustment. Trust in health is not a soft metric. It is the actual product. The clinician who had a bad experience with your v1 is not coming back for v2. The procurement lead who championed you and watched you underdeliver has spent political capital they won't spend again. The founders I work with who scale, genuinely scale, not just close a round, have all made the same shift. They stopped treating slow as a problem to be solved and started treating it as the terrain to be navigated. Pipeline that accounts for 18-month cycles. Evidence gathered before anyone asked for it. Relationships that predate the RFP. Outsiders see a sector that should move faster. Insiders know it moves at exactly the speed the risk requires. What's the assumption about your sector that outsiders can't seem to shake?   #LinkedInNewsEurope   ----- I’m Sara - a HealthTech strategic advisor, fractional operator, and 4x founder who’s scaled ventures to £10M+ ARR across the UK, Europe and Africa.I help founders and teams navigate UK market entry, rebuild strategic clarity, and lead under complexity.Founder of Well Purposed. Thought leader in preventative, ethical and system-ready healthcare.

So You Built a Digital Health Startup… Now What? Breaking into healthcare as an early-stage digital health company can feel like navigating a maze with no map. I was recently interviewed for a fireside chat with a startup incubator, and we tackled one of the biggest challenges—how to simplify this complex industry into actionable steps. After years in the trenches, I’ve learned that winning in healthcare isn’t just about having a great product. It’s about understanding the ecosystem, aligning incentives, and getting the right people on your side. Here are three key takeaways I shared with the group: 1. Know Your Customer & Economic Buyer Who uses your product, who pays for it, and who makes the decision? These are often three different people with completely different motivations. ·     Do you save them money? ·     Make them money? ·     Improve efficiency? ·     Do you have the clinical and economic data to prove it? If you can’t answer these questions, you might be selling to the wrong person. 2. Advocacy is Key to Market Entry No one wins in healthcare alone. You need stakeholders who believe in your solution and will push for its adoption. This influences everything—whether you go direct-to-consumer, B2B, physician-led, hospital-driven, or payer-backed. And if reimbursement isn’t in your corner, you’d better have a solid alternative strategy. 3. Follow the Competitive & Financial Landscape Pricing isn’t just about how much your product costs—it’s about how the healthcare system values it. ·     Who are your competitors? ·     How does money flow in your sector? ·     What financial incentives drive adoption? Understanding these levers is the key to scaling strategically (instead of just throwing money at the wall and hoping something sticks). I love helping companies navigate the twists and turns of this industry—because, let’s be honest, healthcare is never simple. But when you get it right, the impact is massive. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received about launching in healthcare? Let’s hear it. #DigitalHealth #Startups #HealthcareInnovation #GoToMarket #HealthTech

The most dangerous words in healthcare startups: "Our advisory board says the market needs this." Four things I see advisory boards typically miss, and how to solve for them: 1. The operational path to implementation Is your target market Medicare? Ask your advisors about 855R reassignments, TIN/NPI management, and delegated credentialing agreements. Watch for deer-in-headlights responses. Commercial plans? Question them about leased network requirements, admin service fees, and value-based contracting amendment structures. Employer deals? See if they understand network adequacy requirements, stop-loss implications, and benefits integration workflows. 2. The true economic buyer vs. clinical champion Clinical champions validate the problem but rarely control the budget. Quality leaders may love your solution but can't allocate resources. Even C-suite enthusiasm means nothing without operational ownership. 3. The regulatory constraints on adoption Does your solution trigger Stark Law considerations? Where does your offering sit in relation to ERISA? Have your advisors mapped your value proposition to compliance requirements? Can they articulate how your solution navigates HIPAA beyond signing a BAA? 4. The procurement reality Healthcare decision-making isn't linear—it's networked. Implementation teams can veto solutions champions approve (this happens a LOT in payor/employer GTM) Legal/compliance has different priorities than innovation or total reward teams. Procurement cycles follow their own logic independent of need. Most healthcare advisors deeply, DEEPLY understand their specific corner of the ecosystem—but rarely the commercial pathways between them. The safety-net system CEO knows their operation but not commercial payor contracting. The payor executive understands MLR but not provider workflow adoption. The clinical leader knows care gaps but not procurement processes. If your strategy relies heavily on advisor validation, let's pressure-test it against market reality. And, as an added bonus, I'm tagging some of the best advisors I know in the comments. #healthcarevalidation #strategyalignment #marketarchitecture

To get my first sale in healthcare I literally camped in hospital hallways to ambush medical executives. Having come a long way since those early desperate days, here's what actually works: 1. Accept the sales cycle timeline reality Private hospitals: 6-12 months minimum. Public hospitals: 12-24 months (sometimes longer). Budget cycles are often annual - miss your window and wait another year. 2. Warm referrals crush cold outreach One good introduction saves months of ignored emails. Who introduces you matters more than your actual product. Track down connections through LinkedIn - second-degree connections are gold. 3. They buy from people they trust Your product might revolutionize healthcare, but if they don't like you personally, good luck. We've watched inferior products win simply because their salesperson built better relationships. This is business, but it's still human. 4. Your first reference case is your golden ticket Most healthcare buyers are followers, not pioneers. Once you've successfully implemented your solution at one respected institution, the next ten become exponentially easier. Your first client is your hardest - make them wildly successful and document everything. 5. Align with their strategic "why" For a particular hospital we are talking to, their mandate was building smart hospitals with digital health as a core focus. We carefully framed our solution to fit this exact narrative. Different hospitals have different priorities - study their annual reports and strategic plans. 6. Make your demos unforgettable Pull a rabbit out of your hat. Create that "wow" moment where they feel they're seeing something truly game-changing. People remember feelings, not features. Technical glitches kill momentum - rehearse until it's flawless. 7. Find and nurture your champion The right internal champion is everything. Their advocacy is worth more than your entire marketing budget. Look for ambitious individuals who want to make their mark. The B2B healthcare sales journey requires patience and persistence. But with these strategies, you can dramatically accelerate the process. What's been your experience selling to big organizations?

I’m a Health Tech founder in my 12th year of our startup’s journey. My 11 biggest lessons in 2024 👇 1. Scarcity breeds focus. When there’s less time, you can find a way to get the job done in a more efficient manner. When there are fewer resources, you are forced to waste less. You can do more with less than you think. 2. The right attitude changes everything. Simply asking: “what would have to be true for this to work?” Instead of assuming “this won’t work” opens up so many previously unseen doors. 3. I always knew 3 of my primary jobs as CEO were to (1) set the vision, (2) build and retain a great team, and (3) ensure there was always cash in the bank. I now believe there’s a key 4th job: continuously generating momentum for the company, e.g. creating a new opportunity, moving a relationship forward, enabling a success story to get out there, etc. Momentum keeps the team engaged and moves the company forward. 4. Velocity really matters. Meaning the right direction AND high speed / urgency are both critical for success. Progress happens too slowly or not at all if you lack both. 5. Lean-in to what customers are telling you and what the market wants - even if it’s not clear yet HOW you can do it. But it’s better to figure out how to evolve and benefit from market tailwinds instead of trying to fight it. 6. You can’t accelerate market readiness in healthcare, BUT you can build a great reputation so that you’re the first call when folks are ready. 7. Your company can win by just caring about your health system customers more than your competitors. You’d be surprised at how many companies just don’t care enough about their customers. Their complacency is your opportunity. 8. Healthcare is a relationships-based business and you build much better relationships in person. It’s amazing how much more you learn spending time in-person with customers and team members - even with people you talk to every week. Not sure how to grow in 2025? Start by spending more time with your customers in-person. 9. Focus on leveraging what you do uniquely well and worry less about fixing your weaknesses. You will get 10x better results by doubling down on what you are the best at. 10. Deliver tremendous value to others without expecting anything in return. Good things happen to those who give first. 11. Complaining about what’s not in your control is a waste of time and energy. Focus your efforts on solving problems that are under your control. Oh and there is a LOT more under your control than you think. What did you learn in 2024?

🩺 Thinking about building in healthcare? Read this first. Healthcare isn’t just hospitals and insurers; it’s an intricate web of sponsors, payers, delivery orgs, PBMs, TPAs, pharma, brokers, and more. Each has its own incentives, sales cycles, integration quirks, and… bureaucracy. I wrote a no-BS guide for first-time founders and tech builders breaking into this space. 🔍 In this piece, I break down: - Who the real decision-makers are (and why some “buyers” can’t actually buy) - How to navigate pilots, procurement, budget cycles - The real barriers to AI adoption (and where the opportunities are) - Why compliance isn’t a checkbox and how to bake it in from day one 🚨 Spoiler: Selling into a health system ≠ selling into a payer ≠ working with a pharma brand. And integrating with an EHR? That’s a whole journey on its own. 🧠 If you’re embarking on building anything in healthcare, platform, AI, workflow tool, or services, this might save you some time (and sanity). 📎 Read the full article below. 💬 Would love your take – what do you wish you had known earlier? #healthtech #startups #founders #AI #digitalhealth #healthcareinnovation #entrepreneurship #AltheaAI #agenticAI