Are We In A Digital Health Bubble...

As always Dr Edward Fitzgerald, posted a great, thought provoking question.

?“Are we in a #digitalhealth bubble”

I think we are certainly seeing a large bubble growing, but with careful handling, the correct #teams and informed #investmentstrategy, we will not only see the bubble increase, but become one which is #sustainablegrowth and can be managed.?

Having spent the last two decades in #healthcare and more specifically #healthtech , I can confidently report that I have never seen a year quite like 2021, and in my opinion we are far from seeing a bursting bubble.?

However, I believe we will see certain bubbles burst, potentially seeing some of the #unicorns becoming lame, turning into zebra’s because of their convalescence period.?

I have some thoughts below...

The world of #healthandwellness has been subject to a seismic shift in the last three years, seeing?#consumer driven care?and?at home care?rapidly taking centre stage.

The right #investors :

?As with any trend, we have seen many flock to become involved in the hope of having a slice of the pie. #healthcareinnovation must be fronted by experienced teams, #advisors and #investors . We have and continue to see an influx of those who have had little or no experience in the field. We must maintain industry wide discipline in how we approach new opportunities.

#raisingfunds is but one element of the #innovationecosystem , failing to ensure the other links in the chain are in place and in good order will simply not withstand the pressures required to take a concept to true innovation. After all, a concept only becomes innovation qualifying when it addresses a need and is successfully deployed delivering outcomes. Until that stage it remains strongly with the concept status. Of course, this is often just the start of the journey!?

Building #ecosystems :

The world of #healthandwellness has been subject to a seismic shift in the last three years, seeing?#consumer driven care?and?at home care?rapidly taking centre stage.?

#Technology, ranging from #apps to wearable devices and #artificialintelligence to #datacollaboration, all have a part to play. But we cannot fall into a trap of chaotic misalignment. We will continue to see an increase of consumer driven trends; failing to align innovations will see some potentially become stranded and thus failing to adoptions and scale.??There are many solutions and processes to ensure that innovation velocity isn’t hampered by all-important pre-production strategies, which promote alignment feeding into a Health and Wellbeing Eco-System fit for the modern and ever evolving world.?

With Health and Wellbeing accounting to 80% of our business, we are just as excited to see longstanding relationships flourish with the market opportunities. Flourishing does not mean relaxing journeys. The velocity of need means that our solutions require a military like response.?

We have seen increased demand from many of our investment partners (who have historically operated within Series B and above) to facilitate earlier exposure to #healthtech , #medtech & #telehealth opportunities. In some cases, this has even been pre-series A! This resonates with trends associated to the decreasing times between later rounds, within this sector. Such earlier exposure does mean our processes need to address additional requirements, often not seen until later in the investment lifecycle.?

#talent –?One of the biggest concerns is going to the the lack of resource within this sector. This is not restricted to clinical and subject matter expertise. The Healthcare ecosystem requires a complimenting portfolio of expertise and experience to operate effectively. Whilst there will be ‘recruitment agencies’ rubbing their hands in anticipation, they will only exacerbate the situation (after all, they get paid on placement, if they can place the same person multiple times there is only one winner!)

We have developed a model, spanning 10 years, to address and minimise such risks whilst optimising talent within the organisation, bringing the right people to the right table at the right time. So, whilst we will see some challenges around labour mobility we envisage the deployment of more models such as those deployed by our teams, will make such challenges a thing of the past.?This includes an established advisory resource, where experience and connectivity align, allowing for businesses at every stage to access appropriate expertise in a flexible and effective manner.

In summary:

I agree, we will see much more scrutiny around valuations.?

I agree, the sector is too frothy, caused by multiple sources, but this is something that those who have operated in the sector long enough can have a positive impact on.?

I agree, Forensic selectivity will promote sustainable and appropriate #investmentopportunities with measurable outcomes. This will see both the investor, the business and the end user all benefit!?