Look back at Briskr workshop Venture Capital

From PhD-student to experienced entrepreneurs, the group of participants in the workshop ‘How to attract capital Investment for your innovation in Health/HighTech’ on February 3 was very diverse. Speaker Thijs Cohen Tervaert, investor and director at INKEF Capital informed us he was trained a medical doctor, but never practiced as one. He now helps organisations in healthcare and pharma to co-fund.

He explained the role of venture capital, the criteria used in selecting the right investments and how even early on in your startup you can prepare for these.

In healthcare you need a longer investment horizon to actually start up a company and make it successful. To make the product market-ready you need the help from hospitals, do clinical studies and find partners in innovation.

Nowadays, Digital Health is high on the agenda. Healthcare and technology have a lot of potential as a combined sector with many beautiful and innovative applications that can improve cure and care.

On the basis of several practical cases, it became clear how INKEF can help to finance and develop the company. We learned that venture capital can take place in different stages of a company, or even in certain focus areas.

At the end of the workshop there was an interesting discussion among the participants how to attract venture capital for their organisation or idea.

We look back on yet another successful workshop from INKEF and Briskr.

4 Reasons to sit down early with a patent attorney

BLOG by EP&C Patent Attorneys

Patent protection is already crucial in this early phase, so we help the young entrepreneurs with that. I’ve been guiding them with patent applications, Freedom To Operate studies and more in recent years. And so we will continue to do that in the coming years. Many entrepreneurs, both starting out and experienced, only realize too late how important it is to sit down with a patent attorney at an early stage. And there are several good reasons for doing so.

REASON 1: WE CAN IDENTIFY THE PATENT RIGHTS OF THIRD PARTIES AT AN EARLY STAGE
Many entrepreneurs are so busy developing their product, starting a business and finding investors that their competitors’ patent rights are a blind spot. You may know who your competitors are, but do you know if they have relevant patent rights? This is a question that investors frequently ask. So you need to investigate that. Whether you do this yourself, or have it done; it must be done. Otherwise you run the risk of developing a product that infringes on someone else’s intellectual property. Which brings me to the next point.

REASON 2: WE CAN STILL EASILY ADJUST THE DESIGN
The earlier you know about third-party patent rights, the easier it often is to make minor adjustments to a design. These adjustments may make it possible to design around the existing patents and still be able to enter the market without infringing them. This can of course also be done at a later stage, but is then often much more expensive. The conversion of an entire production line costs more than adapting a concept.

REASON 3: WE CAN DISCUSS R&D RESULTS AT AN EARLY STAGE
Innovative entrepreneurs often overlook two things in the development process. First, they often do not realize that they are making simple but valuable inventions. In addition, they sometimes disclose new products before they are patented. In that case, that invention no longer meets the novelty requirement and they can no longer patent it. By discussing the R&D results with a patent attorney at an early stage, you can avoid these pitfalls.

By looking at this together, we will discover the inventions that seem obvious to you, and you will not disclose anything that should not already be disclosed. At the bottom line, this makes your patent portfolio a lot stronger. This increases the value of your company and your position in the market.

REASON 4: WE INCREASE THE CHANCE OF INVESTMENT
At Startlife, where finding investors is an important goal, we often hear that entrepreneurs come across better to investors after we have talked about intellectual property. Because of their improved understanding of the opportunities and threats related to their intellectual property, they exude professionalism and a grasp of the situation. Someone is more likely to invest in an organization that knows what it has already done, or wants to do, in the area of patents.

SMALL INVESTMENT
The earlier you start talking to a patent attorney, the more grip you have on the initial steps of your venture. Many people only take this step once their techniques have been further developed. This seems logical, but can end up costing much more time and certainly money. Even a brief conversation with a patent attorney can provide you with so much relevant information for your company that it is well worth the small investment.

Transforming ideas into successful businesses

Britta Driessen went from an intern at Novio Tech Campus (NTC) to the position of business coach at the Radboud University (RU) in Nijmegen. As a business coach and programme manager at RU’s entrepreneurship programme Mercator Launch, Britta focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship. For example, she helps innovative start-ups to turn ideas into viable products, expand their network, finance their business, and acquire all skills needed to create a successful business. She does so in collaboration with regional partners of Briskr.

During her masters in Medical Biology, Britta discovered her passion for innovation. “I was doing research in a lab at UMC Utrecht. I ended up in an interdisciplinary department, with biologists, chemists and mathematicians working together daily to develop new applications to improve quality of life. That is when I discovered what innovation really looks like at a knowledge institution, and what it truly means: creating practical solutions to societal challenges, such as a 3D printing tissue to repair cartilage defects. This piqued my interest.”

In 2016, Britta, who specialised in Management & Innovation, performed an internship at NTC. She talked to many companies about their intended success and the contribution of a campus like NTC to this success. “These organisations contribute to entrepreneurs’ chances of success because they help with practical matters such as facilitating space and connecting you with like-minded people. Ultimately, I ended up doing just that at Radboud University: helping entrepreneurs find their way and create impact. By supporting and stimulating entrepreneurship, we aim to create societal impact with the knowledge generated at our university.”

Building a business concept

There is an incredible amount of talent to be found at the Radboud campus, says Britta: “Many researchers, students and alumni have great, innovative ideas that they would like to act on. We support them in building on their business concept, both substantively and practically. We train and coach entrepreneurs and organise workshops and masterclasses to improve their entrepreneurial skills. Furthermore, we offer workspaces, grant access to a large network and help start-ups towards funding.”

“Simply put, we provide all the tools and methods to benefit entrepreneurs for a lifetime. Even if they eventually choose not to pursue this path, entrepreneurial competencies such as flexibility, market knowledge and presentation skills are always of added value. In that sense, we offer a skills training programme to create impact.”

Cooperation within the region: Briskr and the Radboud University

Supporting entrepreneurs in the early phases of their innovative business is not a solo project. “Of course, we don’t have all the expertise in-house. That is why we collaborate with other organisations in the area and make use of all the knowledge they have to offer”, Britta explains. “Within Briskr, we share and discuss the Health and High Tech start-ups we support. Partners can improve and accelerate the support, by sharing the start-ups and challenges they face, and by providing their knowledge, expertise and network”.

As an example, Britta paints a picture of an entrepreneur who had largely established his business concept. “To be honest, we couldn’t provide him with the support that he needed. So, we reached out to Briskr, and the participant found his place in another programme of one of Briskr partner meetings, more specifically, the Market Readiness Program of OostNL. Now, he receives the most optimal support for his start-up phase.” But that is not the only way Briskr and the Radboud University complement each other. “For example, we offer masterclasses together on topics that are important and relevant to our start-ups. We are stronger when we join forces. And this way, we get to learn from each other, too.”

Helping starting entrepreneurs get the best out of themselves and their idea is what makes Britta happy. “If we support entrepreneurial spirits to reach their full potential, great things will happen.”

From research to product launch: Ardim creates accessible ultrasound

As a postdoc at Radboudumc, Thomas van den Heuvel performs research within the field of medical image analysis. He specialised in the use of hand-held ultrasound scans with the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Recently, he has made the leap from science to actually bringing his solution to the market. And that comes with quite a few challenges.

Thomas has a vision to lighten the load on healthcare. By making medical imaging accessible, he wants to help GPs and paediatricians, primary care givers, to enable imaging-based diagnosis at the point-of-care. “The workload in hospitals is simply too great. We can’t continue as we are currently doing. To avoid unnecessary hospital visits, we have to be able to provide the right care at the right place. Thanks to software that automatically detects risks, a primary care giver needs little extra training to be able to use the ultrasound.”

From developing countries to primary care in the Netherlands: many applications

Ultrasound devices that can be connected to a smartphone have become available in the past six years. Thomas has been researching the use of AI to interpret ultrasound images for years. The software application that he is developing, will help doctors to perform an ultrasound examination with a minimal amount of training.

For example, during his PhD research, he helped midwives in developing countries with no experience in ultrasounds, to perform prenatal ultrasound screening. With just two hours of training and the help of AI, a midwife is able to acquire ultrasound images, which are interpreted by the algorithm to detect pregnancy risk factors.

A year ago, Thomas also started looking into other applications for his technique. Currently, he is working on bringing his first solution to market. “An integrated AI solution on your smartphone for medical image analysis offers a lot of opportunities. We have chosen two propositions to focus on, for now. Putting the research into practice, is what I like best,” says Thomas. On 1 October, 2021 he founded his company Ardim.

From investments to intellectual property

Entrepreneurship entails much more than just a good idea, so Thomas went to Briskr for workshops and networking. “Bringing this product to market goes far beyond research and making it technically sound. You have to deal with investments, certification, drawing up a clear business plan, gathering a team, you name it. Then it’s nice to have something like Briskr to guide you.” Among other things, Thomas attended workshops on intellectual property and valuation. “Patenting software, like AI algorithms, is not that straight forward, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a patent strategy. And determining how to really know what your start-up is worth and how to create value to bring in investments, is essential.”.

Briskr is the community to be for MedTech start-ups

Thomas started his research at the Department of Medical Imaging of the Radboudumc in Nijmegen, from which a couple of spinoffs with AI proposition emerged before. “Having predecessors helps a lot.” He also benefits greatly from Briskr’s community. “Briskr is broader oriented, it’s all about MedTech across the region. Running into likeminded people is so important, you get to pick their brains. I also benefit from the courses and workshops that cover a great variety of topics that you need to know about when you are starting up your business. It is a very nice community that is very valuable for a start-up company. If you are a MedTech start-up in Nijmegen and you have not heard of Briskr, you are doing something wrong”, he laughs.

Recording How to grow your business internationally

Yesterday we organised the workshop ‘How to grow your business internationally’. Lizanne Jakobs of Brilliant Work taught us a number of key points that you need to consider if you want to expand your business abroad. She listed some common mistakes and stressed the importance of setting goals and having a good preparation & planning.
Besides the fact that you have to speak the language of the country where you want to do business, it is important that your presentation, brochures and website are professional. And don’t forget the culture of the country where you want to do business! It is also important to do market research first (Is there a market for your product, or maybe a different version of your product?) And what help can you get from the government?
This very practical & valuable workshop laid a good foundation for crossing the border. Thank you Lizanne!

Digital Health companies in the Nijmegen region

Health Valley has published a Digital Health Guide together with the Radboudumc, the Novio Tech Campus, the Municipality of Nijmegen and Briskr. The aim: to connect Digital Health players in the Nijmegen region and beyond! This will benefit the development and scaling up of Digital Health innovations and economic growth in the Nijmegen region.

Focus region Nijmegen
Digital Health is an important focus for the Nijmegen region, given its large healthcare sector. Over a quarter of the inhabitants have a job in healthcare. In addition, the region is home to many knowledge partners, healthcare organisations and innovative entrepreneurs who are working every day to improve healthcare with digital solutions. Digital Health ambassador for the Nijmegen region Tom van de Belt is therefore pleased with the guide’s arrival.

“The challenges facing healthcare are considerable and innovations can help us keep healthcare affordable and of good quality, now and in the future. Looking at the guide, it strikes me how much we as a region already have to offer in the area of digital health. The innovative power stands out, not only in companies but also in healthcare institutions and knowledge institutes.”

Global problem, local approach
Although the players in the field of digital health often operate internationally, there is also a need for local and regional cooperation. Van de Belt: “Developments in the field of Digital Health are rapid and you need to follow developments on a global scale, but certainly also locally. I see this guide as a calling card for the region, so that parties from here and abroad can see at a glance what we have to offer”.

Players know how to find each other
If you want to make an impact in the field of Digital Health, you need the right partners. Chris Doomernik, director of Health Valley states: “You can map out your problem and wish list for healthcare as well as you can validate your innovation, if you want to scale up you simply cannot do it alone. It is therefore important that partners from the triple helix find each other more easily. That will benefit the development and scaling up of digital health innovations and economic growth.

Click here for the guide.

Catalyze and Briskr announce strategic partnership to accelerate new Life Sciences, Health and High-Tech innovations

Briskr and Catalyze have announced a new partnership whereby Catalyze will provide support to Briskr start-ups and SMEs towards successful growth. Briskr is a consortium in the Nijmegen area with the aim of helping start-ups and SMEs to grow faster and make more impact on the Life Sciences & Health and High-Tech sectors. Briskr believes that interaction between knowledge-intensive companies and knowledge institutes, such as universities and government institutions, is essential to realize innovation. Operating in three areas – business support, project and program development for innovation activities, and acquisition of innovation companies, Briskr brings together innovative entrepreneurs in its incubation program (start-ups), acceleration program (scale-ups), and activation program (established SMEs).

Briskr Partnership

Briskr Programme Manager, Martijn Kriens, together with Catalyze Founder & Director, Jalal Es-Sbai.

Catalyze is an innovation consultancy delivering expertise, ranging from strategic consultancy to funding applications, to project management, for clients working in the fields of life sciences & health, and green & sustainable innovations. Driven by a belief that the most meaningful innovations deserve the best chance to succeed, Catalyze has established itself as a key player in the innovation ecosystem, headquartered in Amsterdam and operating worldwide. To date, Catalyze has raised €750 million in funding for its clients, built a network ecosystem of more than 2500 partners, and grown to over 120 employees.

Catalyze joins the Briskr ecosystem as a supporting partner that will deliver comprehensive strategic support, including contribution to Briskr’s general programming, provision of training activities, business coaching and general strategic advice to the entrepreneurs. Activities provided will cover strategic funding advice, tips and tricks for grant writing, and the opportunity for Briskr start-ups and SMEs to gain further strategic support. Together, Catalyze and Briskr will work to accelerate the success of Briskr members operating in Life Sciences & Health and High Tech.

Jalal Es-Sbai, Founder & Director of Catalyze comments on the new partnership:

“The life sciences & health business community in the Nijmegen region contains a mix of exciting new start-ups, fast-growing scale-ups, SME’s and pharmaceutical companies. It is great to be part of Briskr network together with partners such as the municipality of Nijmegen, Oost NL, Rabobank, the Economic Board, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and the Radboud Universities. We are looking forward to beginning our role as partner, wherein we will make impact for its members by providing strategic support, focussed squarely on accelerating new innovations. Through this new partnership, we also further strengthen our position as innovation consultants.”

Martijn Kriens, Programme Manager of Briskr:

“Working together with companies in supporting knowledge intensive start-ups is important to create an impact driven ecosystem in Nijmegen. This support around different dimensions is important. As supporting partners we now have Aeternus (company valuation), BDO (accounting), EP&C (patent attorneys), Janssen Pharmaceuticals JLABS (acceleration), Rabobank (financials), Poelmann van den Broek (lawyers) and now Catalyze. The addition of the knowledge of Catalyze around strategic fundraising and project management will further help start-ups in our ecosystem to grow.”

Go to the website of Catalyze Group.

Vacature: Senior Programmamanager Briskr

In het kort

De programmamanager is de spin in het web in het Nijmeegse innovatie ecosysteem en zorgt samen met het Briskr team en de samenwerkende partners voor de totstandkoming van het Briskr programma, dat tot doel heeft om ondernemingen in de Health & High-Tech sector te helpen in hun (door)ontwikkeling en hier de juiste randvoorwaarden voor te scheppen, onder meer via het stimuleren van (publiek-private) samenwerkingen.

 

 

Over Briskr

 

Briskr is een consortium dat is gericht op de ontwikkeling en ondersteuning van ondernemerschap en innovatie van de Health en Hightech clusters in de regio Nijmegen. Focus ligt daarbij op inhoudelijke vijf speerpunten waarin de regio zich onderscheidt en die ze verder wil versterken, namelijk Drug Discovery & Development, Neuroscience, Digital Health, RF Technology en Chip Integration.

 

De programmamanager is verantwoordelijk voor de totstandkoming van het Briskr programma. Hierbij wordt intensief samengewerkt met verschillende consortiumpartners, waaronder The Economic Board, OostNL, de gemeente Nijmegen, kennisinstellingen (HAN, Radboud Universiteit en Radboudumc) en Health Valley. Vanuit deze organisaties is een consortiumraad en een dagelijks bestuur samengesteld die de strategie en programmering vaststellen, mede op voorstel van de programmamanager. De programmamanager legt tevens verantwoording af aan deze gremia. Operationeel wordt samengewerkt met vertegenwoordigers van de partners in werkgroepen rondom drie thema’s: business support, acquisitie en programma- en projectontwikkeling.

 

Resultaatgebieden

 

De programmamanager werkt aan de realisatie van de werkpakketten. Hierbij worden de consortiumpartners geënthousiasmeerd en in hun kracht gezet. Tegelijkertijd is hij/zij in staat om kansen te signaleren en met nieuwe voorstellen te komen. De kandidaat kan dus goed schakelen tussen verschillende niveaus: van operationeel naar strategisch en van praktisch uitvoerend naar meer programmatisch.

 

Een deel van de activiteiten van Briskr wordt uitgevoerd door een klein, toegewijd team. De programma manager geeft (functioneel) leiding aan dit team.

 

De consortiumpartners hebben de ambitie om te participeren in nationale en Europese programma’s vanuit de potentie in de regio Nijmegen in de domeinen Health en High Tech die bijdragen aan de clusterontwikkeling. De programmamanager kan relevante kansen detecteren en verbinden met regionale initiatieven.

 

Uitdagingen en ontwikkelingen

 

De kandidaat is in staat om meerwaarde uit de bestaande samenwerking te halen, een synergie die verder gaat dan de som der delen. Tevens is er de wens om het bedrijfsleven en ondernemers beter te betrekken bij de activiteiten van Briskr en zo meer een “voor en door” programma te realiseren.

 

Taken

  • Opstellen en rapporteren over jaarplan, doelstellingen en begroting
  • Zorg dragen voor uitvoering van het jaarplan
  • In afstemming met consortiumpartners over inzet ten behoeve van Briskr doelstellingen
  • Aansturen van het projectteam
  • Voorbereiden diverse werkgroepen en opvolgen acties
  • Afspraken maken met (nieuwe) partners en onderhouden relaties
  • Relatie naar beoordelingscommissie Startup Fonds Gelderland en soortgelijke vroege fase financieringsfondsen
  • Signaleren van kansen op de domeinen Health en High Tech en initiëren van voorstellen voor nieuwe programma’s en projecten.
  • Thuis zijn in subsidieland (subsidies aanvragen & rapporteren).

 

Competenties

  • Organisatie sensitiviteit, gericht op samenwerking met een grote diversiteit aan partners
  • Resultaatgericht en ondernemend
  • Energiek en verbindend, motiveren en aansturen van projectmedewerkers

 

Vereisten

  • Wetenschappelijk werk- en denkniveau met minimaal 10 jaar relevante ervaring.
  • Gesprekspartner voor professionals en bestuurders in health en technologie.
  • Achtergrond in het (high-tech) innovatieve bedrijfsleven, ervaring met overheid en/of kennisinstellingen is een pré.
  • Aantoonbare, ruime ervaring in het opzetten en begeleiden van complexe publiek private samenwerkingsverbanden.
  • Ervaring in het bouwen van consortia en het werven van middelen.

 

Voorwaarden

Het betreft hier een functie voor minimaal 32 uur per week.

 

Procedure

  • De sluitingstermijn van deze vacature is 7 februari 2022. Heb je vragen over de vacature neem dan contact op met Joram Sjoerts via joram.sjoerts@radboudumc.nl. Begin februari worden de sollicitatiegesprekken gepland. De gesprekken worden gevoerd door een diverse afvaardiging uit het consortium.
  • Een assessment en referentiecheck kan onderdeel uitmaken van de procedure
  • Je kunt je sollicitatie verzenden naar Rina Bruintjes, rina.bruintjes@radboudumc.nl of via het platform waar je deze vacature tegenkomt. We ontvangen graag een gedegen motivatiebrief bij jouw sollicitatie.

Pitch to Win: a winning pitch

In David Beckett’s workshop Pitch to Win on Thursday December 14th we worked very practically on formulating our own winning pitch. It was his 997th workshop about Pitching he told us.

One exercise was to write down in a maximum of 4 (short) sentences your handshake pitch. We learned how to leave a first impression that is not about you, but about what you do.

In practical steps we learned how to make a winning pitch using the ‘power of three’, why you need the rational and non-rational aspect in a pitch (and a bit of humor). And use all the feedback you can get!

Using a strict timer, we had to try and think concisely. We tested this in short pitches to each other in breakout rooms. David is an exciting and well-known speaker who motivates all participants. We look back on a fun workshop where we learned a lot.

TOP TIP; This workshop will be repeated in May / June.

Faculty of Impact has launched

‘Faculty of Impact’ has just launched: a brand new program aimed at turning promising research into a business with impact.

Faculty of Impact is adopted from / inspired by three US programs: Cyclotron Road at UC Berkeley, Runway at Cornell Tech and Activate at MIT. All three use a similar format: researchers receive a grant for two years, to focus 100% of their time on turning their research into a business with impact. On top of that they get access to research labs, entrepreneurship training, coaching over the course of two years, support in the search for funding (both government grants and investor capital) and support in their search for customers.

The focus of the first call is on sustainability and the energy transition. Applications are now open – de deadline is 18th January 2022. Attached you’ll find a flyer with more info – or visit the website to download an application kit. Future calls will focus on AI, MedTech and other areas of research.