E67 #Ecosystem Builders "Scaling Health Tech: Funding, Traction & Faster EU Approval" with Jesper Grønbæk

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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