Transforming Lives Through Startup Tech at ICAIR

Gillian Brandon-Hart
Five panel speakers sitting on stage underneath a banner introducing them with the article title at the bottom.
(L-R): Philip De Souza, Zen Koh, Louise Pichette, Dr. Annie-Kim Gilbert, and Dr. Noah Crampton speak at ICAIR.

Fostering collaboration and sharing knowledge are cornerstones of our vision of partnering to create the safest healthcare system.

HIROC recently attended the KITE Research Institute at UHN’s International Conference on Aging, Innovation and Rehabilitation (ICAIR). Philip De Souza, HIROC’s AVP of Communications and Marketing, moderated a panel of startup experts from across the healthcare space. The enlightening discussion covered the value of collaboration and partnership and their advice for other entrepreneurs and startups.

The experts:

  • Dr. Annie-Kim Gilbert, CEO, MEDTEQ+
  • Louise Pichette, Senior Manager, Health Sciences, MaRS Discovery District
  • Dr. Noah Crampton, CEO, Mutuo Health Solutions
  • Zen Koh, CEO, NovaKonexus

Partnership is Power

Creating strategic partnerships and the power of connection promote innovation. Partnerships are at the core of everything we do, something Gilbert and Pichette directly support in their work at startup incubators. “No single entity has all the resources and answers,” Gilbert emphasized, so having the right partners is critical.

Crampton also spoke on the value of collaboration and mentorship that were crucial to helping him bring his innovation to market. He collaborated with hospitals to buy datasets of clinician-patient conversations that were necessary to train his startup’s AI-powered transcribing technology. Having a mentor who showed him how to navigate the development and commercialization of his product was also key to his success.

Koh, whose startup integrates advanced technologies into healthcare, described the five key stakeholders startups must engage to successfully create and scale your innovation.

  • End users and early adopters are the experts
  • Clinicians and doctors must understand how your product will help them
  • Engineers and researchers need to see the value in doing the work to create this product and apply for grants
  • Industry partners are needed to help commercialize your product
  • Policymakers and decision-makers provide support, funding and regulations

“In our industry we need to involve various stakeholder groups to create an ecosystem,” Koh said.

Lessons in Entrepreneurship

The panelists also offered some advice for those considering entrepreneurship.

Prioritize privacy and security in your products and organization and follow relevant guidelines. Crampton recommended creating a security operations center to manage your organization’s cyber security.

Be bolder and take that leap of faith. Help accelerate the pace of change and decision-making. We also need to support the pipeline of early-stage startups and scale up faster. Remember that your work is valuable and can make a difference in improving health and wellbeing. Everyone starts out with a reason for what they’re doing; if you lose your “why” for doing something then you should reconsider it.

Find your passion and follow that, Koh said, to sustain your interest and motivation. Perseverance is critical to navigate the many ups and downs and build partnerships, Pichette added. Having a clear vision and openness to new ideas will help you be bold and problem-solve, Gilbert highlighted. Crampton concluded that you can show you’re driven to do the right thing for society by keeping a values lens about what’s important to you and always connecting back to your “why.”

Thank you to all the panel speakers and everyone else who attended ICAIR, and to the team at KITE for inviting us! Events such as this are key to scaling knowledge to help turn the corner on patient safety. See you again next year!

 

By Gillian Brandon-Hart, Communications and Marketing Specialist, HIROC