HomeKnow-HowAttract2Invest: The EIT Health Accelerator that’s taking a completely new approach (Sponsored)

Attract2Invest: The EIT Health Accelerator that’s taking a completely new approach (Sponsored)

As accelerator programmes around Europe continue to pop up, each promising to offer start-ups a golden ticket to success, EIT Health is behind a new project – Attract to Invest and it’s taking a new approach, promising to show the reality of start-up life, cut the toxic positivity and give real-life tools for real-life scenarios. 

Attract to invest programme is a unique, tailor-made program which prepares the most promising teams from CEE and Southern European regions to fundraise effectively. It focuses on start-ups that already have a product or service available on the market and are preparing for their Series A funding round.

It’s all about giving valuable and credible strategies to prepare for investment.

The programme is specifically focusing on the area of health and medtech, giving those companies that have the potential to influence the future of humanity and make a tangible improvement to people’s lives, the tools and guidance they need to thrive.

Rethinking Accelerator Programmes

2021 was a record-breaking year for many reasons, and when it comes to the start-up world, it was one of Europe’s most exciting years ever. With new unicorns, big acquisition deals, product launches and eye-catching market expansions and funding rounds, 2021 was a bumper year for the European start-up ecosystem. 2022, though, has been characterized by a bit more anxiety.

With changing socioeconomic and geo-political situations come challenges – and that requires start-ups to be resilient, dynamic and prepared to stand firm against the tide.

Across the continent, there are a number of ‘accelerator’ programs that claim to do just that. Advertised with a sexy promise of big cheques, fancy networking dinners and very Instagram-able moments, these programmes have promised start-ups the chance to supercharge to success and approach start-up life with a dose of positivity.

But, the reality is, 90% of startup ventures fail. 

Launching a successful startup isn’t easy, it isn’t an overnight success, it isn’t a linear process, and it sure isn’t always sexy.

EIT Health InnoStars have recognised this and set out a new programme in order to better prepare founders with the reality, giving them the tools and strategies and insights they need, in a hands-on way, in order to be best-prepared to succeed.

Attract to invest gives start-ups the chance to take part in a Fundraising Bootcamp, where teams will get hands-on experience in creating an investment strategy, finalizing business planning, defining USP, optimizing pitch content, establishing and managing investor relations, optimizing term sheets and investment conditions.

Attract2Invest: The structure

For the inaugural version of Attract to Invest, 15 startups were selected to take part. Each of these startups has been granted a cheque, gets to take part in practical workshop sessions, gets simulation training, and access to networking opportunities.

These start-ups all have an MVP prototype and are fresh to the market. They have revenue and are focused in the life sciences, medtech and health tech sectors.

Here’s how it works.

Funding without the fine print

Each of the selected startups has been granted a cheque of €20k. This investment from EIT is completely equity free and acts as a grant that the startup can use in the way they see fit. All they need to do is justify the spending and demonstrably show how it will be used proactively.

It’s about transparency and trust. Providing the startups with a cash injection and enabling them to use as best fits.

Practice and theory hand-in-hand

The startups then get to participate in a Fundraising Bootcamp, equipping them with all the insights, knowledge and practical tools to secure the right type of funding.

The idea is to educate on the full spectrum of investor readiness, giving participants a chance to fully understand where the investor is coming from, their perspectives, their pain points and their processes. This means the startups can approach investors with better comprehension and create stronger relationships, being more aware of the reality of the whole investment funnel.

During the training, the startups spent the mornings learning about investor relationships and investor readiness from expert Francois Mazoudier. Then, after a lunch break to recharge and reflect, the teams get to put their learnings into practice and work on their pitch decks and delivery.

This is what makes this programme stand out. It gives space to learn and space to create, all whilst leveraging credible expert knowledge.

After taking part in the 5-day bootcamp, the startups move on to a Board Simulation, showing them just what it’s like to pitch in front of investors, and experience that heart-pulsing and hair-raising moment of being against the wall with the stakes at a high.

Following this, EIT Health InnoStars invite the startups to attend 2 additional working and matchmaking sessions, giving them a chance to become fully immersed in the wider EIT community as well as with additional corporations and investors.

Giving startups practical solutions

Attract to invest stands out as a programme as it aims to truly give credible knowledge to startup teams whilst showing them the reality of startup life. It doesn’t waste time creating a false picture of this world. It instead equips future business leaders with the tools and know-how they need.

It’s a programme defined by credibility, transparency and experience.

Signing on an investor is like a “marriage you can’t exit from” – it’s imperative to get it right. This programme aims to empower startups to do exactly that. It shows the reality, doesn’t sugarcoat and gets to the grain of how to grow global brands, fighting the fake news of startup success.

2022 Cohort

In this inaugural edition of the programme, 15 startups were chosen out of over 70 applications, representing countries from across southern, central and eastern Europe. It included:

  • Corify Care: Developing ACORYS, a medical device that enables clinicians to see and evaluate patients’ hearts without the need for surgeries.
  • Actif: A startup aiming to provide personalized and optimized physical and cognitive activity plans for older people, improving their quality of life.
  • Ani Biome: At the intersection of food tech and healthtech, Ani biome has developed a personalised approach to improving metabolic and gut health
  • Benesit: Helping people improve their posture and thus reduce back pain.
  • Clover Biosoft: Fair MS: Developing ultra-fast, cost-efficient, AI-based In-Vitro Diagnostic algorithms to identify antimicrobial resistance mechanisms.
  • Our Pocket Hero: An impact-led startup creating clothes for kids with diabetes that can monitor their glucose levels.
  • GlycanAge: Spin-out of Genos Glycoscience, analysing glycans on Immunoglobulin G antibody.
  • MEDIPASS: Developing data-driven solutions to help women and doctors fight infertility with a clear and individualised fertility journey
  • Mediprintic: Changing up approaches to treating forearm injuries, making it tailor-made and less invasive.
  • Diestia Systems: Providing design, consulting, development and prototyping services for optical devices, optoelectronic systems and software for ophthalmic diagnosis and treatment.
  • SalusMo: Enabling more timely diagnosis of stroke via its app which monitors and analyses signs of stroke, making professional evaluation “at hand” for everyone.
  • Scase: Helping tackle the healthcare personnel shortage by automating workflows
  • TechNovator Health: Developing wireless charging tech for implantable devices sich as pacemakers, cochlear implants and so on.
  • Thyriodography: Manufacturing an x-ray-based imaging product that gets images of the thyroid to see calcifications, which can expedite cancer diagnosis
  • Vitala: Aiming to de-risk the drug discovery process of Oncology and Metabolic diseases through monitoring, real-time & high-sensitive quantitative analysis of metabolic pathways inside cells
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Patricia Allen
Patricia Allen
is the Head of Content at EU-Startups. With a background in politics, Patricia has a real passion for how shared ideas across communities and cultures can bring new initiatives and innovations for the future. She spends her time bringing you the latest news and updates of startups across Europe, and curating our social media.
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