I like projects outside my clinical and academic work. 99nicu was the first big project that came out in public from my "Department of Brilliant Ideas".

Since several years, I have devoted a lot of work for a project that eventually led to the startup Neobiomics, since 2019 under the wings of the Karolinska Innovations AB. Neobiomics provides ProPrems®, a high-quality multi-strain food supplement.

Entering the startup universe has been like embarking a rollercoaster journey. In many ways a personally rewarding experience, but it has also been walking a challenging path with many obstacles to overcome along the way.

Regardless of the ups and downs, bringing an idea into a startup context will make you work. A lot. (And for most of the first few hundred/thousand hours, without renumeration.)

I recently saw a TED-talk by Darria Long (see it below), on how systematic strategies in emergency medicine can be used to cope with high work loads in general. And it struck me that we, as health care professionals, are well fitted as startup founders.

Not anyone make the choice to work in health care. IMHO, we are a selection of people sharing a special compassion for what we do. And, through long education and training, the importance of know-how and experience is incorporated in our DNA.

How does all this make health care professionals fit for startups?

• we build and work through trustful relations
• we like to meet the unknown
• we work hard for a clear objective, even if the outcome may be uncertain
• despite limited resources, we manage things first
• thanks to limited resources, we can prioritize
• our work is problem-based, not solution-based
• our work has structure, even in a seemingly chaotic  situation
• the detective work in medicine makes us good lateral thinkers

Naturally, the startup universe requires its own specific skills (finance, legal, development, communication etc-etc). And the trajectory for becoming a startup founder is similar to becoming a health care professional - one needs to learn, practise and connect with others to make something out a brilliant idea.

You have an idea? Make it happen!

(this post is dedicated to KI Innovations AB)