School’s never out for startups

The Life Sciences & Healthcare Practice of MaRS Advisory Services now works with over 200 companies in the health IT, medical devices and biotech/pharma sectors.

Our portfolio companies range from those in the “ideation” stage to those that are internationally scaling, but regardless of the stage at which they link up with MaRS, they all move through a (generally) defined developmental pathway. Last year, the Startup Genome Report developed an amazing tool to assess and map a startup’s development (which we have amended for life sciences and healthcare companies… talk to your advisor!).

With each stage of development – ideation, discovery (proof of concept), validation, creation and scaling – comes specified “homework”:  the necessary business development tasks that take your business forward. Whether it’s developing your value proposition, business plan, market understanding, financials or investor pitch, companies can’t just jump from ideation straight to scaling. There’s work to be done in between!

There are a number of startups in our portfolio that are certainly seeing the fruits of their labour:

• SenoSENSE Medical Systems is developing a device that quickly and inexpensively measures breast density, enabling personalized breast cancer risk assessment, particularly for younger women, who may be at risk but are not regularly screened. After finalizing their business plan and investor pitch, the company owners recently presented at our recent Angel Event. Their CEO, Joel Ironstone, will also present at April’s MaRS Future of Medicine series event.
• Likewise, Sensory Technologies Inc. has seen great success of late: a long-time MaRS client, Sensory Tech provides a mobile software solution that connects nurses to personal support workers (PSWs) in order to extend the reach the nurse’s expertise and save the healthcare system significant dollars. They’re already making sales and building partnerships, and just had a great trip to the sector-leading HIMSS conference in Las Vegas.
• Finally, Simple Systems is commercializing RECLAIM, an electrode-based neuro-rehabilitation therapy that restores voluntary movements in individuals paralyzed by stroke and spinal cord injury. Having been validated by two successful randomized control trials, and having raised significant financing to date, Simple Systems presented to the MaRS angel network at our recent Angel Event.

Clearly, “S” is the letter of the day!

To get to the investment-ready stage like the above companies, you need to do your homework—school is never out for a startup! MaRS can help. If you have any questions about working with us, get in touch!