Help me validate a health technology business idea

[dbuzz1]

Hello! I'm new to the forum and I want to share my idea for a new business concept.

I know from Unscripted that entrepreneurship is more about solving other people's problems that it is about satisfying your own fantasies. However, I've come up with a field that I think is ripe for disruption and would have a lot of positive impact in the world.

I'm interested in developing health technology, like diagnostics or blood testing, that would be convenient and cost-effective enough to be used at home.

This device would not be unlike Theranos' Edison, except that it would actually work and not part of a fraudulent scheme.

Does this sound at all realistic or achievable? Please let me know your 2 CENTS.

Thanks!

 

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[alexkuzmov]

Hello! I'm new to the forum and I want to share my idea for a new business concept.

I know from Unscripted that entrepreneurship is more about solving other people's problems that it is about satisfying your own fantasies. However, I've come up with a field that I think is ripe for disruption and would have a lot of positive impact in the world.

I'm interested in developing health technology, like diagnostics or blood testing, that would be convenient and cost-effective enough to be used at home.

This device would not be unlike Theranos' Edison, except that it would actually work and not part of a fraudulent scheme.

Does this sound at all realistic or achievable? Please let me know your 2 CENTS.

Thanks!

Unfortunately it doesnt sound realistic or achievable.

Since you are familiar with Theranos, then you are probably familiar with Thunderf00t`s assesment of the situation:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tpsoWx7xmY


Developing health technology for cheap and convenient diagnostics is a herculean task to put it VEEERY mildly.
I cant even begin to explain how difficult it would be.
Dont delude yourself that you will disrupt this field in any way.
At best you can improve current proccesses, make them more accesible, a little bit cheaper and a little bit more convenient.
That alone can make you a billionaire.

If a person develops the tech which you described as "the device would not be unlike Theranos` Edison" he/she would be awarded multiple nobel prizes.
They`ll write books about that person.
All over the world streets, universities, schools, brands will be named after that person.
Monuments will be built to memorize that person.
500 years from now people will still speak their name and reference their work.
Such a person is ONE in generations.

The truth is, what Theranos attempted was borderline magic.
Compared to current devices its like comparing a caveman with a wooden stick to a fully armed AH 64 Apache.

 

[Kid]

I'm interested in

That's step #1. Do step #2.

 

[zair]

Don't let anybody stop you. If you accomplish this, you'll be saving lives. Who cares about the money.

 

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[Keith15203]

Hello! I'm new to the forum and I want to share my idea for a new business concept.

I know from Unscripted that entrepreneurship is more about solving other people's problems that it is about satisfying your own fantasies. However, I've come up with a field that I think is ripe for disruption and would have a lot of positive impact in the world.

I'm interested in developing health technology, like diagnostics or blood testing, that would be convenient and cost-effective enough to be used at home.

This device would not be unlike Theranos' Edison, except that it would actually work and not part of a fraudulent scheme.

Does this sound at all realistic or achievable? Please let me know your 2 CENTS.

Thanks!

dbuzz,

The area that you have chosen is indeed exciting, having the potential to impact millions and therefore to make millions. I'll be honest and say I have done some lab research on technologies we hoped to develop into diagnostic tests in my day job academic research.

But from your post, I don't see a concept, an idea, a product, or a business process to even give you feedback on.

Currently, most most biomarker or diagnostic testing relies on either mass spectrometry (usually coupled with liquid chromatography - LCMS) or some kind of ELIZA, enzyme, or antibody assay that relies on UV/Vis, fluorescence, or electrophoresis as the detection system. Most of these can be problematic to miniaturize and adapt into a turn-key point-of-care unit, especially for home use. With mass spec, it's actually impossible to create a home use test. Examples of typical home-based tests use sensors - things like a glucose meter or a pregnancy test.

The Theranos "technology" was an attempt to create a point-of-use unit that could run multiple tests for multiple diseases on 1-2 drops of blood. The results that were promised were similar to ones obtained with LCMS technology, but with 1-10% of the required sample volume and without the need for a $500K-$1M LCMS instrument.

Here is the thing though: Theranos never disclosed what the assay technology was inside the Edison machine. It's not even in the patents. Nothing was ever peer reviewed. It's unclear to me that there even was an assay technology and to this day no one has ever described how this was supposed to work. I suggest you read reporter John Carreyou's book about Theranos, Bad Blood.

The best example that I can think of for a recently developed point-of-care diagnostic was Abbott Lab's C0VlD-19 detection assay, which was antibody based. Abbott already had the detection unit developed and deployed in the field for other assays, which is why they got it to market so fast. They developed a new chip and new reagents to create the new C0VlD-19 test. But that's still a lab-based test, not one you can take at home or ever administer in a pharmacy. The same goes for PCR based tests.

So with all that as the starting point, what's your actual idea? What's your process or product? What expertise do you have to apply to the problem?

You've satisfied the commandment of Need, but there seems to be an extremely high bar for Entry. If you can truly create a Theranos-esque product, then you will certainly satisfy the commandments or Scale, Time, and probably Control.

I'm not trying to deter you, but mearly introduce some process and practicality into your vision. You post strikes me a what the book the E-myth calls an "entrepreneurial convulsion". You have the impulse and fire in the belly. But do you have a plan and process?

As MJ says in TMF , ideas are cheap. Process is what makes millions.

Full Disclosure: I'm an Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at research university and the information provided here is based on expertise gained through academic research and teaching.

 

[dbuzz1]

dbuzz,

The area that you have chosen is indeed exciting, having the potential to impact millions and therefore to make millions. I'll be honest and say I have done some lab research on technologies we hoped to develop into diagnostic tests in my day job academic research.

But from your post, I don't see a concept, an idea, a product, or a business process to even give you feedback on.

Currently, most most biomarker or diagnostic testing relies on either mass spectrometry (usually coupled with liquid chromatography - LCMS) or some kind of ELIZA, enzyme, or antibody assay that relies on UV/Vis, fluorescence, or electrophoresis as the detection system. Most of these can be problematic to miniaturize and adapt into a turn-key point-of-care unit, especially for home use. With mass spec, it's actually impossible to create a home use test. Examples of typical home-based tests use sensors - things like a glucose meter or a pregnancy test.

The Theranos "technology" was an attempt to create a point-of-use unit that could run multiple tests for multiple diseases on 1-2 drops of blood. The results that were promised were similar to ones obtained with LCMS technology, but with 1-10% of the required sample volume and without the need for a $500K-$1M LCMS instrument.

Here is the thing though: Theranos never disclosed what the assay technology was inside the Edison machine. It's not even in the patents. Nothing was ever peer reviewed. It's unclear to me that there even was an assay technology and to this day no one has ever described how this was supposed to work. I suggest you read reporter John Carreyou's book about Theranos, Bad Blood.

The best example that I can think of for a recently developed point-of-care diagnostic was Abbott Lab's C0VlD-19 detection assay, which was antibody based. Abbott already had the detection unit developed and deployed in the field for other assays, which is why they got it to market so fast. They developed a new chip and new reagents to create the new C0VlD-19 test. But that's still a lab-based test, not one you can take at home or ever administer in a pharmacy. The same goes for PCR based tests.

So with all that as the starting point, what's your actual idea? What's your process or product? What expertise do you have to apply to the problem?

You've satisfied the commandment of Need, but there seems to be an extremely high bar for Entry. If you can truly create a Theranos-esque product, then you will certainly satisfy the commandments or Scale, Time, and probably Control.

I'm not trying to deter you, but mearly introduce some process and practicality into your vision. You post strikes me a what the book the E-myth calls an "entrepreneurial convulsion". You have the impulse and fire in the belly. But do you have a plan and process?

As MJ says in TMF , ideas are cheap. Process is what makes millions.

Full Disclosure: I'm an Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at research university and the information provided here is based on expertise gained through academic research and teaching.

Keith,

Thank you for responding and lending so much of your experience and insight towards my "entrepreneurial convulsion".

Some background about me, I'm not in the health field and I don't have research experience. I'm a recent college graduate that works in logistics sales. Being completely honest, I have no experience with this other than observing a dire need and having previously seen the HBO documentary Bad Blood. (Sounds like I'll definitely have to read the book).

For someone like me, with the "fire in my belly" but no real relevant experience. What should be my first step? Should I start by reading as much as possible about current diagnostic techniques? I would have to go from 0 to inventing a brand new diagnostic process with no medical or engineering background.

This definitely sounds nearly impossible as I write it out.

Let me know your thoughts.

 

[dbuzz1]

Unfortunately it doesnt sound realistic or achievable.

Since you are familiar with Theranos, then you are probably familiar with Thunderf00t`s assesment of the situation:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tpsoWx7xmY


Developing health technology for cheap and convenient diagnostics is a herculean task to put it VEEERY mildly.
I cant even begin to explain how difficult it would be.
Dont delude yourself that you will disrupt this field in any way.
At best you can improve current proccesses, make them more accesible, a little bit cheaper and a little bit more convenient.
That alone can make you a billionaire.

If a person develops the tech which you described as "the device would not be unlike Theranos` Edison" he/she would be awarded multiple nobel prizes.
They`ll write books about that person.
All over the world streets, universities, schools, brands will be named after that person.
Monuments will be built to memorize that person.
500 years from now people will still speak their name and reference their work.
Such a person is ONE in generations.

The truth is, what Theranos attempted was borderline magic.
Compared to current devices its like comparing a caveman with a wooden stick to a fully armed AH 64 Apache.

That's entirely fair. What is a more realistic approach?

 

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[Johnny boy]

Congrats on your great idea. That's the hardest part!

Now just continue to room 46b, the idea-building room, where someone will build your fantastic idea, and then head over to room 41a, the idea-selling room, where you can sell your idea for 30 million dollars. Congrats.

Please select your favorite color and finish customizing your new Ferrari

Ferrari Official Car Configurator

carconfigurator.ferrari.com

 

[dbuzz1]

Congrats on your great idea. That's the hardest part!

Now just continue to room 46b, the idea-building room, where someone will build your fantastic idea, and then head over to room 41a, the idea-selling room, where you can sell your idea for 30 million dollars. Congrats.

Please select your favorite color and finish customizing your new Ferrari

Ferrari Official Car Configurator

carconfigurator.ferrari.com

Ok, I get it. It's just an idea with literally zero execution.

 

[Keith15203]

For someone like me, with the "fire in my belly" but no real relevant experience. What should be my first step? Should I start by reading as much as possible about current diagnostic techniques? I would have to go from 0 to inventing a brand new diagnostic process with no medical or engineering background.

This definitely sounds nearly impossible as I write it out.

Let me know your thoughts.

To give you some context, hundreds to thousands of scientists worldwide in both academia and industry, that each have a minimum of 10 years scientific education and training before they even start, are spending their entire careers working to solve these types of needs in labs that cost billions of $'s to build and run. Less than 10% of them will ever come up with a technology that can be patented. Less than 1% of these scientists will be able to commercialize a technology and take it to market successfully. So there are long odds to fight against.

Any disruptive technology in the area will likely come from one of these scientists and then need to be exploited by an entrepreneur or corporate entity. It's very unlikely that a disruptive technology would come from someone without a technical background in a relevant field. Microsoft grew out of Bill Gate's interest in coding and having learned to code as a kid, not because he just wanted a business.

So if you really want to pursue this idea, you have to ask a lot of questions and answer them:

• What part of it you're going to do yourself? The science? The business?
• What part are you going to get people smarter than yourself to do? The technology/product?
• What is your role? What value are you adding?
• What SPECIFIC need are you going to try to solve? That requires picking a specific disease state and a specific biomarker or diagnostic test in that disease state.
• Are there technologies in a specific disease state/biomarker that are known but haven't been exploited yet? It would require significant literature research & expertise to determine this, but it's possible.
• What products, tests, devices, or drugs exist anywhere in the healthcare space that have been developed by an independent entrepreneur? Look at the market and determine where the innovations, products, and technologies came from. Spoiler alert - most come from academic labs, big pharma, or biotech companies. But whatever percentage of them comes from independent entrepreneurs gives you some indication of your chances of success. As an independent entrepreneur, you'll get farther with a non-FDA-regulated nutriceutical than you will with a diagnostic test requiring FDA approval.

In order to make this work, you have to become somewhat of a subject matter expert in the area and acquire the technical skills to build the product and business. You might not do the science directly yourself, but you have to know enough to understand what someone else is doing for you. At a minimum, you'd need to get some education in a biomedical discipline.

The one thing you could do is learn about the one at home diagnostic product that does seem to work - Cologuard. If you learn as much as you can about the process that was used to discover and develop it, including taking it to market, it would give you a blueprint to use for whatever disease state/biomarker that you choose.

My honest opinion, for what it's worth, is that this is not a Fastlane idea and it's not worth expending your energy and time on from your starting position. I have the relevant expertise and skill set to try going after an idea like that, and I'm not trying it because I know the difficulty and odds of a likely payday are poor. There are a ton of easier ways to make "good money" (up to $20K per month as defined in TMF ) doing things that are far easier, more easily automated, and give cashflow and ROI on a reasonable time scale (weeks, months, or a year).

Companies are formed all the time and funded by venture capital to try to develop these kinds of products, typically based on a technology coming out of an academic lab. Most fail. Theranos should have failed far, far sooner than it did and is an example of how these things still fail despite extremely large capital investments. It's a cautionary tale, not one to try to emulate.

 

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[Keith15203]

One last comment:

Your title for the thread is "Help Me Validate A Health Technology Business Idea".

A business idea would be a solution to a need. What you identified in your post is what I would call a niche. Unfortunately, despite the true needs in that niche, business ideas (aka solutions) are quite hard to develop with an extremely high barrier to entry.

A better way to come up with business ideas might be to examine what skills you have to offer the world and what problems for everyday people you can solve, even if that means acquiring new skills.

One of the worst feelings in the world is looking in the mirror some days and feeling like you don't really have any true skills that can help people directly and that you can monetize (trust me, I've been there). Use the advantage of your youth to decide on some skills and take the time to learn them. When I'm training my PhD grad students now, I don't focus on what project I give them; I have a formula for the skills sets I want them to acquire before graduating that I know will help them get (and keep) a job.

What skill sets will let you help solve people's needs and build a Fastlane business for yourself?

 

[dbuzz1]

One last comment:

Your title for the thread is "Help Me Validate A Health Technology Business Idea".

A business idea would be a solution to a need. What you identified in your post is what I would call a niche. Unfortunately, despite the true needs in that niche, business ideas (aka solutions) are quite hard to develop with an extremely high barrier to entry.

A better way to come up with business ideas might be to examine what skills you have to offer the world and what problems for everyday people you can solve, even if that means acquiring new skills.

One of the worst feelings in the world is looking in the mirror some days and feeling like you don't really have any true skills that can help people directly and that you can monetize (trust me, I've been there). Use the advantage of your youth to decide on some skills and take the time to learn them. When I'm training my PhD grad students now, I don't focus on what project I give them; I have a formula for the skills sets I want them to acquire before graduating that I know will help them get (and keep) a job.

What skill sets will let you help solve people's needs and build a Fastlane business for yourself?

@Keith15203 Thanks! That's really great advice. After reading through your post it really does look like it would be unrealistic for me to start a business in this niche, especially with my obvious lack of experience.

What kinds of skills do you think I could learn to help others? Not asking for a prescription, but what is something that doesn't require a PHD for me to learn haha.

 

[Johnny boy]

In all seriousness...

Start the business that you have a competitive advantage in.

Does anyone in your family already own a business?

Do you have experience in an industry?

Do you have anything unique about you? Do you live on a lake and notice all the neighbors need the underside of their boat cleaned? Do you like to ski and wish there was a more comfortable type of ski boot?

Are you good at designing stuff? Do you love writing? Do you have 50,000 IG followers?

Do you have a pickup truck? Do you live in the country or in the city?

Do you have 100k from a trust fund? Do you only have $4?

Can you throw a baseball 98 mph?

See where I'm going with this?

Use your advantages to your advantage. Use your skills, connections, any cash you have, and start the business that you would have a good chance in that the market will pay you good money for.

I have much larger goals than just running the company I do now, but it was the best one for me to start as a 21 year old with a few grand.

Think about Telsa and Elon Musk. He wrote in an article on his blog long ago that his plan was to 1. build an electric sports car. 2. Use that money to build a more affordable electric car and 3. Use that money to build an even more affordable electric car...

And that's exactly what he did. You have to start with what you've got and then you'll be in a better position to go after what you want. I could start an aerospace engineering company or a medical technology company, but I'm not doing it tomorrow. I'm scaling my home services business right now.

 

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[alexkuzmov]

Ok, I get it. It's just an idea with literally zero execution.

Seek to make whats already in place, better and easier.

 

[Bruno11]

A different perspective on ”Need” of your idea and maybe some extra info if you want to pursue it.

keith explained it pretty well but from just a very basic point of view :

Diagnostics if you mean specific disease detection based on symptoms - there is no clear cut way to diagnose something based purely on symptoms , hence why medical professionals require so much ”hands-on” practice to be able to diagnose, knowing what to treat as a serious syptom and order tests to verify their theory, i suppose you could train an AI In this case- good idea if you decide to go for it , but this would be a very large scale project.

Blood taking/analysing- when you take blood you test it for specific things and you get a lot of results- a lot of em mean different things based on what you’re looking for, CRP elevation/electrolyte imbalance etc a lot of other stuff keeping it as simple as possible but for someone at home it may freak em out if they get a bunch of random numbers that don’t match google> ending up at ED anyway> thus killing the point ( think people checking their bloodpressure 10x more times after its slightly up the first time and sending themselves into a frenzy)

To take the blood to actually analyse it you need a larger amount of it then just a prick of a finger, usually you either use a butterfly and put a needle into the vein and draw up about 5-10 mls depending what you’re looking for or you take it out of the cannula/ivc which once again requires a bit of training to put in by nurses or doctors.

Some food for thought, a lot of problems to solve along the way in the medical area before you get to self diagnostic tools or analysing blood at home,

All the best