E67 #Ecosystem Builders "Scaling Health Tech: Funding, Traction & Faster EU Approval" with Jesper Grønbæk

In this podcast episode on turning research into societal value, host Søren is joined by co-host Per Christensen of Black Swans Exist and guest Jesper Grønbæk, CEO and founder of the nonprofit Health Tech Hub Copenhagen (supported by the Danish Industry Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation). Jesper shares key learnings from supporting 100+ health tech startups and scale-ups, as well as collaborating with hospitals, pharma, insurers, and a 200+ investor network - including enabling hospital “speed-dating” access in markets like Germany.Key pitfalls discussed include solving “nice-to-have” problems instead of top-priority hospital needs, failing to secure an influential key opinion leader early, starting fundraising too late while overlooking non-dilutive “soft money” grants, and lacking commercial traction due to staying overly project-focused. He emphasizes the importance of early investor relationship-building, being selective with investors, and maintaining a strong commercial focus - sometimes even launching below MDR/CE-mark requirements first.Jesper also introduces the upcoming Health Tech Pathways platform, which uses expert-trained AI to guide EU MDR medical device regulation and improve documentation quality - ultimately reducing the time and cost associated with today’s multi-year EU processes.TIMESTAMP00:42 Meet Health Tech Hub01:47 Ecosystem Connections02:47 Hospital Access Speed Dating03:50 Why Jesper Started05:42 Healthcare Pressure Ahead06:23 Mistake One Nice to Have08:43 Key Opinion Leaders10:12 Mistake Two Fundraising10:53 Soft Money and Accelerators12:14 Choosing Investors Wisely14:48 Mistake Three Commercial Traction16:42 Traction Under Regulation18:18 Consumers Paying for Health Apps19:14 Who Pays for Health Tech19:56 Building Health Tech Pathways21:27 MDR Explained and Risk Classes22:38 Why EU Approval Takes Longer23:50 Ideal Users and Early Strategy24:32 Plain English Plus Compliance26:56 AI Powered Regulatory Guidance27:38 Cutting Time with Better Docs28:31 Ecosystem Wishlist Reimbursement30:33 Community Call to Collaborate31:30 Denmark Strengths and Next StepsQuote:"Finding a co-founder is like finding a spouse — it's somebody you want to work with for a very long time in a harsh environment." — JesperIdeas for future podcast guests or themes? 💡We want to co-create this podcast with you. We’d therefore love to hear your suggestions for future podcast guests, ecosystem builders, or deep tech themes.Feel free to share in a private message or leave a comment below 🙏🏼(It's also ok to invite yourself 😉)Call to ActionIf this episode sparked your interest:Share it with someone working in science, startups, or innovationFollow the miniseries for more conversations with ecosystem builders