Sometimes the most interesting discussions are born not from the presentation of grand visions, but from simple, frank conversations about what really motivates people to act. Such was the case during the panel “Breaking Barriers: how startups transform human health and well-being”, where Jaroslaw Sroka, in his characteristic direct style, interviewed four founders of medical startups, finalists of the 8th edition of Sebastian Kulczyk’s InCredibles Program.
“What will you be adding from in the near future? How much can you ride on the habit of doing something new?” – Sroka asked provocatively, getting to the heart of the dilemmas faced by medical startup founders. Interestingly, none of the panelists pointed to money as the main motivator. On the contrary, they all agreed that in the medical industry the road to profits is long and bumpy. As one participant illustratively put it – while the average startup takes about 8 years to reach profitable status, in the medical industry you have to add another 4 years to that.
Each panelist brought his own story and motivation to the stage. Julius Donajski of Vivid Mind shared a personal experience – it was Alzheimer’s disease in his family that pushed him to work on a tool for early detection of dementia through voice analysis. As he explained, their solution does not focus on the semantics of speech, but on the voice parameters themselves, which makes it possible to detect early signs of dementia with high accuracy.
Konrad Zielinski of Uhura Bionics moved the audience by talking about his mission to help people with speech disorders. His company is working on a device that improves speech quality in real time – a solution that could potentially help 17 million people with cerebral palsy and hundreds of millions of people after strokes. “This is not just software or rehabilitation – this is a device that can make a real difference in the social lives of these people,” he said. – Zielinski emphasized.
Despite the presenter’s joking remarks about his “academic trauma,” Marcin Filipiak passionately presented a portable device for rapid sepsis diagnosis. His goal is to equip every ED in Poland with a tool for instant detection of this dangerous disease. “Sepsis can affect any of us – not just the elderly or children, but anyone with even a minor surgery or injury.” – he explained.
Jakub Kreft of VR Unicorn World showed how entertainment and therapy can be combined. His company uses virtual reality technology to create games that are also therapeutic tools. “Kids have a great time in the goggles and don’t even know they are in a therapeutic process, that they are developing their weaker sides,” he – he recounted enthusiastically.
An interesting theme emerged when discussing the relationship between science and business. Filipiak, recalling his 12 years in academia, pointed out the conflict between the academic “pointosis” and the startup’s need to act quickly and be open to the market. This provoked a lively reaction from the audience and a suggestion to organize a separate panel on the role of universities in the development of medical innovation.
During the discussion, there was also a provocative question from the floor – shouldn’t medical startups be more daring to go beyond the usual paths and systems, where everything has to be “patched up” by a doctor? This provoked an interesting exchange about the balance between innovation and safety in medicine, showing how complex these issues are.
The most inspiring moment came when Donajski quoted a professor’s reaction from a conference in Munich to the presentation of their solution: “If it works, it will change the world.” This sentence perfectly captures the spirit of the entire panel – it shows that the world of medical startups is not just about business, but first and foremost about real change and helping people.
The panel ended with an important discussion about competition and timing. All of the panelists acknowledged that they are closely monitoring similar solutions around the world, but as Zielinski noted – this is not a race with one winner. “Rather, it’s a group of people who are running at a similar pace and learning from each other’s experiences.” – Kreft added. This cooperation and cross-fertilization between companies shows that the medical industry has room for many solutions, and the success of some can lead to the success of others.
Jaroslaw Sroka, with his distinctive moderation style, was able to bring out from the panelists not only facts about their companies, but most importantly the true emotions and motivations behind their business. As a result, the panel, despite the serious subject matter, was lively and authentic, showing the human face of medical innovation and proving that behind every breakthrough is a personal story and a deep motivation to change the world for the better.