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Five questions every private equity investor will ask technology businesses
Raising money from private equity investors to fund growth is a well-trodden path for technology businesses, and the key to a securing the deal is preparation, says Jack Clipsham and Haodong Zhang of Kreston Reeves. Here, they share the five key questions every private equity investor will ask a technology business looking for funding. Before approaching any funder, a technology business needs to ask itself one important question: how much is it looking to raise? The answer will determine who might be interested in investing. Companies looking for smaller amounts, typically under £2m, would be best looking towards family offices, high net worth individuals and private funds. Those businesses wanting more substantial amounts are best approaching larger private equity investors with institutional backing. There are a significant number of sources of funding and it is important to pitch to the right providers in terms of both amount and sector specialism. Irrespective of the amount raised, senior management teams can expect to be asked the following five questions: Q1. What are you going to do with the funds? There are three good reasons why would-be funders ask this question. Firstly, to simply make sure the right kind of funding is being sought. Would, for example, debt funding or asset-based lending be more appropriate and less dilutive for shareholders?
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London-based uMotif raises £5m Series A
London-based uMotif – the patient-centric data capture software company has raised £5 million in a Series A investment round led by existing investor AlbionVC. The funding, which also saw participation from Oslo-based DNV-GL and existing angel investors, will accelerate uMotif’s growth and will fuel further development of its patient-centric and decentralised approach to clinical studies and enable expansion into new study types and more high-demand territories. Life sciences companies are increasingly embracing decentralised and virtual study designs – where patient consent and data is captured using their own devices from wherever they are located. This is in stark contrast to the centralised, inconvenient and complex studies in which patients have to go to a site, such as a hospital, to submit their data. uMotif powers innovative decentralised and patient-centric approaches that increase how engaged patients are, thus improving the chances of the study’s success, reduce burden on participants, and help reach new patient populations to increase study diversity. With studies taking place in 26 countries from clinical to real-world settings, and across more than 25 therapeutic areas – from dermatology and rare disease to oncology and cardiology, uMotif’s focus is to foster a highly engaging patient experience to capture larger volumes of higher quality data. “We’re excited to help our customers implement patient-centred research designs by using the uMotif platform to capture high-quality data,” says Bruce Hellman, CEO and Co-Founder of uMotif. “This new funding will rapidly accelerate our development and will ultimately help our customers to get new therapies to patients faster”. Dr. Andrew Elder, Deputy Managing Partner at AlbionVC adds, “uMotif’s platform is built with patients in mind; designed to help academics, researchers and healthcare professionals to capture the best quality data in a way that suits the participants. “It’s a win-win for all stakeholders and the platform has the potential and momentum to revolutionise the speed and efficiency with which therapies can reach and help millions of patients.” Kaare Helle, Venture Director at DNV GL says: “Healthcare is dependent on digital transformation if it is to move towards being a more sustainable sector. “We have been impressed with the platform and the management team at uMotif who are responsive to customer and patient needs and passionate about making a difference.” The funding will further enhance uMotif’s highly configurable software platform to support existing studies and support new study designs, and will drive continued commercial growth and enable further geographical expansion.
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The key steps to digitising law firms with legal tech
It’s clear that the use of technology has simplified and accelerated business operations across a variety of industries. The legal services industry is no exception. With the rise of legaltech, the task of corporate law firms as well as startups have one common challenge; to stay ahead of the curve. The demand for transformation to more technology-driven solutions has increased around the world, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The global pandemic has not only proved to be a game-changer in business, but also a time of deep review. For many business owners and entrepreneurs, it has triggered a complete overhaul of how and why they are working. However, the pandemic has also presented business opportunities. A key benefit of this new reality for businesses is understanding the need for agility and being able to quickly adapt. Business owners are doing just that – adapting their strategies, their sales channels and their entire ethos to reevaluate, remodel and realign. The legal services industry is no exception to this shift. An industry which has operated in a more traditional manner with little innovation and advancements previously has in the last decade faced an increase in demand to digitise the world of law and services. How legaltech services change the workforce for the better A recent article in the FT states that businesses which have suffered from the financial crisis moved their legal work in-house as they sought to reduce their reliance on external advisers. “That, in turn, created a renewed focus on how to do more for less – and how to use technology and more efficient management of internal processes to do it.” Taking processes in-house for legal firms can both accelerate and hinder the process and efficiency of the internal workload if the business infrastructure isn’t in place. Challenges to maintaining and operating effectively with old paper-based systems need to be addressed from within the business first to adapt a more agile approach before bringing in new technological advancements. The first step that businesses should focus on is the importance of getting the formalities correct. These include mitigating any risks with technology and finding alternative solutions. A key risk factor for legal firms around a decade ago would have been sharing files securely and the security implications of doing this. Nowadays, legaltech firms use machine learning and algorithms to help with due diligence and smart contracts that are set up with practical management tools. Rradar, a commercial law firm that uses legal expertise combined with technology and digital tools, is another firm disrupting the legaltech industry. CEO Gary Gallen explains how the traditional law firm model is still based on rigid and old legacy systems which most practices are still routed into. “There’s more talk about change especially in larger law firms than actual change. Many firms are very reluctant to change their structure. We approach the change from within and to create different financial models such as subscriptions with clients rather than hourly rates. There are tons of SME clients and firms that are disruptors that want to partner with more tech savvy law firms. A lot more bigger companies are also now looking for their legal partners to be tech savvy.” The legal firm is based in Bruntwood SciTech’s technology hub, Platform in Leeds, which has seen continuing growth in the legaltech sector and is now one of the region’s specialist strengths with over £74m investment in this emerging technology over the past four years. Aiming to highlight the way technology can change law firms, Gary continues: “We have our own coders, data scientists and education specialists in the firm now – a few years ago lawyers were not allowed to recruit a multidisciplinary team. The way technology is changing law firms is through due diligence and the support space that wraps around the business – preparing documents quicker, speeding up internal administration and so on. Technology helps bring efficiency both with time and cost. We chose to build the technology and then blend it with legal knowledge to help our clients and how this helps results. Another example of a legaltech firm is UK-based startup Orbital Witness, a startup that modernises and accelerates the legal due diligence process in real estate with a platform to organise property information from HM Land Registry and local authorities, facilitate document review and flag risks automatically to lawyers and underwriters. Recording and transacting real estate has been the same process for 150 years, and the due diligence process is a significant hassle. 40% of buyers and sellers experience delays and high costs, and in the UK alone, due diligence for property transactions costs £4bn annually. Legaltech firm is Sparqa is similar – the startup provides the legal expert help and guidance to allow businesses to cut their costs, by reducing their reliance on traditional methods of obtaining legal services. From employment contracts, commercial agreements and trademark applications, the startup Sparqa is suited to the needs of startups and small businesses, who must deal with demands for high levels of legal compliance, on modest budgets. The second area in need of transformation for legal firms is their tech infrastructure. This is an area that has been seemingly tested in the last few months. Most firms and enterprise products are seeing a rapid increase because businesses have had to fast-track their digital transformation journeys. Big shifts in regulation are creating opportunities for efficient compliance. The third aspect of review should be trial and error. Understanding what works within a business to run smoothly with little constraints and improving constantly is key. What are the realities that businesses are facing in this new world order? What’s working now but what is also at risk? Are businesses now more productive by relying on technology? Asking employees about the strengths and weaknesses and testing new systems to undertake tasks and automate processes is an area that legaltech firms are constantly changing to become more agile. The fourth key aspect in adopting an agile business model is investment and talent. One of the significant challenges for the legal industry is to retain talent and invest in employee engagement with a motivated workforce. This is an area where startups win over large firms; they can attract the top talent because they can offer the flexibility and employee investment that most larger firms cannot. A great example is Allen & Overy, a legal firm who have focussed on the strength of technology within the legal sector and set up their own tech incubator. A recent whitepaper from Pi Labs states that the ongoing disruption has brought a sharper focus on how technology can increase the value of their business. “The opportunity cost of investing in new technologies reduces as the returns from funding regular operations declines. The clearest parallel is the 2008 downturn, which led to a boost in technology to find competitive advantage and maximise savings.”
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London leads European Edtech revolution
London is the leading EdTech hub in Europe according to new research published today by London & Partners and Dealroom, to coincide with London Tech Week 2020. Best in Class: Global Trends in EdTech from a London Perspective explores EdTech VC-led investment trends since 2014, comparing countries and cities in terms of deal value and deal count, and considers the impact of coronavirus on the accelerated adoption of EdTech and the growth of the sector. The report reveals that London is the top destination for EdTech investment in Europe, featuring as the only European city in the global EdTech top 10 by total VC investment value. The UK capital comes in eighth globally, with $630m invested into London-based EdTech companies since 2014. China dominates the top five ranking, with Beijing taking the top spot and Shanghai in third, while San Francisco and Bangalore come in second and fourth respectively. Last year, London-based EdTech companies raised a total of $124m in VC investment, ahead of Paris with $92m and Berlin’s $67m. London’s EdTech ecosystem is also the largest in Europe, with an estimated value of $3.4bn. Paris’ EdTech ecosystem is worth $1.9bn, while Berlin’s is $0.8bn. Amongst EdTech investment deals in Europe, London’s EdTech startups have consistently raised more funding rounds than any other city since 2017. This year so far, London leads with 15 deals, followed by Paris (10), Berlin (6) and Dublin (1). Comparing global cities for deal count in 2020, the UK capital ranks fourth behind San Francisco, Bangalore and New York and ahead of Beijing.
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Mindfulness Course for Surgeons
In October, Dr Reena will be running a Mindfulness course for Surgeons. It’s being researched by a Neurosurgical registrar at Queens Square, London. They have backing from the National Brain Appeal and the course will be accredited by Royal College…
Read moreHow Investing In Tech Could Ease The Current NHS Crisis
The recent news that the NHS’s so-called winter crisis is set to last until August will have been a major cause for concern to any of us who care about the nation’s under-strain health service. The British Medical Association made the stark warning on 2 April, after data showed that patient waiting times, bed shortages and ambulance queues hit record levels over the winter - and that hospitals are going to be faced with the same problems for the rest of this year, without the traditional easing of pressure in the summer, whilst budgets remain stretched to breaking point. There are calls from all corners for more money, more social care, reform, rethinking and more when it comes to the NHS. But what hasn’t really been talked about until now is how tech could, in some cases, help ease the situation. The House of Lords have finally acknowledged this, with a new report released on Monday titled ‘AI in the UK: Ready willing and able’ urging the NHS to tap into data-driven technology and saying AI could have significant benefits for patient care, diagnostics, research and personalised medicine. I wish there’d been tech like that around when I was young. When I was 13, I contracted viral encephalitis while on holiday with my family. The last thing I remember is a headache and putting my hand to my head. What happened next was pretty terrifying. I woke in intensive care temporarily unable to move my left side and unable to speak. I couldn’t ask my mum what was going on. I was confused by the alien environment and distressed by my parents’ anxiety. Luckily, after a few weeks of extraordinary care I made a good recovery. Hospital can be a scary place for anyone. But it’s all the scarier for a sick child unfamiliar with the people who work in it, what’s happening to them, and why. In my case, MRIs and angiograms were some of the most anxiety-inducing and confusing experiences – experiences that I would have loved a distraction from. Doctors and nurses understand the power of distraction and, just as importantly, the risk that by not tackling young patients’ anxiety and stress the effectiveness of treatments and the chances of a quick recovery can be undermined. Now, there’s an app to help with that, that answer all the child’s questions, eases their fears and distracts them with a series of games. At the moment, Alder Play is only available at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, but it’s hoped it can be rolled out to other children’s hospitals. And digital tools including voice-activated tech could also help improve patient outcomes generally and reduce wasted NHS drug expenditure, according to new YouGov research. Failure to take medicines as prescribed impacts negatively on patient’s health and can even cost lives. It also puts pressure on NHS budgets, with an estimated £300m lost due to medicine wastage, at least half of which is avoidable, along with the £500m cost to the NHS caused by non-adherence. Some 50% of British adults who used prescription or non-prescription medication over the last year said they would find a voice-activated reminder from the likes of Alexa to take their medication on time ‘useful’. And more than a quarter (26%) of surveyed had actively used digital technology like health tracking apps to improve their health and fitness, showing British adults are already open to new technology. More and more new tech is being developed which will be able to check and even control our health. Just last month, an app developed by the University of Manchester to help patients in the early stages of psychosis was shown to improve its users’ mental health and secured £1.6m in funding to be tested by the Medical Research Council. Tech can potentially help hasten good outcomes in all areas of healthcare which benefits all elements of the community and ultimately saves time and money, as long as developers recognise existing health inequalities. We need to acknowledge that creating digital solutions for those who are hard to reach won’t address the existing inequalities we already have. For example, some 10% of UK households have no access to the internet, and 30% of OAPs have never been online. According to figures from the Department of Health, the gap in life expectancy between those in in the highest and lowest socio-economic bands is increasing. Technology can help address this problem if we ensure everyone can realise their digital potential. Yes, the NHS launched a launched a library of apps last year to help patients control some conditions such as COPD or get active with Couch to 5k. Prevention is better than cure after all. And Jeremy Hunt pledging that all NHS buildings will have free wi fi by the end of 2019 is to be welcomed too – being able to stay in contact with family and friends at all times is only going to improve patient wellbeing and expedite their recovery. But most of the real digital health innovations are not coming from the NHS itself – they’re coming from external agents and tech companies. With an ageing population, chronic conditions like diabetes becoming more prevalent and increased funding not forthcoming, there has to be another way. I truly believe that rather than simply throwing money at the problem, embracing partnerships across institutions, public health bodies, tech companies and design studios can result in innovative solutions across healthcare. This will ultimately help alleviate the strain on the NHS.
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4th GIANT Thinking #podcast episode is LIVE!
In this episode GIANT Health CEO Barry Shrier welcomes Sameer Kothari; Chief Executive of Zilico which is a UK based company which specialises in the design and manufacture of real-time medical diagnostics to address specific clinical needs. Subjects covered in…
Read moreThe UK looks to healthtech startups during the pandemic
The UK’s healthtech sector has rallied its world-class talent and skills to help in the fight against coronavirus, as startups work side by side with big tech companies to provide new services and technology. From tracking cases to supporting front-line staff; loaning vital equipment and resources; providing online patient care; and gathering and analysing data; tech companies large and small across the country are rising to the challenge to help the government and the NHS. Healthtech is now the second biggest sub-set of the UK tech sector after fintech and there are more than 100 healthtech companies that are on track to become $1bn businesses. The rapid switch to digital communication and tools across the sector, in the face of the crisis, is likely to have a profound impact on how quickly digital healthcare becomes part of the healthcare system in the next few years. During 2019 the sector received $2.3bn in venture capital backing, almost double that of France, the next highest recipient. The companies in the sector have a combined turnover of £24 billion and employ more than 127,400 people across 3,860 businesses. This comes as the Chancellor announced UK businesses driving innovation and development hit by coronavirus will be helped with a £1.25 billion government support package.
Read moreHave you seen our weekly newsletter with latest #HealthTech news?
This week we have a brilliant and personal interview with a Biotech VC investor. In addition, we highlight the results of our VR twitter poll and opportunities to tackle inequalities in healthcare. Sign up here and find out more!
Read moreAnnouncing new speaker | GIANT’s Inbound Trade Mission
Hello Health Tech Community! We honored to announce GIANT's valuable speaker Hassan Chaudhury, who is a Digital Health Specialist at Department for International Trade. Hassan has kindly agreed to give a presentation and contribute his knowledge and expertise at the conference on " How to sell into the UK market". Join us on 1-2 December. Secure your ticket: https://www.giant.health/tickets Get involved in the Inbound trade Mission programme: https://www.giant.health/inbound-trade-mission
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GIANT Health is a proud supporter of NHS Charities Together
Did you know that £95 could fund a counselling session for NHS staff? GIANT Health is a proud supporter of NHSCharities Together, for everybody who buys a ticket to attend GIANT Health, we make a donation to NHS Charities Together. Buy…
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Are you ready for a new GIANT Thinking podcast episode?
We are super excited and we can't wait to listen to MedicalChain CEO Dr Abdullah Albeyatti - "The Healthcare System is Fragmented". Today, 10:00 am. Click here to download and listen.
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