Make sure you’re pitch perfect and ready to impress investors with a series of four free workshops co-organized by the HealthTech Investor Summit and MEDVIA!

Pitch perfect takes practice. Which is why we’ve put together this series of workshops providing you with practical, personalized advice to help get your pitch polished and ready to shine at the HealthTech Investor Summit or your next fundraising round!

Planning

• Thursday 7 November: How to pitch to investors
• Wednesday 13 November: From founding to first investor
• Thursday 21 November: What are investors looking for?
• Thursday 5 December: Building the dream team

Who should join?

• Pre-seed and start-up companies pitching at the HealthTech Investors Summit in Bruges on 9-11 December
• Early-stage companies wanting to learn more about raising capital

Participation fees

• Free for MEDVIA members (with a no-show fee of €50/person, per session)
• Free for HealthTech Investor Summit companies that have been approved to pitch in December (with a no-show fee of €50/person, per session)
• Free online participation for HICEE companies (and for HealthTech Investor Summit companies based outside of Belgium)
• A small fee for all other companies of €50/person, per session, or €150 for the full series of four workshops (companies can chose to send different participants to the sessions if they sign up for the full series).

Practical details

• Workshops will be organized at locations in Leuven, Brussels and Antwerp between 12:30 and 17:30 (or 19:00).
• Each session will include presentations by investors and experts, combined with practical activities and networking opportunities.
• These are in-person workshops, but online attendance is possible for companies situated outside of Belgium.
• We advise all attendees to follow the full series, but it is also possible to select individual workshops (please select your tickets accordingly).

Register here!

Session outlines

How to pitch to investors

You only ever get one chance to make a first impression! A hard reality when you only have a few minutes to explain your unique business proposal to an investor. Pitching is an art; it needs to be trained, practiced and perfected. Only then will you be ready to make the most of each opportunity to pitch to a potential VC.

This workshop is focused on perfecting your pitch. We’ll go through how to build a slide deck that tells your story in an engaging and truthful manner, while also pre-emptively answering an investor’s questions. Attendees will then work MEDVIA mentors and independent coaches on their own pitches, finishing with live pitching sessions where they can get real-time feedback and input from the audience. An invaluable opportunity for interactive improvement of your pitch!

Agenda:

• 12h30-13h00: Arrival with sandwich lunch
• 13h00-13h30: Pitching for investors (Henk Joos)
• 13h30-14h30: Break-out groups working on their pitches per company (Coaches: Isabelle Francois – Henk Joos – Walter Van Der Eycken – Ines Verbaendert)
• 14h30-14h40: Coffee Break & networking
• 14h40-19h00: Pitches + feedback from audience and coaches

From founding to first investor

The journey from founding a company to signing your first VC deal can be a bit of a rollercoaster, with plenty of ups, downs and unexpected twists along the way. Most start-ups tend to focus on what they do best – building innovative solutions – but there is more to company success than just developing a new product or service.

In this session, we’ll cover some of the hurdles and opportunities that young companies encounter but with which they are often unfamiliar. Experts will share information about legal frameworks (eg GDPR, AI, MDR/IVDR and ethical approval) and Intellectual Property protection, and help prepare you to understand the term sheets you sign with an investor. All in a highly interactive format, leaving room for questions and personalized advice.

Agenda:

• 12h30-13h00: Arrival with sandwich lunch
• 13h00-13h10: Welcome by Crowell & introduction of the workshop (Crowell representative & Roel Smolders, MEDVIA)
• 13h10-13h40: Understanding Investor Term Sheets (Frederik Van Remoortel, Ward Overlaet + Steven Leuridan – Qbic)
• 13h40-14h30: Claiming IP in co-creation sessions with healthcare organisations (Liesbet Paemen, De Clercq and Partners)
• 14h30-15h00: How GDPR, MDR/IVDR and the AI-Act can impact your business (Sari Depreeuw, Wietse Vanpoucke, Jurgen Figys, Crowell)
• 15h00-15h30: Break
• 15h30-17h00: From starting your company to signing your first VC-deal: a real-life case study by Innatify and Crowell (Camille Degrave and Scott Russel)
• 17h00-17h30: Q&A, Templates, and finding support
• 17h30-18h00: Networking moment

What are investors looking for?

When raising money to launch or grow your company, the first step is understanding what an investor is looking for in a potential portfolio company. Depending on their priorities – including their domain focus, ticket size and internal organization – your interaction with them will differ.

In this session, we’ll invite different investors to the stage to share how they work, what they’re after and how they analyze companies pitching solutions. You will hear what investors are looking for directly from them, and learn how to tell if a specific investor is right for you.

This session is aimed at young start-ups that are preparing for their first seed or pre-seed funding round, with little experience approaching and networking with investors.

Agenda:

• 12h30-13h00: Arrival with sandwich lunch
• 13h00-13h10: Welcome by PWC & introduction of the workshop (PWC representative & Roel Smolders, MEDVIA)
• 13h10-13h40: Business Angels Network (Rik Van den Hende, BAN Flanders)
• 13h40-14h10: Healthcare-related investment fund (Carevest, Joke Vereecken)
• 14h10-14h40: A Venture Capitalist’s perspective (Filip Pintelon, Capricorn)
• 14h40-15h10: Corporate Venturing (Louis Debrabandere, Plug and Play)
• 15h10-15h30: Break + networking
• 15h30-16h30: Panel discussion and Q&A session
• 16h30-17h00: Sources of non-dilutive funding (Isabelle Francois, MEDVIA)
• 17h00-18h00: Networking moment

Building the dream team

Investors choose which companies to fund based on their solutions, but also on their teams. To impress potential investors and convince them you’re the company for them, you need to build a balanced dream team that helps investors feel confident in your success.

This session will cover topics like how to attract talent, recruit the right people and look beyond diplomas to find those who bring new traits and skills that fill in the gaps of your current crew. We’ll discuss your company’s team: how to know your own strengths (and what you’re still lacking), and who you will need to complement your line up after your next round of funding. After all: teamwork makes the dream work!

Agenda:

• 12h30-13h00: Arrival with sandwich lunch
• 13h00-13h10: Welcome by QBD & introduction of the workshop (Martijn Reniers QBD & Roel Smolders, MEDVIA)
• 13h10-13h40: How to recruit a stable staff – employee lifecycle (BioBoost)
• 13h40-14h10: Beyond diplomas: How to find the right skills match (TBC)
• 14h10-14h40: Working with freelancers or outsourcing (Panda International)
• 14h40-15h10: New curricula and Lifelong learning opportunities (Evi Knuts, PXL)
• 15h10-15h40: Break + networking
• 15h40-16h10: Salaries and benefits, how to compete with large corporations (Elly De Bruyn, QBD)
• 16h10-16h40: Fiscal optimisation of hiring your first employees (TBC)
• 16h40-17h00: Everything you wanted to know about HTIS but were afraid to ask… (Roel Smolders, MEDVIA)
• 17h00-18h00: Networking moment

Don’t miss out; Register here!