“The journey of an entrepreneur is a very long time. And much more so if you are in the healthcare space,” said Ravi Narayan, newly appointed CEO of T-Hub. Delivering the keynote address at the Health Care Summit 2019 in Hyderabad on Saturday, Ravi touched upon what an aspiring entrepreneur, looking to start something in the healthcare space should be prepared for.
Be ready for the long haul
The journey of a healthcare startup, according to Ravi, is much longer than other spaces primarily because it is an emerging market and not many know how to go about building startups, using technology and processes in this space.
For a healthcare startup to be successful, one will also need access to the right resources and there should be the right regulatory framework to do that. Ravi says that these things are only beginning to happen now.
Another reason Ravi says is because any disruption in this space is something that actually affects your individual health and that is something people will take a long time to accept and start looking at in a different way.
“The trust and comfort factor take a long time because people have been used to living and doing things in a certain way,” he adds.
So, if you are not ready to do this over a long period, it’s better not to start, Ravi says.
Looking at adjacent spaces
“Look at spaces that have already been defined. There are a lot of doctor-based solutions to be addressed where there is a clear-cut opportunity,” Ravi says.
According to him, entrepreneurs can look at these spaces where operational efficiencies can be improved. Called adjacent areas, these include financing, distribution of pharmaceuticals, insurance, etc.
While this may not be a huge market to disrupt, one can build something quickly here creating certain operational efficiencies in the organised and unorganised sector. Ravi says that this is usually the best way to start and make inroads into the industry.
Straddling multiple disciplines
For those looking to do something disruptive in the healthcare space, Ravi reiterates that those opportunities will be at least 5-7 years away from now. Moreover, these disruptions will also transcend multiple disciplines such as Biology, Computer Science, Mathematics, Life Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, among others.
“There are the opportunities I feel very excited about. This is where disruption will happen, maybe not today but a few years from now,” he adds.
Ravi further urges entrepreneurs to begin the thought process right away, because they have the opportunity to do something no one else is doing at this point.
“If it’s something you are looking to disrupt in healthcare and offer some very unique and fundamentally differently priced solutions or technology, this is the time to start thinking. But also know that it going to take time and it is uncharted territory. You will be the first ones to do it and you will potentially be the first one to do it for the world,” Ravi says.
At the time he took over at T-Hub, Ravi has spoken of T-Hub’s new focus on creating a deep tech startup ecosystem in the city of Hyderabad. In terms of verticals, T-Hub too will be focusing on healthcare going forward.