Early-stage HealthTech startups operate in a different world compared to their fintech or software counterparts. As someone who has bootstrapped multiple startups, including Fe/male Switch, an entrepreneurial game specifically designed for women, I can tell you firsthand: the traditional venture capital playbook doesn’t fit this sector. While I’ve embraced growth strategies driven by experimentation and resilience, those guiding HealthTech investments require a shift, a deliberate focus on precision, patience, and proven results.
Let me map out why early HealthTech requires its own approach and what kind of opportunities it opens for female entrepreneurs.
Why the Usual VC Approach Falls Short in HealthTech
Most fundraising stories are about chasing unicorn status with aggressive scaling and a constant push for growth. But here’s the reality: HealthTech startups operate in regulated markets governed by trust and evidence, not mere speed. That makes rapid scaling risky and sometimes impossible. Investors who apply the same metrics as they do for SaaS or fintech innovation are often disappointed. HealthTech markets move slower, and customers demand clinical validation alongside flawless usability.
To give one example, PurposeTech’s latest fund, announced for 2026, focuses on building a portfolio of profitable niche HealthTech companies instead of pushing them into billion-euro markets overnight. This shows a growing awareness in the investment community that HealthTech moves at its own pace, and it’s time to adapt.
Lessons for Female Founders in Europe: How to Succeed in HealthTech
As a founder operating in Europe, I can’t stress enough how the game of entrepreneurship changes in regulated industries. Many female entrepreneurs bring unique values to HealthTech, collaboration, empathy-driven design, and systems thinking. But succeeding here means tackling challenges like navigating regulations, building credibility in patient care, and maintaining capital discipline. Below are practical insights for women hoping to break into the field.
1. Start with Proof, Not Perfection
While you might feel pressure to present something polished early, HealthTech demands slow steps toward clinical results. Angel investors will expect plans tied to measurable outcomes rather than aesthetic pitches. Take inspiration from early-stage startups that prioritize real-world trials over flashy features.
2. Fund Smartly: The Seedstrapping Method
A new investment strategy, seedstrapping, has emerged as an alternative to hypergrowth fundraising. Instead of raising multiple rounds, startups secure less than €1M, often from angel investors, and aim for break-even within two to three years. This allows you to focus on cost control and tangible revenue generation, a model aligning better with HealthTech realities.
3. Focus Narrowly on Niche Markets
HealthTech rarely involves billion-dollar customer bases. Instead of aiming wide, aim deep into lucrative micro-segments like digital therapeutics or wearables designed specifically for underserved demographics. Founders targeting smaller, fragmented markets find consistency easier to achieve than disrupting an entire industry.
4. Collaborate with Clinical Experts
Adding domain knowledge is non-negotiable. When building CADChain, I partnered strategically across disciplines, and HealthTech demands similar collaboration at every stage. Consider integrating expertise from physicians or medical researchers early on to develop solutions grounded in practicality.
5. Negotiate Angel Strategy Thoughtfully
Unlike institutional capital, angel investment thrives in high-risk environments like HealthTech. Besides funding, angel investors may offer operational insights or connect you with industry veterans. Find angels who align with your mission and values, not just those willing to open their wallets.
Five Mistakes HealthTech Founders Make While Raising Capital
Avoid these pitfalls if you’re venturing into the field and looking to raise money smarter.
- Mistake #1: Betting on Speed Over Validation. Your initial product should act as your proof of concept, not a final destination. HealthTech customers prioritize trust, so start with smaller wins supported by solid research.
- Mistake #2: Overestimating Interest in Non-Marketable Tech. As exciting as innovation sounds, it holds no value without tangible use cases. If regulators can’t validate your technology, that “first-to-market edge” means nothing.
- Mistake #3: Ignoring Smaller-Scale Funding Options. Overreliance on traditional 7-figure venture rounds is unnecessary when seedstrapping alternatives often match industry growth rhythms better.
- Mistake #4: Waiting Too Long to Launch Revenue Streams. Sustainability beats speed in HealthTech, avoid delaying monetization because your financial discipline must become a growth enabler.
- Mistake #5: Assuming Investors Fully Understand Regulatory Delays. Many VCs with SaaS backgrounds may not appreciate the mandatory slowdown imposed by healthcare’s legal mechanisms. Educating them early improves their patience.
How Early HealthTech Investors Can Add Real Value
The concept of shifting from growth-centered financing to value-based investment is gaining traction. For example, Deloitte’s investor trend report highlights how venture capitalists are prioritizing proven revenue models over speculative promises in early rounds. You can learn more about this shift from Deloitte's HealthTech Investment Report.
Advice Female Entrepreneurs Can Use Today
HealthTech isn't just a challenging field, it’s a thrilling opportunity for problem-solvers with patience. If you’re launching your next venture:
- Shape your market entry using incremental proof rather than aggressive disruption.
- Build partnerships with subject matter experts and institutions, they will be crucial allies across development and verification stages.
- Think about sustainable, consistent revenue before hypergrowth aspirations. Create the kind of organic, fair pricing models customers and investors respect.
And most importantly, plan intermediated success in small segments. The better part of my entrepreneurial career shows that breaking challenges into solvable sections keeps clarity sharper and progress faster.
Final Thought
HealthTech isn’t about beating traditional markets or chasing oversized exits, it’s about precision. It requires the dedication to build trust brick by brick, not overnight. If European women entrepreneurs embrace this reality, they may lead a wave of niche products and services that redefine what success looks like in healthcare innovation. Women have every reason to stand firmly in their values yet embrace the courage needed for this dynamic sector.
Want to explore examples of how to get started or connect with related programs? Read about Octopus Ventures’ research on global HealthTech trends. Keep moving forward, you’ve got this.
FAQ
1. Why does the traditional VC playbook not work for HealthTech startups?
HealthTech startups face regulatory complexities, slower market growth, and the need for clinical validation, making traditional rapid-scaling VC strategies unsuitable. Read more about HealthTech's unique VC challenges
2. What is "seedstrapping" and how does it benefit HealthTech startups?
Seedstrapping involves raising less than €1M and targeting break-even within 2, 3 years, helping startups focus on sustainable growth and tangible outcomes. Learn what seedstrapping means for HealthTech
3. What are some niche markets HealthTech startups should focus on?
HealthTech startups excel in niche markets like digital therapeutics, wearables, and remote monitoring, which offer steady growth without requiring overscaled market entrance. Explore niche opportunities in HealthTech
4. Why are angel investors crucial in early-stage HealthTech funding?
Angel investors often provide not only capital but also strategic insights and industry connections, essential for startups in high-risk, regulated markets like HealthTech. Find out how angel investors are shaping HealthTech
5. How does early-stage regulation impact HealthTech investments?
Regulations impose mandatory slowdowns in development, requiring startups to prioritize compliance and evidence-based innovation over swift execution. Understand more about HealthTech regulatory challenges
6. How does collaboration with clinical experts influence HealthTech success?
Collaborating with medical professionals ensures solutions are both practical and aligned with healthcare realities, fostering trust and usability. Discover the importance of clinical collaboration in HealthTech
7. What are common mistakes founders in HealthTech make while raising capital?
A major error is focusing on speed and scale rather than validation, overlooking the importance of regulatory timelines, and underestimating the need for viable revenue models. Avoid common pitfalls in HealthTech funding
8. How is the investment landscape evolving for HealthTech?
VCs are shifting from high-growth expectations to value-driven investments, prioritizing proven revenue streams and sustainability. Learn about evolving HealthTech investment trends
9. What traits help female entrepreneurs succeed in HealthTech?
Empathy-driven design, collaboration, and systems thinking are key strengths for female founders, especially in addressing complex healthcare needs. Learn about opportunities for women in HealthTech
10. What role do smaller funding rounds play in HealthTech success?
Smaller funding rounds like seedstrapping align better with HealthTech's methodical approach, avoiding overfunding in unproven markets. Read why startups prefer smaller funding rounds
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.