Start-ups are Changing the World

Coaching Start-Ups to Pitch & Sell Their Business Ideas

I have been coaching start-ups for 13 years and in the beginning, when working on programmes like StartUpBootCamp (2010) and several University programmes, the majority of the start-ups were very hopeful, but with very little of substance behind them.

How things are changing!

A couple of weeks ago in Imperial College in London (in their new innovation iHub-11 stories high!) I was coaching fourteen teams of MedTech start-ups as part of the amazing ‘Catapult’ programme supported by EIT Health.

What had changed?

• The majority of the teams already had customers
• In lots of cases teams of 2/3 people all well established and experienced in their particular market.
• Presenters were clear thinking and articulate with a vision of where they were taking their business.
• Passionate and sincerely wanting to improve the health of patients or perhaps, more importantly, wishing to help people to avoid becoming patients.

Every time I leave a pitch event, I am highly impressed by the support available to start-ups and the ambition these entrepreneurs have to change how things are done, while simultaneously building a successful profitable business.
Based on realizing this can only truly happen when a great idea leads to a great product which benefits society.

Two weeks ago I was coaching ‘MedTech’ companies; this week I will be coaching established companies in the Manufacturing, Farming and Charitable space.

I have no doubt they will benefit from getting back to thinking like a start-up and focusing again or what problem they solve for the people who use whatever service they provide.

By Executive Coach Andrew Keogh of Aristo.ie