Discovering the Business Strategy Workout with Jimmy Caroupapoullé!
"Focusing on our value proposition has helped open doors and generate traction"
Jimmy Caroupapoullé is the founder of PhysioActivity, which is developing a platform that passively records and aggregates smartphone and wearable data to estimate biomechanical forces exerted on the body continuously.
Jimmy is a member of The FWD Project, and earlier this year, he took part in a two-day Business Strategy Workout as part of the programme.
We caught up with Jimmy to find out how he found the Workout and the impact it has had on his business.
What were the most useful elements of the Business Strategy Workout?
Before the workshop, I was looking at commercialising my research with very much an engineering lens. The training gave me a structure to define my strategy with a business approach instead. Focusing on the value proposition and really understanding the business canvas were critical elements for me. The programme also helps to articulate a business hypothesis to test - which is a methodology that any researcher would be familiar with.
The training provided examples from existing MedTech companies which is a great way to immediately visualise the concepts you’ve learned. Beyond these two days, The FWD Project also provided me access to a wealth of knowledge and resources, which have been invaluable.
How did you find the two days overall? Would you recommend it to other health and wellbeing founders?
Dedicating two days working on a solid value proposition defines the direction but also whether it’s worth taking further. I also think that the duration of two days was the sweet spot for me. Shorter wouldn’t be enough to assimilate the concepts, and I probably wouldn’t immerse myself. Longer would be too much time away from other commitments, and I´d probably end up skipping parts.
Developing a start-up in MedTech is hard, and there are many considerations and concepts to cover, including IP, clinical trials, regulation, grants, and funding. The trainers signposted us to lots of additional support available through SETsquared to help in all of these areas.
What progress have you made since the Business Strategy Workout?
I have been validating key business hypotheses and building on the go-to-market and funding/revenue strategy that the programme helped me develop. My commercial minimum viable product (MVP) will be ready in the next few months. I’ve learnt to split my time more efficiently between product development, grant application, and investment strategy.
Learning to adapt the language with a focus on value proposition rather than research helped open a few doors and generate traction that could lead to investments, but this is very much in progress.
There is a wealth of support available through The FWD Project including a Business Strategy Workout in September, a grant funding masterclass and a unique session on winning public sector contracts within the healthcare sector. Find out more about the project!
The FWD Project is a unique collaboration connecting residents directly with local employers, innovation and research activity, and events. Creating collisions between upskilling or reskilling learners, employees, scaling businesses and researchers, leading to personal, professional and economic growth across the region. FWD supports health and wellbeing start-ups as well as upskilling talent in Bath, North East Somerset and the Wider Combined Authority Region. Partners on the project are the University of Bath, Bath Spa University, Bath College and Bath & North East Somerset Council and funded by the West of England Combined Authority.