EP #460 - Cyrill Gyger: How to Sell 3D Radar Tech to Public Hospitals
Dec 8, 2024
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Cyrill Gyger, co-founder and CEO of QUMEA, shares insights from his journey in digital mobility monitoring for patient safety. He discusses the innovative use of AI radar to track patient movements and breathing, aimed at preventing falls in hospitals. Cyrill explores the challenges of selling cutting-edge technology to public healthcare institutions and the importance of aligning co-founder incentives for success. He also highlights the complexities of navigating startup support programs in Switzerland, emphasizing strategic growth amidst economic hurdles.
Cyrill Gyger emphasizes the importance of aligning co-founder incentives to ensure collective commitment towards the success of QUMEA.
The innovative 3D radar technology developed by QUMEA significantly enhances patient safety by continuously monitoring movements and breathing in hospitals.
Partnering with Innosuisse has been crucial for QUMEA, providing essential resources that support their growth and innovation efforts in the healthcare sector.
Deep dives
The Role of InnoSwiss in Supporting Innovation
InnoSwiss, the Swiss innovation agency, plays a pivotal role in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), startups, and research institutions in Switzerland. They provide various programs aimed at fostering research and development activities, particularly helping organizations transform their innovative ideas into viable solutions. By offering financial grants and resources, InnoSwiss facilitates entrepreneurial growth within the Swiss innovation ecosystem. Their online guide helps organizations identify suitable programs, making it easier for startups to embark on their innovation journeys.
Cyril's Entrepreneurial Journey
Cyril, the co-founder and CEO of Kumea, shares his journey into entrepreneurship, which began with a natural inclination towards innovation and a keen interest in technology. Despite initially working for other companies, Cyril's entrepreneurial mindset drove him to establish his own business in 2019 after gaining valuable industry experience. He attributes his innate curiosity and eagerness to make quick decisions as reasons for his transition to entrepreneurship. His journey highlights the evolving landscape of entrepreneurship, emphasizing how current educational programs provide inspiration to aspiring innovators.
Forming a Cohesive Team at Kumea
Cyril and his co-founders met during their time at Xovis, where they developed a strong working relationship built on shared values and a collaborative spirit. The early familiarity with each other significantly contributed to a swift and efficient launch of Kumea, establishing a solid foundation for their startup. As the company expanded, they strategically hired key positions, such as the CTO, who was initially contracted for radar technology development. This approach allowed them to attract motivated individuals who aligned with the company's vision, resulting in a management team that thrives on mutual commitment and a shared journey.
Innovative AI-Powered Solutions for Healthcare
Kumea's primary offering is an AI-powered 3D radar system that monitors patient movement to enhance safety and prevent falls in healthcare settings. The development of this innovative solution stemmed from a passion for technology and a keen understanding of pressing healthcare challenges, particularly in nursing. By employing advanced radar technology combined with artificial intelligence, Kumea addresses critical patient safety issues while ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations. With successful implementations in over 100 hospitals leading to significant reductions in falls, Kumea is poised to expand its product range and tackle additional patient safety concerns.
Navigating International Growth and Challenges
As Kumea aims for international expansion, understanding the unique challenges of different healthcare systems in countries like Germany and Sweden is crucial for their growth strategy. Cyril emphasizes the need for tailored approaches, recognizing that market dynamics vary significantly even within regions. The team has established an initial foothold in several countries, relying on pilot programs to gauge the market's responsiveness and refine their offerings. This strategic positioning aids Kumea in adjusting their business model to local requirements while capitalizing on the increasing demand for innovative healthcare technologies amidst a growing nursing shortage.
Cyrill Gyger is the co-founder and CEO of QUMEA, a company that offers digital mobility monitoring for patient safety. Cyrill holds an MSc in Engineering from Berner Fachhochschule BFH and worked for Zühlke Group and Xovis before starting QUMEA in 2019.
QUMEA uses a one-of-a-kind sensor and companion software to continuously monitor the activity and mobility of every patient inside a hospital or care facility, and is able to automatically call for help, depending on the individual needs of each patient. This prevents falls, makes therapy success measurable, improves patient outcomes and noticeably relieves the burden on care. Their radar is capable of sending signals of extremely different wavelengths in very quick succession, which allows them to measure whether the patient is walking about the room, but also whether the patient is even breathing. The fact that their product is a radar, and not computer vision, enables the assurance of data protection.
QUMEA sells mostly to public hospitals in Switzerland, Germany and Sweden. Their usual first point of contact are nurses, who are also the product’s users. QUMEA’s very clear ROI is what gets them the attention of these institutions, but they still have to bear with rather long sale cycles (due to the nature of public sector constraints, and to the amount of stakeholders within each hospital), and they almost always have to go through a pilot phase with their prospective customers first.
Cyrill is a strong believer in aligning co-founder incentives with the success of their company, which is why all 4 co-founders have invested their own money to buy shares from QUMEA. Other employees have also done so. This way, everyone rows in the same direction and gives it their all, because if the company tanks, it’s their money that’s gone forever, too.
