Since we last spoke, we’ve been involved in straight-up-crazy-wtf-have-we-done kind of moments. My advice: Go grab some popcorn.
On a whim, Cogniom applied for the annual MedTech’s Got Talent Competition where start-ups compete for national recognition in Australia. We were informed we were selected to be one of fifteen finalists out of 40 applicants just days in advance – so we booked last minute tickets and rocked up to Sydney last Friday. In the audience listening would be some of the industry’s leading health experts to judge the competition with six mentors vying for a single start-up they would select to bring into the finals!
Picture this:
All fifteen start-ups had to give an entire pitch in less than 60 seconds with NO SLIDES OR DEMOS.
Imagine my audible groan when I read what I had actually signed up for. Cogniom was going to be the last to present and historically, judges rarely understand what we do without visual aids or a live demo of our TANDM software.
But, being a good sport, I followed the rules and did my best to describe why we need a product like TANDM in the market and how it was going to change healthcare for the better. After giving my pitch I sat back down, with no idea if any of the 6 mentors would select us. To be honest, it was a great experience. (But secretly, I desperately wanted a mentor to select us or we could kiss our path into the finals goodbye). Cue the swirling chairs and smoke machines…
When the industry mentors took to the stage to announce their nominated start-up for the finals, I can’t begin to describe the overwhelming rush of excitement and elation I felt when we were selected by not one, but TWO amazing mentors! Cogniom was the ONLY start-up out of all fifteen in the Sydney pre-lims to be fought over!! When asked for their reasons around their selections – both organisations were performing studies using excel and a stopwatch and wanted to see TANDM in action!
This left me with a tough choice between two amazing advisor opportunities. It was an incredibly difficult decision, but my final choice?
Cue the clapping and crazy cheering….and then me literally tripping over a speaker on the stage while walking up to shake our new mentor’s hand. #graceful…
As it turns out they are in the middle of doing several studies with their products in operating theatres throughout Australia and are open to a PILOT with TANDM! I feel like I’m dreaming. We’ll be working with our new mentor through December to find a project to present to the Med Tech Got Talent Finals together this December. GAME ON, COGNIOM FANS!!
So what else happened since our last email?
Earlier this year we were approached by the South Australia state health department for a demo of the TANDM Suite. After a quick flight to meet the executive board, we were privately given a Request for Quote (RFQ) for an exceptionally large project they were working on. However, we had a bitter-sweet ending on this one. (Welcome to start up life right?).
Unfortunately, we didn’t win the contract for the project. However, they offered feedback and when asked why we were passed over for the job, the CMIO’s feedback was incredibly positive. He told us we gave the big boys a run for their money, but the size of the project far exceeded the size of our team and our ability to support the change management end-to-end. At the end of the day, I’m still chalking this up to a success. With Zoe’s steadfast dedication and newly acquired proposal writing skills, we have built a solid relationship with the state department and opened doors to other possible projects into the future. I’m insanely proud of our team for taking a chance and swinging for the fences.
Our Community Projects are continuing to race toward our Sept 29th pilot.
Beddown and Sunny Street are launching their data collection projects at the end of this month to create a picture of the impact their services have on our vulnerable homeless community in Brisbane.
We are constantly in a state of awe with all they continue to achieve. Keep an eye out for our next blog which will be highlighting our partnerships with each and some of the incredible new functionality Chris and Bryce have been creating in TANDM to make it all possible.
The StartUp Onramp Founder’s Course in October has invited us back to talk about the importance of pivoting and using customer feedback. Giving back to the start up community is a pretty special feeling, and a reminder that I have learned WAY MORE than I ever would have dreamed possible. Without our own mentors giving us guidance, we would have struggled a lot more along the way. I’m glad we are in a position to finally pay those favours forward.
Is that all? Not even close!
Several more crazy milestones are already on the way this week. Be on the look out for another investor email coming out very soon!
Now, its time to take a breather and relax with the team and celebrate all the hard work the team put in this month. If you’d like to learn more about the investor pre-seed round, feel free to ask for our investor memorandum and we’ll happily send you a copy.
Until next time!
