Navigating Funding for Healthcare Innovation
Navigating Funding for Healthcare Innovation brings together two leading voices from the investment ecosystem — Daniela Tsoneva (BGO Ventures) and Max Gurvits (Vitosha Venture Partners) — for an insightful discussion on how healthcare, MedTech, and well-being innovators can access funding, scale solutions, and build investor-ready companies.
Healthcare and well-being are among the most complex sectors to innovate in — with long validation cycles, regulatory challenges, and high standards for safety and efficacy. This session will help founders understand what investors look for, how to position their innovation, and where the real opportunities are in the evolving health innovation landscape.
Whether you're building a digital health platform, a medical device, a biotech solution, or a well-being innovation, this event offers actionable insights, strategic perspectives, and clear guidance on how to attract the right type of funding at the right stage.
Main topics we will explore
Funding opportunities for healthcare & well-being innovations
• Grants, VC, accelerators, early-stage funding, and corporate partnerships
• How the funding landscape is shifting in Europe and globally
What makes a strong investment case in MedTech & HealthTech
• Traction, validation, regulatory readiness, and market potential
• Evidence investors expect before considering a deal
Investment horizons: what investors expect short-, mid-, and long-term
• Timelines for health innovation ROI
• How investors evaluate risk vs. opportunity in healthcare ventures
What matters most to investors in early-stage health startups
• Team, technology, clinical evidence, and scalability
• How to pitch health innovation effectively
The future of HealthTech & Well-being innovation
• Market trends investors are watching
• Where founders should focus to stay competitive
The Guest-Speakers:
Daniela Tsoneva is an investor in the healthcare and software technology sector with over 10 years of experience in the UK and the US. Before returning to Bulgaria, she led the healthcare technology investment team at Mercia Ventures, one of the UK's largest healthcare innovation investment funds with approximately £2 billion in capital. She is currently an advisor to BGO Ventures, the investment arm of medical software company BGO Software.
Max Gurvits is a Dutch/Bulgarian entrepreneur and investor based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Founder of two exited startups and co-founder of two VC funds, Max has been active in startup and venture ecosystem development worldwide. Since 2020 he is the founding and managing partner of Vitosha Ventures, a CEE venture capital fund in Sofia, Bulgaria, and serving as Deputy Chair of the Bulgarian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (BVCA).