Commercial Geography: How The Choice of Market Determines Your Capital, Your Partners And Your First Contract
Most founders choose a market by convenience. Where the science was developed, where the first customer conversation happened, where a competitor went.
In practice the market decision sets everything downstream. Your pricing, the evidence you need, who holds the budget, how long procurement takes, and which investors will fund the plan. It also decides which large organisations are worth approaching and what they need to see before they sign.
This session is designed as a practical founder discussion around how commercial market decisions and capital decisions shape each other in real fundraising and partnering environments.
Flow
We will begin with a short briefing (c.15 mins) followed by a more interactive discussion around:
choosing a first commercial market on evidence rather than convenience
who holds budget inside a health system, and what moves a procurement decision
reaching the real decision maker inside pharma, distributors and institutional funders
pricing and reimbursement as part of the deal rather than a later problem
which investors, in which regions, fund which commercial strategies
common mistakes when approaching large organisations
The room will be kept small (15 to 17 founders) to allow for direct discussion and questions.
Who this is for
Life science founders currently raising or preparing for investor and partner conversations, particularly at Seed to Series A stage. Diagnostics, tools, device and platform companies preparing a first launch.
Experts
Yass Omar - Head of Legal Regulatory Affairs at Heidi Health
Yass leads legal, regulatory and compliance strategy at Heidi Health, the AI care platform that recently crossed the $1bn valuation mark to become Australia's newest tech unicorn. With nearly five years inside Heidi across compliance and legal functions, he has navigated the frameworks that come with scaling a regulated AI product across 190 countries — ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, NHS requirements and beyond. In this session Yass brings the inside perspective on what it actually takes to enter and hold new markets when the product sits at the intersection of AI, healthcare and global regulatory complexity.
Anna M. Detert — Principal at Gloucester Ventures
Anna invests at pre-seed and angel stage in biopharmaceutical tools and diagnostics, and works with founders on investor targeting, market strategy and pitch preparation.
With 25 years across biopharma, diagnostics, venture capital and private equity, including a partnership in KPMG UK's healthcare strategy team and earlier product development work at Bayer Diagnostics, she brings direct experience of how investors and large healthcare organisations assess a company's commercial plan.
A second expert will be announced shortly.
Dress: business casual or business
Photography
By attending, you consent to being photographed and filmed for promotional use. If you would prefer not to have your photos used or details shared, please let us know, and we will respect your preferences.