Bloom Diagnostics for healthcare professionals to conduct COVID-19 antibody testing with real-time results be used for self-testing in the home
Please introduce yourself and your startup Bloom Diagnostics to our readers!
After many years with the pharmaceutical industry, today I invest in tech and biotech through a small family office, which I run with my sons. We’ve had some very successful investments and exits. In 2018, we decided to found Bloom Diagnostics and to provide the first funding. Bloom is the first truly digital lab diagnostics company, allowing end users to receive testing results and recommendations in their Bloom App in real-time.
How did you get the idea of Bloom Diagnostics?
As an MD PhD, but also as a tech friend, I recognized that the medical space was too far from the digital world, not allowing for people to have a quick and easy access to healthcare. Tom Kupper, who is my son, a co-founder and comes from finance, and I decided to change that.
Why did you decide to start with Bloom Diagnostics?
We understood that in order to have an intuitive product of high quality, a very complex structure was needed in the background. Therefore, we decided to start with Bloom. We built all the tools that were crucial, as the products include electronics, optics, firmware, software, biotechnology, medical knowledge and more. Further, as we are in the highly regulated medical space, regulatory affairs and quality management are crucial, but also great finance and HR departments are important. Most importantly, however, was to build a top team to tackle the immense challenges. Today, we have a team of about 60 people (plus externals), who work closely together to offer a seamless experience to customers.
What is the vision behind Bloom Diagnostics?
The vision is to make healthcare more accessible, and to apply learnings for better future healthcare and therapies.
How difficult was the start and which challenges you had to overcome?
Every start is difficult and you find challenges everywhere. Suddenly I found myself in the shoes of a founder trying to explain why healthcare needs this to receive more funding. Usually I am on the other side!
Who is your target audience?
Our primary focus is the end user. However, as often in the medical space, there are intermediates, such as doctors or pharmacies. We see them as our partners and allies, meaning that we have a B2B2C product.
What is the USP of your startup?
The uniqueness of Bloom is to have digitized the drop of blood, translating test results into actionable recommendations while learning from it. People today don’t need to leave their homes to be tested and understand the results. This is totally new.
Can you describe your typical workday?
I love what I do: Speaking to team members, partners, investors, tackling challenges together with the team, but above all, trying to identify future scenarios, seeing what no one sees yet and planning the next big step.
Where do you see yourself and your startup Bloom Diagnostics in five years?
Bloom Diagnostics will be equivalent to seamless healthcare and it will be established globally.
What 3 tips would you give to other female founders?
Stamina and perseverance, honesty to yourself and others, team spirit – I guess there’s no difference to male founders!
Thank you Angelica Kohlmann for the Interview
Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.
