2 steps to investing in Israeli medtech startups from OurCrowd

From medical devices to pharma and everything in between, Israel has developed a reputation as a leader in medical technology and innovation. It doesn’t hurt that Israel ranks #1 in the world in R&D spending and #1 in scientific research (IMD 2013), or that Israel can brag it is home to some of the world’s leading physicians, PhDs and serial entrepreneurs in medical fields. These are some of the primary contributing factors to Israel ranking #2 in the world in investor confidence in venture capital, private equity and growth capital (Deloitte). Within this ecosystem of medtech innovation it’s hard not to get excited about the enormous amount of opportunity, and OurCrowd is inviting you in.

Want to learn more about investment opportunities in medtech startups? Check out OurCrowd’s dealflow here.

2 steps to investing in medtech

Step 1: It’s crucial to maintain the same disciplined deal-screening process as when looking at any new company with high-growth aspirations including looking for a great team, large addressable market, an easy to understand value proposition, strong traction, and sponsorship by board members, advisors, and/or strategic partners or angels.

Step 2: Within medtech, here are a few added categories to examine:

1. Payment/reimbursement – Who is the customer and what/why will they pay?
2. Existing alternatives/comparative cost/comparative effectiveness – What’s the compelling value proposition? Is it a comparable product to one already existing in the market, with a considerable drop in price? Or, is the solution considerably more effective than everything that’s currently available on the market, with clinical data to support?
3. Regulatory Path – Does the device or piece of equipment already have FDA approval? What are the chances of the company to secure it and when do they expect the process to end? How much money will this process take?
4. Intellectual Property – What does the startups patent portfolio contain, and how valuable is that in terms of providing a competitive barrier? How do the patents fit into the context of the startup’s broader IP and business strategy?

Investing alongside professional investors – from your living room

Above is a just a brief summary of some of the points that should be integrated into a proper medtech deal-diligence process. This is where equity-crowdfunding and pre-diligenced opportunities come to play: a relatively new form of investing, equity-crowdfunding enables sophisticated professionals in their respective fields to look at and invest in pre-screened deal flow in new markets in addition to investing in spaces at which they already feel at home (easy sector-diversification outside your field(s) of expertise).

OurCrowd investors – now more than 6,000 from 94 countries – are given the opportunity weekly to invest in world-changing innovation, including medtech. It goes without saying that enabling the next generation of medical technologies to take the world stage will not only hopefully generate ROI but also improve and save lives along the way. Here are a few examples of the now more than ten medtech companies in OurCrowd’s startup portfolio: ReWalk Robotics ($RWLK; robotic exoskeleton allowing paraplegics to stand and walk), MedAware (a big data solution to prevent prescription drug errors), and HIL (next-gen accelerators for proton-beam cancer therapy).

Want to learn more about investment opportunities in medtech startups, among other verticals? Check out OurCrowd’s dealflow here.