Interview with venture case winner Alterniity: "We didn’t fly too high or too low”
25.09.2014
Alterniity a University of Bern spin-off, develops software designed to detect early signs of Alzheimer’s and Dementia, and to retard the onset and progression of the disease. Now they obtained CHF 20’000 of pre-seed capital and are qualified for the next stage to win CHF 100’000 more. Check out their success story in our interview.
 Ioannis Tarnanas from Alterniity
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Dear Ioannis, how and why did you launch Alterniity?
Alterniity GmbH is a University of Bern spin-off. The Serious Game project started at the University of Berne 2013, but also has a long history behind it. The research and clinical trials shaping the Serious Game project strategy at the University of Bern started 12 years ago and was awarded at prestigious events, e.g. EU Archimedes award 2001, European Open Science Forum 2006, TedX academy, Call to Innovation 2013, iENA international trade fair 2013, Novartis fellowship on healthy aging 2014 etc. That along with the scientific data to date gave us the confidence and validation to launch Alterniity GmbH at March 2014.
What stage of its development is Alterniity today?
We have developed a prototype, we have tested the prototype in a clinical trial for the early screening of Alzheimer Disease (AD), we have filed for IP protection and we are now preparing the next clinical trial, which will evaluate the next version of the prototype for cognitive reserve exercising.
How is your product/service positioned regards to your competitors (on the market)?
Our product/service for early screening is well positioned at a niche market because of our clinical trial data to date. This has been the core of our project from the start, since we are a data-driven startup. The market in general is quite promising but still untapped. It is not common knowledge yet that a software solution can offer early screening for AD comparable to some biomarkers. We will continue expanding on our dataset and clinical trials and that collection of data, which is difficult to be collected in an accelerated mode by a big corporation (because of the nature of the disease) is what will keep us ahead of the competition for the future.
Why did you apply for venture kick?
venture kick is the lead startup “kick” instrument at Switzerland. We believe in the power of networking and since Switzerland is a Med-Tech HUB, we had really no choice but to apply for venture kick.
How did you convince the jury?
We said things as they are. We didn’t “fly too high or too low”. I believe that our research history, expertise on the subject matter and clinical data collection so far gave us the confidence to appear in-front of the jury with simple slides and look them at the eyes. Of course we still have weaknesses at our business model that we need to work on but we also have some strengths and one of the biggest ones is our motivation to be the first and best team to tackle such an important problem like the “early screening” and “potential slowdown” of Alzheimer’s disease type of dementia and other dementias.
What are the 1-2 most important benefits of the venture kick program?
The kickers camp is by far the most important benefit, apart from the money. You can consider the kickers camp as a “wake up call” to all wannabe entrepreneurs! The experience and lessons learned are just invaluable and you would have to spend many years and burn money at the field before you can get the same experience on your own.
What do you think is the impact of the venture kick program on the Swiss startup industry?
venture kick is an excellent filter and pre-selection mechanism for promising startups. We believe that the benefit for the Swiss industry is twofold: a) It completely registers and ranks the R&D done at the top academic institutions and give a very good overview of the trends and b) It filters and boosts the selected few that can actually generate revenue and thus bring money back to the Swiss society.
Why would you recommend the program to other startups?
venture kick is a simple and straight forward approach. If you have a good idea, team and business model, you just pitch it in front of the right people, looking them at the eyes. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. A CEO will always pitch at his life, however it is the feedback you get here that makes the program so valuable, because even if you fail, your next pitch is going to be much more effective than your first one.
What kind of advice would you give to another young entrepreneur?
Keep chasing your dreams. The route to success is tough and you make a lot of sacrifices along the way. There are no recipes and nobody knows what the “next big thing” is. However, your passion, motivation and knowledge are your tools that will give you the edge and as we say here at Alterniity GmbH: “Your time is important, but so is your knowledge”!!
Alterniity GmbH is a University of Bern spin-off. The Serious Game project started at the University of Berne 2013, but also has a long history behind it. The research and clinical trials shaping the Serious Game project strategy at the University of Bern started 12 years ago and was awarded at prestigious events, e.g. EU Archimedes award 2001, European Open Science Forum 2006, TedX academy, Call to Innovation 2013, iENA international trade fair 2013, Novartis fellowship on healthy aging 2014 etc. That along with the scientific data to date gave us the confidence and validation to launch Alterniity GmbH at March 2014.
What stage of its development is Alterniity today?
We have developed a prototype, we have tested the prototype in a clinical trial for the early screening of Alzheimer Disease (AD), we have filed for IP protection and we are now preparing the next clinical trial, which will evaluate the next version of the prototype for cognitive reserve exercising.
How is your product/service positioned regards to your competitors (on the market)?
Our product/service for early screening is well positioned at a niche market because of our clinical trial data to date. This has been the core of our project from the start, since we are a data-driven startup. The market in general is quite promising but still untapped. It is not common knowledge yet that a software solution can offer early screening for AD comparable to some biomarkers. We will continue expanding on our dataset and clinical trials and that collection of data, which is difficult to be collected in an accelerated mode by a big corporation (because of the nature of the disease) is what will keep us ahead of the competition for the future.
Why did you apply for venture kick?
venture kick is the lead startup “kick” instrument at Switzerland. We believe in the power of networking and since Switzerland is a Med-Tech HUB, we had really no choice but to apply for venture kick.
How did you convince the jury?
We said things as they are. We didn’t “fly too high or too low”. I believe that our research history, expertise on the subject matter and clinical data collection so far gave us the confidence to appear in-front of the jury with simple slides and look them at the eyes. Of course we still have weaknesses at our business model that we need to work on but we also have some strengths and one of the biggest ones is our motivation to be the first and best team to tackle such an important problem like the “early screening” and “potential slowdown” of Alzheimer’s disease type of dementia and other dementias.
What are the 1-2 most important benefits of the venture kick program?
The kickers camp is by far the most important benefit, apart from the money. You can consider the kickers camp as a “wake up call” to all wannabe entrepreneurs! The experience and lessons learned are just invaluable and you would have to spend many years and burn money at the field before you can get the same experience on your own.
What do you think is the impact of the venture kick program on the Swiss startup industry?
venture kick is an excellent filter and pre-selection mechanism for promising startups. We believe that the benefit for the Swiss industry is twofold: a) It completely registers and ranks the R&D done at the top academic institutions and give a very good overview of the trends and b) It filters and boosts the selected few that can actually generate revenue and thus bring money back to the Swiss society.
Why would you recommend the program to other startups?
venture kick is a simple and straight forward approach. If you have a good idea, team and business model, you just pitch it in front of the right people, looking them at the eyes. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. A CEO will always pitch at his life, however it is the feedback you get here that makes the program so valuable, because even if you fail, your next pitch is going to be much more effective than your first one.
What kind of advice would you give to another young entrepreneur?
Keep chasing your dreams. The route to success is tough and you make a lot of sacrifices along the way. There are no recipes and nobody knows what the “next big thing” is. However, your passion, motivation and knowledge are your tools that will give you the edge and as we say here at Alterniity GmbH: “Your time is important, but so is your knowledge”!!