Founder roundtable and fireside chat with Vitmedics co-founder Phoebe Wakeman will explore what it takes to build, launch and scale a healthtech business.
Western Advocates for Health and Medtechs (WAHM) will bring Manchester’s health and medtech community together on 4 November for two linked events focused on the challenges facing innovators and the practical steps needed to get products to market.
The Manchester Healthtech Ecosystem Roundtable, exclusively for health and medtech founders and C-suite leaders, will be followed by the Healthtech Ecosystem Social: From Research to Market, taking place from 17:00 to 20:00 at House of Social, Manchester.
Together, the events will give founders space to share challenges with their peers before joining the wider ecosystem for a candid founder conversation and networking.
A forum for founders
Hosted by WAHM founder Paul Forster, the roundtable will bring startup leaders together for problem solving, skill sharing and peer networking in an industry that presents significant challenges for smaller businesses.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own experiences and questions, with discussion expected to cover:
- Navigating NHS adoption, procurement and scale.
- Building within complex regulatory frameworks.
- Responding to changes in grant funding and equity investment.
- Pursuing international commercialisation.
- Identifying opportunities for collaboration and a stronger collective voice.
The session will also explore what founders need from the wider ecosystem to help their businesses progress.
From research to market: the hard truths
Following the roundtable, WAHM will welcome the broader healthtech community to House of Social for a fireside chat with Phoebe Wakeman, co-founder of Vitmedics, followed by the Ecosystem Social.
Phoebe co-founded the personalised nutrition and healthtech business alongside her father, pharmacist and researcher Mike Wakeman, whose research explored the relationship between medications and micronutrient status.
She led much of the business’s commercial development, spanning its brand, consumer proposition, technology and customer journey. At its heart was Vitcheck, an evidence-based platform developed to assess medication use alongside diet, lifestyle and life stage to provide personalised nutritional insights and recommendations.
Phoebe will share the decisions, challenges and mistakes involved in translating that research into a market-ready business, from communicating complex science and building consumer trust to finding a route to market and adapting to customer needs.
The conversation will centre on a practical ambition: demonstrating that healthtech products can reach the market while being honest about what it takes to get there.
The social will then provide an opportunity for founders, researchers, NHS innovators, investors and ecosystem supporters to meet potential collaborators, partners and champions.
Attendance and booking
- Manchester Healthtech Ecosystem Roundtable: strictly for health and medtech founders and C-suite leaders. Event details and registration.
- Healthtech Ecosystem Social: From Research to Market: 4 November, 17:00-20:00, House of Social, Manchester. Open to the wider ecosystem, including consultants and supporters. Event details and registration.
- All Health/Medtech Founder roundtable tickets include free entry to the evening social.
