Medtep, a brilliant business project that won at the 7 ^th edition of the UPFEmprèn Award for Business Achievement and Capacity, created by the Board of Trustees of the UPF and the Banco Sabadell Foundation, has just entered the New York StartUp Health accelerator, considered the best in the world in the field of health.

In 2011, Pablo Pantaleoni, a Business Administration and Economics double bachelor's degree graduate at UPF, along with his partner Jacob Suñol, computer engineer, launched the company Medtep onto the market. They were later joined by Maria Segarra, a UPF Economics graduate.

Throughout this time, Medtep has developed two platforms, uClinics and uPatient with which patients and doctors perform medical monitoring and treatment in a more complete and personalized manner. This helps patients to monitor the medication that they must take, the diet or exercise they must follow in accordance with the doctor's instructions. This software is already being used in  1,500 private clinics in seventy countries around the world.

How did you get the idea of creating a company with these characteristics? 

It all started because the father of Jacob, one of the co-founders of Medtep, is a doctor and he had some specific needs to connect with his patients. He told his son about them, a computer engineer, and between the two they launched the first prototype. They soon saw that there was a growing potential market for this type of solution. Together with Pablo, the other co-founder, they studied the feasibility of the market and developed the business plan. Since then, all stakeholders in the health ecosystem have beren incorporated in order to provide an integral, global solution for monitoring patients in an environment of prevention, treatment and welfare. 

Which doors does having won the UPFEmprèn award open to you? 

It's an honour that Medtep has been recognized by our University with the UPFEmprèn award. We work a lot in the United States, and there, one of the first things we are asked is about the recognition obtained in our country. It is an important milestone. Moreover, the award will also help us financially to develop the technological framework that will allow us to scale up and reach more patients and health professionals around the world. 

"W e have more than 70,000 users in over seventy countries, and an increasing number of international contracts with different stakeholders: the pharmaceutical industry, insurance companies and sports organizations" 

What challenges have you achieved and which ones you have set in the medium term? 

During Medtep's more than three years of life, we have progressed in all our projects. We have seen that our proposal makes sense and that there is a demand for it on the international market. Currently, we have more than 70,000 users in over seventy countries, and an increasing number of international contracts with different stakeholders: the pharmaceutical industry, insurance companies and sports organizations. With a view to the future, our priority will be to increase both the scalability of the product and the degree of internationalization of the company. 

What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs?

I would tell them that they must take three main points into account. First, to be full of self-esteem; second, to forget their ego, and finally, to surround themselves with a complementary and better team than themselves. You won't get far without that self-confidence and a good complementary team. You have to be highly transparent and involve the whole team in the day-to-day of the company. I would also like to add that the main focus should be on sales. The problem for many companies starting out is that they are too focused on finding external funding, investing a lot of time in this, instead of focusing on going out and talking to their potential customers. 

Is the North American healthcare market very different from the European one?

From day one we have had a global approach. Despite the fact that we are present in more than seventy countries, we focus primarily on Europe and America. It is true that there are cultural barriers, but they come down when working together with local partners.

"Medtep provides the technological know-how while other stakeholders contribute the medical and local know-how" 

In your project you need to coordinate the work of different professionals; how you organize yourselves operationally?

In our collaboration with the different stakeholders of the health ecosystem (medical centres and societies, patient associations, the pharmaceutical industry, clinical laboratories, sports organizations, etc.), Medtep provides the technological know-how, while other agents provide the medical and local know-how. For example, the North American health sector is far more open to incorporating new technological solutions than the European, although in Europe interesting initiatives are starting to be considered. It is important for the product to be adaptable not only contextually, but also for every medical situation and according to the profile of each user.