U N D E R T H E M I C R O S C O P E

CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF IMPROVEWELL

In this interview , Lara Mott explores her journey in co-founding ImproveWell , a platform for collecting real-time feedback from healthcare workers to improve the quality of care and staff engagement .

What motivated you to transition from your background in healthcare investment and life sciences consulting to co-founding ImproveWell ?

With a background in medical sciences , I advised many biotechnology clients at FTI Consulting and eventually held senior in-house roles with gene therapy company Oxford BioMedica plc and allergy company Circassia Pharmaceuticals plc . The UK biotechnology sector is an impressive , entrepreneurial environment – companies must secure significant investment to fund clinical trials and engage with multiple stakeholders throughout their journey to ultimately to prepare their markets for launch . I learnt a huge amount from working directly with C-level executives and boards who were passionate about bringing novel therapeutics to market and jumping

all the unexpected hurdles along the way . So , when the opportunity to co-found ImproveWell arrived , I felt equipped to take on the challenge .

How do you believe your early experiences and education in pharmacology have influenced your approach as CEO of ImproveWell ?

As a scientist by training , I like data and naturally take an evidence-based approach to most things which has ended up being one of our core values at ImproveWell . Much like designing and running a scientific experiment , the results you get along the way tend to influence your next steps . Things also don ’ t go to plan ! Resilience is the ultimate skill that I observed very early on in my career . I tend to think clearly when things go ‘ wrong ’ because you have learnt something important .

What has been the most significant challenge you ’ ve encountered thus far in your journey with ImproveWell and how did you overcome it to continue driving the company forward ?

Securing investment for ImproveWell over the years – amidst a pandemic and multiple economic downturns – has been the biggest challenge . We have some wonderful investors who have been with us since 2018 and we are backed by forward-thinking groups such as Angel Academe and Two Magnolias , however it takes a long time and put additional pressure on the business . As a company , we focus all our efforts on sales and marketing . Every single member of the team knows how their role contributes to the commercial success of the company . We jump each hurdle carefully and make sure that investors are aware of the operational progress that we make each year .

60 www . intelligenthealth . tech