Tell us a little bit about your startup. ​Where did the idea come from? When? How many founding members were there in the initial team? Where does the name stand for? What kind of entrepreneurial experience does the current team have? Have they built successful companies in the past?

The idea of creating a telemedicine referral service was born about a year ago, among scientists at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland. By designing an innovative mobile application and through a successful cooperation with the Klinika XP program, the most popular desktop application in Polish veterinary clinics, we;ve managed to create the first integrated veterinary telemedicine system. TellVet provides direct access to leading specialists in various fields of veterinary medicine via mobile application, web service and Klinika XP program. The idea of creating the TellVet system came from its founder Marcin Nowicki DVM, Ph.D, who is a scientist, university teacher, IT specialist and founder of TellVet company. Name of the company stands for “tel” (telecommunication, telephone), “tell” (tell vet) and “vet” (veterinary, veterinarian). The current team consists of two people. Marcin Nowicki has an entrepreneurial experience as an owner of a service company in 2006-2010.

What does a startup need to accomplish in its first year to be a success and have an impact?

TellVet needs finances for advertising the new launched services, for building a strong brand and to gain the leading position on the domestic market. The company needs help in obtaining contacts with foreign partners (especially software companies associated with veterinary medicine, manufacturers or distributors of diagnostic equipment). After that, our company plans to make a multi-language platform and to start the implementation of our services to the other European markets.

What will the company look like in a year? From any and all perspectives -- product, people, team, revenue?

Product/services:

          • increasing sale of services in Poland
          • strong leader position on the Polish market
          • developed TellVet system to multilingual platform for veterinarians
          • obtained cooperation with foreign partners and widespread our technological solution in other countries of Europe
            Team:
          • team increased by partners           
             Revenue:
          • achieved revenues attractive for investors

How big is the market for the product? How fast is it growing? Is this a stable market or one that is so cutting edge that nobody yet recognizes it's even a market? Is the market focused on consumers or businesses?

Worldwide - human telemedicine market is estimated at $ 27 billion. Only in USA $ 12,7 billion in 2014. In recent years we have seen a dynamic growth of human telemedicine.

​​Our market - Veterinary telemedicine is just beginning in the World!

Businesses: 
  • ​Poland 15 000 veterinarians
  • Europe 200 000 veterinarians
​​​​Consumers:
  • Poland: 8 mln dogs, 6 mln cats, 6 mln exotics = 20 mln customers
  • Europe: 75 mln dogs, 90 mln cats, 106 mln exotics = 271 mln customers (see below)
European zoo mark​
        • ​​Annual sales of pet food products: € 13,8 billion
        • ​​​Annual value of pet related products and services: € 11 billion
        • Population of pets in Europe is still growing

What sets the company apart in the market? Why do consumers choose your product over the competition? What competitive advantages does the company have to offer? 

Poland: Our customers choose our services because there is no other company that provides similar services. TellVet is the only company of its kind on the Polish market. 
Europe: In some European countries there are only Internet services based on the usual websites. There are no services in Europe integrated with software for veterinary clinics. There are no services in the world that use a mobile application that provides access to specialists. Our mobile application is available on Android, Windows Mobile and iOS.

 ​What is the current runway? Start-ups vary in funding from being "paycheck to paycheck" to having over $1B. Also who are the investors? Do they take an active role?

Our first investor was Foundation Neo Media. The Foundation has helped us in many areas - obtaining financing, legal assistance and development of the system. The Foundation is still taking an active role in our runway.

How did the TWIST project help your startup? What were the key points that helped in your startup’s development? Would you recommend the program to other entrepreneurs, startups or would be entrepreneurs?

We hope that TWIST will help our company to obtain foreign partners and with obtaining finances for further development. If so, we definitely can recommend the TWIST project to other entrepreneurs, startups or would be entrepreneurs.

How will the company scale as it grows? Does the company have the infrastructure in place to take advantage of the opportunity?

After the first requests from foreign vets, we created the possibility of registration of European clinics and adapted the system to handle international payments. We are ready to take advantage of every opportunity​

 Now let’s get down to some relaxing and informal questions to have a better look at your startup’s culture, people, ambience, and values.

What does the office look like at 8PM?

At 8PM our office is only relocated but still working and we are still in touch.

When is the last time the team members met after work -- what was the occasion?

Last time the team members met in July, after work, in a very memorable day, on the 15th of July 2015, when we got our first order.

What % of the team would you invite to your house for a party?

100% 

Would you want your best friend to join this startup?

I am not sure if I would like to take this step. There are no friends in business, I think.


TWIST DIGITAL is the H2020 action, under the Startup Europe umbrella, that provides Transregional Web Innovative Services for Thriving Digital and Mobile to web entrepreneurs aiming at scaling up and competing in the global market around 4 interconnected web entrepreneurship startup ecosystems and hubs (Rome, Lille, Stockholm and Warsaw).
 
Startup Europe aims to strengthen the business environment for web and ICT entrepreneurs so that their ideas and business can start and grow in the EU. Startup Europe contributes to the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan.
Startup Europe's objectives are:
  • to reinforce the links between people, business and associations who build and scale up the startup ecosystem (e.g. the Web Investors Forum, the Accelerator Assembly, the Crowdfunding Network) 
  • to inspire entrepreneurs and provide role models (e.g. the Leaders Club and their Startup Manifesto, the Startup Europe Roadshow)
  • to celebrate new and innovative startups (with Tech All Stars and Europioneers), help them to expand their business (Startup Europe Partnership, ACE Acceleration Programme), and give them access to funding under Horizon 2020.