E3A Healthcare Pte. Ltd. is a deep medical technology company working on non-invasive medical diagnostic and therapeutic devices, with a focus on newborn health and wearable technologies. This includes smart neonatal phototherapy solutions to monitor newborn jaundice, both within the hospital setting or at home. The company was incorporated by Dr Shawn Li Shihao, a PhD graduate from the NUS Department of Biomedical Engineering, and his supervisor Dr Dieter Trau. While studying at NUS, Dr Li had a passion to develop technologies that could benefit the medical field and this was exactly what he sought to do via E3A Healthcare Pte. Ltd.
Although the initial stages of setting up E3A Healthcare were no easy feat, Dr Li managed to find a like-minded partner, Dr Rishav Shestha, and together with Dr Trau, brought the start-up to its feet. Reflecting on his team’s journey, Dr Li accredits a large part of E3A Healthcare’s success to the support he received from NUS and its entrepreneurial arm, NUS Enterprise.
With the NUS Innovation & Enterprise Practicum Award granted in 2016, Dr Li, together with his team, was able to launch their prototype. Thereafter, he embarked on market validation and gathered the necessary business knowledge to draft-out their business plan. This process was supplemented by his involvement in NUS Enterprise’s three-month Lean LaunchPad Programme, which aims to help researchers like him reach product commercialisation. In addition, E3A Healthcare was awarded an incubation space at NUS Enterprise@Singapore Science Park to give it more room to develop. Subsequently, the team entered ILO’s Graduate Research Innovation Programme (GRIP) in 2018 as part of the inaugural batch and successfully secured NUS as their first shareholder upon incorporation.
While Dr Li appreciates the help he received from NUS Enterprise, he recognises that E3A Healthcare would not be where they are if not for the talent and hard work of his colleagues, Dr Trau and Dr Shrestha, who he described as a “serial inventor entrepreneur” and “an incredibly talented engineer,” respectively. According to Dr Li, Dr Trau has “reshaped his mind” and taught him how to think both like a scientist and an entrepreneur. He exposed Dr Li to industry players and most importantly, gave him the inspiration to pursue the entrepreneurial route. This mentorship-turned-friendship was complemented by the addition of Dr Shrestha, who, in addition to being an engineer, possesses five years of experience as a medical doctor. Just like Dr Li, Dr Shrestha has a passion for the fusion of medicine and engineering and together with his vast expertise in both these fields, helped develop E3A Healthcare.
When asked about the challenges they faced in E3A Healthcare’s journey, Dr Li stated that the initial speed bump was in assembling a winning team. After striking gold with Dr Trau and Dr Shrestha, the next hurdle came in terms of securing funding. He recounted encountering investors who would shoot the idea down, calling it “nonsense.” Despite this, the team pushed through and fortunately managed to find a lead investor who was willing to give the product a chance.
As of today, the budding start-up has closed their seed-round with a lead overseas investor from Hong Kong, securing SGD1.5 million. They have also set up a subsidiary in China to test the waters of the Chinese market and carry out R&D efforts, given the country’s market potential and access to the Greater Bay Area. By end 2020, they aim to launch their first product in China. As for the distant future, E3A Healthcare looks to expand to Europe.
To find out more about E3A Healthcare, visit their LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/e3a-healthcare/about/.
