A Startup Judge's Framework for Success

"Anything new or novel is not innovation," Dr. Mullankandy stated emphatically. "New and useful is innovation. New, useful, and proprietary? That's business innovation. That's what investors are looking for."

Having evaluated hundreds of pitches across multiple continents, Dr. Mullankandy breaks down the journey to becoming investment-ready into clear milestones.

"Once you have business innovation, something new, useful, and proprietary, the next step is demonstrating willingness to pay," he explained. "When you can show traction with paying customers and a clear path to profitability, you become investable."

But he warns that getting there requires more than just a great idea. "The key differentiator in tech products is rapid iteration. If your competitor has a better iteration rate than you, they have an edge. Period."

Through his work with accelerators from MassChallenge in Boston to Techstars programs in Stockholm, Paris, and Abu Dhabi, Dr. Mullankandy has identified iteration speed as critical.

"Try to get to Product-Market Fit as early as possible, not through talking a lot, but by doing a lot," he emphasized. "Bias for action is a huge advantage. I've seen startups with inferior technology win because they iterated faster while their competitors were still perfecting their pitch decks."

His judging experience at the Digital Health Awards has reinforced this repeatedly. "The startups that succeed ship, learn, and adapt quickly. They're not afraid to put imperfect products in front of customers."

Across his diverse judging portfolio, from the Global Startup Awards covering 120 countries to MIT Launch X where he's mentored high school entrepreneurs since 2017, one mistake stands out.

"Always be very clear about your Unique Selling Proposition," he stated firmly. "I've seen too many startups dilute their USP by trying to be everything to everyone."

This connects to his second critical principle. "Know your target segment. You cannot build everything for everyone. The most successful startups have laser focus on who they serve and what makes them uniquely valuable to that segment."

As a HealthTech startup judge, Dr. Mullankandy has a unique perspective on one of the sector's most challenging aspects: regulation.

"Regulatory compliance is vital in HealthTech," he stated. "It may seem like a burden, but used correctly, it can be one of your moats."

He's seen this play out repeatedly. "Startups that embrace regulatory requirements early create significant competitive advantages. If you're FDA-cleared or CE-marked, that's not just a checkbox. It's a barrier to entry for others."

When asked about competitive advantages beyond the obvious, Dr. Mullankandy shared insights from his judging work.

"Look at what Palantir did with forward deployment," he said. "They embedded their engineers directly with customers. That's a massive competitive advantage. You learn faster, iterate faster, and build stickier relationships."

Another hack: "Absorb subject matter experts from your target market segment. If you're building for healthcare, get clinicians on your team. These people bring invaluable domain knowledge that accelerates everything."

For entrepreneurs preparing to pitch at accelerators or seek funding, Dr. Mullankandy offers this framework:

First, build business innovation: something new, useful, and proprietary. Second, demonstrate willingness to pay and show traction with real customers. Third, maximize your iteration rate—bias for action beats perfection. Fourth, maintain absolute clarity on your USP and target segment. Fifth, for HealthTech startups, embrace regulatory compliance as a strategic advantage. Sixth, consider strategic hacks like forward deployment or absorbing subject matter experts.

With his medical training, business education from Boston University, and product leadership experience at companies like Elumina Health, Biofourmis, and Humana, Dr. Mullankandy brings a 360-degree perspective to HealthTech startup evaluation.

"I've been on both sides, building products and judging them," he reflected. "The startups that succeed understand that business innovation requires proprietary advantages, not just novelty. They iterate faster than competitors. They maintain laser focus on their USP and target segment. And they execute with bias for action."

For HealthTech founders specifically, he emphasizes the regulatory dimension. "Don't fear regulation. Weaponize it. Build compliance into your DNA from day one, and it becomes a competitive advantage."

As Dr. Mullankandy puts it: "Stop talking. Start doing. Iterate rapidly. Stay focused. That's how you win."