Lean Entries turns local businesses into success stories

Lean Entries is a company that helps health tech companies turn industry regulations into competitive advantage and bring innovation to the global healthcare market in minimum time. The combination of digital service and training created by the company also scales internationally, as the challenges are identical everywhere.

“Our company is based on the idea that health technology innovations need to be used more effectively in healthcare”, says Lean Entries CEO and Founder Heikki Pitkänen. According to him, the requirements of the industry are a significant challenge for new manufacturers and subcontractors. “Too many focus on regulations and standards only at the product development stage, although in order to ensure effective market access, it would be paramount to agilely take into account the wisdom gathered in them from the outset of innovation.”

International pioneer in the industry

The spearhead of the company is a digital service called Entries. An essential part of the company’s know-how has been transferred to the manufacturers of the industry in a minute format. In addition, Lean Entries provides effective training on the basics of regulations for industry communities. On this basis, community startups, university researchers or healthcare professionals developing solutions are able to ask for specific help with their topical challenges, which are addressed in bilateral sessions.

“Our digital service Entries supports the entire information transmission chain and our customers win months and security right from the start of product development”, Pitkänen summarizes. “The service and training are paid for by a community that has an interest in turning local health tech businesses into success stories. The service concept crystallized in the Nordic countries and our digital edge make us an international pioneer in the industry, as the challenges are the same everywhere.”

Lean Entries also replicates the same concept in the pharmaceutical industry, where international giants are familiar with global pharmaceutical legislation but face the health tech industry regulations for the first time when designing new digital healthcare services. “We are shoving these newcomers, startups and giants on a steep learning curve. In this way, they can utilize regulations and standards efficiently from the beginning and understand how they turn into business strength,” Pitkänen says. “We then continue to serve and train these teams with quality system, product development and marketing authorizations, and ensure that know-how in meeting industry requirements is quickly transferred to the customer.”

Piloting of the Entries platform and development for other organizations’ internal processes is also underway. As the strength of Entries, Pitkänen describes its logic that can be used to organize even challenging data entities in a minute format. Herein lies the potential of platform economy and the opportunity to offer a helping hand in managing epidemics, for example.

Startup feels comfortable in Tampere

Lean Entries receives feedback from its customers that the transferred know-how is very valuable to the industry startups. The information is presented in a user-friendly format and the communities’ investment in the service concept pays for itself in a short time.

“Selling a service and growing a business still requires patience. The health tech industry is conservative and regulations are intrusive, so our job is to first open up the size of the missed opportunity, after which we can focus on the added value that our concept brings to communities and companies”, Pitkänen describes.

The Tampere startup community receives praise from Pitkänen, but the city itself is basically a functional environment for growth companies and new ideas. “Tampere is a perfectly cosy city, but large and central enough”, he sums up. “Suitable variety, experiences and fast connections to the world are available. The startup feels comfortable here for the same reasons. In addition, the community is hosting major events to facilitate networking and entrepreneurship.”

Pitkänen’s tip for startup entrepreneurs in the area is concise: “Read. Like regulations and standards, startup and business literature is full of experiences and wisdom of those who have run businesses in the past. They are valuable since the establishment of a company. Share these and your own experiences diligently and openly with other startups, and everyone will save a significant amount of work.”

Building Tampere’s startup ecosystem together

6Aika – Ecosystems of growth: enabling the growth of companies through collaboration of the Kuutoskaupungit cities

The project supports the access of growth-oriented companies to suitable networks and services supporting research and product development activity. The project is implemented by the six biggest cities in Finland: Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Tampere, Turku and Oulu, and the Council of Tampere Region. The project is based on the idea of the cities’ active role in supporting the innovation activities of companies and the related support networks.