The MBS students behind health tech startup VitalsVault

Six Executive MBA students and one Part-Time student have co-founded VitalsVault, a health app removing barriers for effective treatment.

A health tech startup founded by seven Melbourne Business School students has been accepted into the Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program (AUSCEP).

VitalsVaults is an app which acts as a singular repository for an individual's medical data from X-rays to medication profiles, that they can easily access from home.

The company was created by Executive MBA students Dr Alwin Tan, a cancer surgeon, Chaitanya Talari, an enterprise systems architect, Deepak Gera, a technology leader, Kishore Madhusudanan, a cybersecurity expert, Saundarya Pathak, a program manager, Yijing Wu, a finance expert and Part-Time MBA student Florinda Frentescu, a nurse manager.

“VitalsVault came about from our need to have data in the hands of the patient,” Dr Tan said.

“Years of frustration, finding files and patient data missing or hidden away in filing cabinets.”

Having all relevant data easily accessible is critical to ensure effective and timely treatment.

“If someone goes into an emergency or falls down the street, having that information that second could potentially save that person's life,” Ms Frentescu said.

A major milestone

Ms Wu said being accepted into AUSCEP was a major milestone for the group.

The 12-month innovation program was designed to advance clinician-led transformation across Australia's healthcare workforce and is delivered in partnership by MTPConnect and Australian Society for Medical Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ASME) and supported by the Agency for Clinical Innovation, NSW Health and LaunchVic.

“This tells us the market response and is a huge encouragement for us to continue the journey,” Ms Wu said.

During the program, the VitalsVault team will learn from a world-class clinical entrepreneurship team how to progress their startup for maximum impact.

Connecting with entrepreneurial spirits

Dr Tan said the EMBA program was life-changing and thanked the MBS faculty for their support and the frameworks and tools to turn their idea into reality.

"The best thing that I've taken away from the MBA program is this connection that we've made with our cohorts, which will give us friendship of a lifetime."

Ms Pathak described the founders of VitalsVault as a bunch of misfits from different backgrounds and talented in their own sectors.

“The MBA program has given us the network, the knowledge and this cohort we have,” she said.

“It does make you more mature in your approach and opens so many new perspectives. I think that’s what we need in this generation to take new ideas into the world.”

The VitalsVault team will now finalise their prototype and work with test users across hospitals, the military, nursing homes, ambulance services and emergency departments.

“We will talk to them and get their feedback to fine tune our platform to make it as good as it can be before we roll it out hopefully next year,” Dr Tan said.  

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