Episode SHOWNOTES and interview summary on: http://behindthestory.be/podcast/episode10
This podcast episode is part of a new series, "Talking To Jane", in partnership with Start it @KBC, a Startup Incubator with the largest Startup Community in Belgium.
In this series, Jane interviews entrepreneurs of Tech Startups, put forward by Start it@KBC. You will hear their inspiring journey's and the role of incubators to start and grow their business.
Here is what is shared and discussed in this episode:
Links and Resources:
- Tim’s company and Social Media Links:
- https://www.epihunter.com/
- LinkedIn
- Facebook
- Tim can be contacted through:
- Epihunter website contact form
- Email: [email protected]
- International Day of Epilepsy, 12 February 2018 – https://epilepsy.org/ This day Epihunter starts it’s crowdfunding campaign
- About Absence seizure
- About Convulsive seizure
- Imec.istart – Business Accelerator Program set up to support tech start-ups with coaching, facilities and funding
- International League Against Epilepsy
For more:
- Right-click here and save as to download this episode to your computer
- You can find the shownotes to this episode on: http://behindthestory.be/podcast/episode10
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The interview:
Tim Buckinx is Founder and CEO Epihunter.
He previously was Product Manager with Joyn and Digital Technology Marketing Manager with BOSE.
At 44 years old, he has just started his own company, Epihunter, to pursue his life’s goal: Developing technology that will improve the lives of patients with epilepsy. And he has a big vision.
He doesn’t come from an entrepreneurial family. His parents were in education. But during his career he was fortunate to do very interesting activities and he had some big opportunities. It all prepared him for his current big entrepreneurial journey.
Tim himself has a chronic blood disease, and needed to be very resourceful with his work schedule and job choices, often needing to find time for medical appointments. But he always had a mindset that everything is achievable, privately and professionally.
While every year, hundreds of students go into the job market in Belgium, he wanted to stand out in the crowd early on. So he was attentive and alert, always looking for opportunities, observing the needs of his environment. His goal has always been to make an impact.
Marketing is an enabler for impact, he believes, because you can see results from it immediately. And Tim is interested in bringing the message.
He started in B2B Marketing, selling cardboard boxes through catalog. He learned that things didn’t have to be beautiful to sell. Don’t look for perfection, look for what is needed.
Then the internet came, which really triggered him. He got to work for a clothing manufacturer. It was inspiring, because it was an old fashioned brand that used internet to bring clothes to all parts of the world. Then he moved on to other companies. Until he got a job at BOSE. He was the 4th member of BOSE at that time, and in no-time, he helped grow that team to 60 people.
Sales and Marketing, making the bridge between the technical side of things and the needs of the organization, became his specialty. With his team, he also noticed they needed to change the structure of the team, when more countries were added. So he started to adopt Agile working, before people even had heard of Agile. Because of their successful work, they were invited by corporate to roll-out the concept company-wide, for a new platform for BOSE globally. Tim was in his element. During the 3 years that followed, working with new cultures, his career sky-rocketed. He made it to management positions.
Then suddenly his life changed. His son got epilepsy at the age of six (his son today is 13). His wife immediately saw it was serious when their son started to tremble one morning at the kitchen table.
Various neurological tests were done. It was a roller-coaster period to find the right medication. Tim started to do all kinds of researches himself and looked for solutions with experts and specialists, because not all epilepsies are the same.
There are convulsive seizures (gros mals) and non-convulsive seizures (petit mals or absence seizures).
His son, Daan, started with convulsive seizures, but thanks to medication, they stopped. But his seizures themselves didn’t go away. Daan now suffers from absence seizures. It looks like he is absent. It’s silent.
An estimated 65 million people in the world are living with epilepsy today. 30% can’t even be helped through medication. And 15% suffer from absence seizures.
His son goes to a Special Needs school. And there isn’t a system or service to bring your kid to that school. He and his wife had to arrange all that themselves with supportive friends.
Therefore it is not easy having his own business, because you don’t have access to affordable health insurance, e.g. And getting paid while he is starting his company is not easy. Especially with a special needs child, this is a big worry. And there is his own disease. Tim has a Blood disease and needs to really work around hospital appointments and rest periods after some hours of work. Often he’s spending half a day on his laptop working for his company, in the hospital’s waiting room.
It is difficult to find peers who have the same experiences. But there are Social Media groups that are very supportive, like some closed Facebook groups. Tim joins those groups.
It’s an added value, because you get supportive advice when you have a real question or situation. Secondly, you can openly talk about medication, and how parents support themselves. And thirdly, you share the same difficult situation and challenges. People in your environment often don’t believe you. Schools face many challenges, because of more and more neurological issues, like ADHD and autism.
The main issue with absence seizures is that it’s difficult to notice. Teachers have many children in the classroom with their own specific ‘issues’. But when his son, Daan, noticed that his teachers got irritated because they hadn’t noticed his seizures, and were tired of re-explaining things, he often felt misunderstood.
One evening his son asked him: “Daddy, you work in digital. Can’t you invent a light that turns on when my brain switches off?”
It was painful for Tim to his son struggle like that. A couple of weeks later, he saw a YouTube video on EEG headsets.
That was a turning point and moment of epiphany. He saw it could be possible to realize what his son had asked him!
Since then, Tim doesn’t believe in coincidencec anymore! He started his company not by coincidence!
For the last 2 years he has worked on his solution, deep diving into EEG technology, speaking to parents, medical specialists, and organizations.
After that YouTube video, he got inspired, using the same technology as basis for his solution, to turn on a light when a patient has his seizure. And the data that is captured from seizures, can be used to improve our knowledge, and make better solutions.
The solution itself provides added value. A child knows the teachers are not angry anymore. Teachers now can immediately be triggered to respond adequately. And once it is known to the larger public, people on the streets will recognize a patient and offer help when needed.
The technology is built on a cloud platform, using a smartphone app. The program runs algorithms that trigger a flash light on a headset to turn on on the exact moment. And these are modern looking headsets! Kind of cool, even!
The solution can help patients feel more integrated, their environment becomes more understanding. Having a few seizures could even become OK and acceptable!
He believes you have to create opportunities in order to create new opportunities. Like he said, coincidences don’t exist, because soon after his discovery, he participated in a Hackaton about epilepsy. He did not win, but UCB was interested in helping with the idea.
He got support from UCB and Accenture Digital at the start to see how he could build a company out of this, looking at it from a user, business, and technology perspective. Not easy, but possible, they said.
From that moment, he got triggered to surround him with good people. And in that mindset, the first thing you have to do in Belgium, is pitch at Startit @KBC, the biggest Startup Incubator and startup community in Belgium. He went from doing his programming and research in his own home, to having proper meeting rooms and office facilities, where he received more coaching, services and got in touch with potential co-founders.
In may 2017, he founded the company, with Niki Driessen, who was Lead Architect at BOSE. Dirk Loeckx, joined as the Chief Science Officer.
End of summer 2017, he pitched in front of Imec.istart, and he got the first funding to pay the first freelancers, purchased headsets, and do testing. They built the platform and features with a team for a proof of concept. And they started testing the solution with the first 9 families.
And currently (February 2017), Epihunter runs it’s Indigogo campaign, that started on 12 February 2018, on International Day Of Epilepsy. This will run for 40 days. During this campaign, Epihunter sells the yearly subscription and headsets. The participants need only to have a cheep smartphone. The headset costs €300,- The yearly subscription is €399,-
€25,000 is the minimum to raise in this campaign. More is well possible and it will speed up things. Epihunter will also make funds available to families who cannot afford the solution. Allocation of the funds will be done via the International League Against Epilepsy in the various countries.
Also on 12 February, the Win Winner campaign, will be launched too, where individuals/Angel investors can help invest as well. All this including the capital round should raise the required €500,000,-
On 1st April, Epihunter will ship the first versions. Features will be improved as they go.
He talks to many hospitals, universities an companies. He gets much interest already internationally. His solution will go global!
We live in the era where digital technology can do for people what glasses did for people with poor eyesight in 13th century, is what Tim believes. What he does is all related to helping people with epilepsy lead a better life, and support their environment.
On failure, he says that he tries to make as many mistakes as possible. It makes sure he doesn’t overthink things. Thinking holistically about something and move on it. Situations change constantly, you always have to adapt. If you don’t act immediately, you miss out on the learning and the growing. If you start in the unknown, the unknown becomes known and then you can make and finish your plans.
And on his entrepreneurship, he says he will never go back to the feeling of an employee. And to the feeling that your current job is the best you can do. His mantra is: Do it now and not later! Later, it will get more difficult and more complicated. It is almost like having a baby. There is no perfect moment for it, and that makes every moment a perfect moment!
He has a pile of books to read still, because he hasn’t got time these days. Instead he watches inspiring YouTube video’s and Ted talks, and he reads presentations and reports. When his pile diminishes, then he knows, he’s got a bit more free time!
His son Daan couldn’t be more proud of his father!
ENJOY THE INTERVIEW!
