Preparing for Q4 in HealthTech: From Surviving to Scaling

There's a freshness to Autumn, that is similar to Spring. Over summer, I’ve been speaking to a lot of HealthTech founders and found similarities across the conversations, that paves the way for preparation, and a stronger, intentional Q4.

“We’ve survived the shakeout. But how do we scale from here?”

This is the question that matters.

2025 has been a paradoxical year. Digital health is surging in interest and policy recognition, but securing partnerships, proving ROI, and breaking through interoperability logjams feels harder than ever. Even AI, for all the hype, is facing a reckoning.

If Q1 to Q3 was about testing resilience, Q4 needs to be about intentional scale.

Here’s what I’m seeing across the founders I work with at Well Purposed, and how the next quarter could define the coming years.

We’re Past the Gold Rush. What Comes Next?

The AI “gold rush” is officially over. According to Nelson Advisors, we’ve shifted from a volume play to a value one. In the first half of 2025:

• The number of VC deals dropped from 273 to 245,

• But average cheque size increased to $26.1m,

• And AI-enabled companies claimed 62% of digital health funding.

This tells us two things:

1. Investors are consolidating around proven, clinically-anchored, workflow-integrated solutions.

2. "Owning a workflow" is more important than ever, particularly for startups selling into NHS and enterprise buyers.

If you’re building a digital diagnostic, remote monitoring tool, or AI-powered decision support solution: the burden is no longer proof-of-concept. It’s integration, interoperability, and economic impact.

Founders must shift their mindset from "raising to survive" to "partnering to scale."

UK-Specific Insight – A System Ready to Scale, But Stuck

The Startup Coalition’s inaugural HealthTech Index 2025 paints a bullish picture:

• £32B in total HealthTech company valuation

• £27.4B in equity raised across 2,859 startups

• 168 exits vs. 61 failures

But scratch the surface and a deeper truth emerges:

• Digital health only accounted for 95 of these startups

• AI & data analytics raised just £1B compared to £11.9B in biopharma

• Policy remains the bottleneck

In short: We have innovation. We have funding. But we don’t yet have the structural levers for scale.

NHS procurement is both the biggest barrier and the biggest opportunity.

In Q4, founders should be planning now for how to build partnerships with integrated care systems, get on procurement frameworks, and align with the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan and new MedTech Strategy. The system wants what you’ve built. But you have to translate it into their language.

Four Strategic Priorities for Q4 (and Beyond)

Based on 5 major industry reports and the work I do at Well Purposed, here are four strategic imperatives that matter now more than ever:

1. Interoperability Is No Longer Optional

91% of healthcare executives cite interoperability as a critical barrier, but 59% still say it’s “tough but manageable”. This is the year that interoperability becomes a competitive advantage.

Whether it’s NHS integration, partnerships with Cerner, or even just consistent APIs, HealthTech founders must prove they speak the language of systems.

Ask yourself:

🔍 Can your product be integrated within 30 days?

🔍 Are you part of a broader platform ecosystem (or building one)?

🔍 Have you roadmapped interoperability as part of your GTM strategy?

2. Proof of ROI Must Be Quantified, Not Theorised

Health systems aren’t buying “potential” anymore. They want numbers.

Startups like Abridge and Arintra are securing deals not because their AI is best-in-class, but because they deliver:

• 5.1% revenue uplift

• 43% reduction in claim denials

• 2 hours saved per clinician per day

In Q4, founders should prioritise:

• Real-world evidence generation

• Independent economic analysis

• Reimbursement pathway mapping (especially for RPM and preventative models)

3. The Founder-Market-Regulatory Fit Trinity

HealthTech isn’t SaaS. The Nelson Advisors report outlines a new playbook:

Success = Founder-Market Fit + Product-Market Fit + Regulatory-Market Fit

You need:

• Deep lived experience or clinical context (not just a good idea)

• A solution validated for all stakeholders (patients, providers, payers)

• An agile regulatory pathway strategy baked into your product design

Q4 is the moment to tighten the triangle. If one part is weak, it will collapse under the weight of real-world complexity.

4. Platforms Will Win. Point Solutions Will Struggle.

The best-performing startups of 2025 are not consumer wellness apps. They’re integrated digital health platforms like Omron, Cleerly, Huma and Ochsner that deliver:

• Longitudinal care journeys

• Interoperability

• Business models aligned to value-based care

As the App Platform Data AI report shows, the market is moving toward end-to-end delivery ecosystems, not isolated features.

Founders must ask themselves:

“How can I deliver measurable value across the patient, provider, and payer journey, not just one moment in time?”

My Personal Take – What Founders Should Do in Q4

If you’re leading a Series A+ HealthTech company, here’s what I recommend doing between now and December:

1. Audit Your Regulatory-Commercial Strategy

2. Build with Procurement in Mind

3. Start Partnering, Not Pitching

4. Embrace Strategic Comms

Final Thought: Q4 Is a Test of Maturity, Not Just Momentum

Digital health is no longer in its infancy. But the path ahead requires a shift in energy. Less hype. More structure. Less build-fast-and-break-things. More build-bold-and-validate-early.

At Well Purposed, I support founders who are ready to scale with integrity, to build partnerships that matter, to earn the trust of health systems, and to turn technical excellence into systemic value.

Q4 isn’t a sprint. It’s a systems-building moment. Let’s get it right.

PS: If you’re a HealthTech founder looking to refine your scale strategy, tighten your story, or partner with the NHS, I’m opening a few founder strategy sessions for Q4. DM me on LinkedIn or book some time here.