If you’re building a medical start-up, you’re probably swimming in big ideas: AI-powered diagnostics, smarter wearables, robotic everything. The vision is exciting. The pitch deck is polished. The TAM slide is… ambitious. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: none of that matters nearly as much as a working prototype. Not the concept. Not the mock

“How much is this going to cost , and how long will it take?” Every new diagnostic idea starts the same way. A founder walks into the lab with something that works. There is energy. Momentum. Belief. And then, usually within minutes, the question comes: “So… how much is this going to cost, and how long until it’s ready?” It is a fair question. But