Smart Lollipop, the 'candy' that detects diseases and avoids needles

Surely one of the most common fears among children ---and also many adults--- are needles. If we add to this that apprehension to blood is also relatively common, it is evident that venipunctures are an unpleasant process for many people. But what if this bad experience could be avoided, at least, on some occasions?

With this objective, The Smart Lollipop was born, a startup from Girona whose origins lie in a master's student project that in 2020 crystallized into the constitution of a company. "We seek to improve the patient experience and replace, when possible, an intrusive diagnostic test such as a blood test with one that is not and does not cause discomfort. In parallel, we also save time for professionals, since the test results are available in about 10 minutes," explains Diana Ballart, CEO and co-founder of The Smart Lollipop.

To develop its project, The Smart Lollipop has had the support of ACCIÓ, the agency for business competitiveness of the Generalitat de Catalunya, which has granted them 75,000 euros from the Startup Capital line for technology development. This program is aimed at emerging technological startups that need funding to carry out the initial phases of the business, develop their product or service, and validate the business model to reach the market. Startup Capital is channeled through direct aid of up to 100,000 euros that can cover justifiable expenses such as personnel, investment in materials and equipment, rental of spaces, or development of communication strategies, among others.

In addition, ACCIÓ also granted The Smart Lollipop the Tecniospring Industry aid, which has financed the hiring of a researcher for two years to boost research in the field of saliva. Tecniospring is an international talent program by ACCIÓ that offers companies and technology centers the opportunity to develop transformative projects through the hiring of qualified R&D personnel. In its different stages since 2013, the program has had a total budget of 29 million euros and has allowed the hiring of nearly 200 researchers of 35 nationalities by 150 companies.

The solution developed by this startup consists of a device shaped like a round lollipop that is capable of detecting diseases upon contact with saliva. The company has developed both the lollipop, the digital platform where the data is displayed, and the biosensor that detects the disease in question.

"Being from outside Barcelona has helped us gain more notoriety when it comes to attracting investment," says the CEO of the 'startup' that has raised 320,000 euros

The Smart Lollipop has received support from public and private investors. In addition to having the support of ACCIÓ, the startup closed a 320,000 euro round in September 2022, which is being used to initiate the necessary regulatory procedures to test and fully develop the prototype. The investment, led by Ship2B Ventures, also included the participation of EconomistesBAN (the angel investor network of the College of Economists of Catalonia), Lavanda Ventures (the venture capital arm of the Puig family), the impact investor network of the Ship2B Foundation, and Business Angels Girona (BAGi).

Professional and business pivoting

The Smart Lollipop originated from the winning idea of the iFest Dream Big Challenge of Catalunya Emprèn and, subsequently, its business model began to take shape after going through the Imagine Creativity Center accelerator. After this process, in 2020, Diana Ballart added co-founders ---Roger Garcia and Lorena Toda--- to the project, and the company was incorporated. Throughout this time, the emerging company, like practically all startups, has had to pivot its business model.

"It is true that we remain faithful to the initial idea, which was none other than diagnosing through saliva, but the technology we have ended up developing has nothing to do with what we had imagined at first," says Ballart. "Our intention ---continues the CEO of The Smart Lollipop--- was to use the lollipop to diagnose diseases in developing countries, but we realized that before taking this step, we had to start with local diseases and large markets." For now, the device detects hypercholesterolemia and celiac disease, and looking ahead, the company's goal is to expand the diseases it can diagnose through saliva tests.

Just as The Smart Lollipop's business model pivoted, so did its founder's professional career. "I had studied advertising, and from there I also became interested in innovation and applied for the iFest Dream Big Challenge. And this path is what has led me here," she recounts.

Entrepreneurship beyond Barcelona

It is a fact that the great success stories of Catalan startups are concentrated in Barcelona. But this does not mean that the rest of the territory is not conducive to entrepreneurship. "In our experience, being from outside Barcelona has even helped us gain more notoriety when it comes to attracting investment. Furthermore, the first two people we hired in the company have moved to live in Girona, which is a sign that talent can also be attracted from this city," says Ballart.

The CEO of The Smart Lollipop also highlights the advances being made in the health and technology sector of the region, which have resulted in the recent creation of the Xarxa d'Innovació en Salut de les Comarques Gironines. "Being small will allow us to be better connected," Ballart predicts.

Rising investment in health 'startups'

At a time when investment in startups is far from the historical highs recorded after the pandemic, emerging companies in the health sector have proven to be a positive exception. According to Biocat's BioRegion Report 2022, last year these types of companies received 445 million euros in funding in Catalonia. This represents an 87% increase over the previous year, when 238 million were raised, which at the time was a historical record. Even excluding the capital increase of more than 100 million led by Impress ---which to some extent could distort the year's data--- the figure is still significantly higher.