Interview with JoanaInterview with Joana Pinto -Pinto - P. 1P

Joana Pinto is the co-founder and CEO of Clynx, a company that focuses on developing digital health solutions to track progress and improve motivation in physiotherapy. Clynx began in 2018 after Pinto earned her master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, and has since received much acclaim due to their approach of digitization and gamification in the realm of physiotherapy. In the meantime, she also conducts research regarding the topics of biosignal processing and emotion recognition at the Instituto de Telecomunicações.

1. Would you tell us about the “birth” of Clynx? How did it all begin?

Our founding team met at Junitec, the Junior Enterprise of Instituto Superior Técnico (2017-2018). Being managed by students only, Junitec gathers members from all academic fields, and the main reason for which we became a team was the fact that we shared the mission of innovating and the ambition of bringing valuable digital solutions for real-world problems. Our backgrounds in biomedical, electrical and computer engineering made us relentlessly enthusiastic about solving real problems, especially in Healthcare, through our technological and entrepreneurial skills, and that is how we committed to Clynx ’s mission: making Physiotherapy treatments a more enjoyable, digital and motivating experience.

2. When you first began University, was entrepreneurship something that interested you right away?

When I entered University, I already understood I was passionate about identifying problems, designing solutions, building strategies - but not in a structured way. I did not know that those concepts were so closely connected with being an entrepreneur. So it was not longer after I got into the University that I was much more exposed to the startups ecosystem and realised that Entrepreneurship, Business strategy and Innovation were all concepts that described what I wanted to pursue.

3. Being responsible for a start-up is a very daunting task; how did you keep motivated? In hindsight, is there anything you would do differently?

Throughout this journey me and my cofounder, Gonçalo Chambel, have learned and grown so much. If I was to co-launch Clynx again I would take in the lessons learned so far and do it slightly differently, not in the sense of doing different things but in the sense of doing them in a better, optimized way. Most importantly, even though it might sometimes be a daunting task, I am pushed by my own passion and personal mission, which is the best source of drive.

We are present in the Portuguese market, working with large private clinics and public hospitals. In the last months we have had our first international Pilot actions in Italy and Germany. Currently I am in Vienna for one month, representing Clynx in an acceleration program, Vienna Startup Package, looking forward to finding a clinical partner in Austria to pilot together. The next steps include both some initial international expansion and fundraising.

5. For the aspiring entrepreneurs out there, what would you consider to be vital to succeeding in creating and maintaining a start-up?

Firstly, build a great, talented, committed and diversified founding team - that is the basis for everything that could come afterwards. The founders should be driven by the same mission, but different in terms of their profiles, skills and strengths. Then, make sure you have a deep understanding of your company – not just your product or the problem you are addressing – really dive into how your target market works, collect insights from your stakeholders, define your business model and understand key growth variables. During the process, expand your network and try to meet and learn from the people around you, absorve the wisdom of other founders, mentors and stakeholders. Finally, plan a reasonable yet ambitious roadmap to grow your startup.

6. In relation to your role in the company, do you have a hand in the development process, or do you deal solely with running Clynx?

Abusiness and growth challenges of the company. Despite not being directly within the development processes, I am always involved in the product roadmap and its progress.

7. Would you mind telling us a bit more about your research at the Instituto de Telecomunicações?

I did my Master’s thesis, in 2018-2019, at the Instituto de Telecomunicações’s Pattern and Image Analysis group in Lisbon. Then, I continued working there for a couple of years, relying on the great support and innovative attitude of Professors Ana Fred and Hugo Silva. I have conducted research in the fields of Biosignals Processing and Emotion Recognition (c.f. research gate), participating in research projects focused in emotion recognition, in the potential of mobile devices and IoT platforms in project-based teaching, in the analysis of several physiological signals in daily applications.

8. As the company grows, I imagine it’s necessary to continuously recalibrate your work/life balance. Are there any tips you might have for us?

It is for sure that, since Clynx ’s foundation, everyday is a mix of some accomplishment and some (a lot of) challenges. It is not always amazing nor always stressful. Some challenges are larger than the others, and might range from sales frustration, operations and team issues, to financial limitations. To deal with it, it has been really important to build a great team and, on a personal level, I have learned the importance of establishing some healthy routines. In my case good sleep, quality time with friends, meditation, some sport. These help cope with the daunting task of growing a startup. Finally, as I said before, I am passionate lll