Creating a digital health company these days is easy. Creating one that adds value and that is scaleable is not. The process is fail it, nail it, scale and sale it and that means you have to climb the various rungs of the value building ladder. You do that by:

1. Creating product-market fit.
   
   
2. Creating a VAST business model.
   
   
3. Protecting your intellectual property, if necessary, and knowing options to monetize them.
   
   
4. Getting regulatory approval, if necessary.
   
   
5. Demonstrating a reimbursement or recurrent revenue model, like consumables, XaaS, razor-blade model, subscription, auto renewal or contract model.
   
   
6. Having positive cash flow.
   
   
7. Demonstrating that you have improved quality, lowered costs, improved access or improved the doctor and patient experience with data driven pilots or proof of concept.
   
   
8. Published your results to show that you have not only solved a technical and business problem, but a clinical problem as well.
   
   
9. Integrated your solution into legacy EMRs or information systems.
   
   
10. Overcoming the barriers to dissemination and implementation.
    
    
11. You have an exit strategy, whether you execute or not.
    
    
12. If you don't do these things, you will fail.
    
    

Putting the ladder in the right place is the first step. For example, The Market Opportunity Navigator provides a visual framework to discover, compare and prioritize different market domains and business contexts. It helps you to think about your arena, rather than your industry – a key mindset shift in today’s competitive landscape.

The Navigator walks you through a three-step process that helps you to make a more informed choice. It does so in a friendly, intuitive manner, with a visual design board and 3 worksheets to guide the process.

Climbing the value ladder will be a lot easier if you are careful to pick a spot that is not crowded. Start with getting to why.

Arlen Meyers, MD, MBA is the President and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs on Twitter@ArlenMD.