Discover.
Find who has the problem and who controls the budget. Competitive landscape, problem and solution fit, and a mapped list of the stakeholders who matter.
HealthTech Customer Discovery and Business Development
Know who will buy before you try to sell.
I interview the health system executives, value analysis committees, physicians, payers, pharma teams, and employers your product depends on. You learn whether it fits their needs, and the conversations that go well become your first pipeline.
The problem
Great HealthTech gets stuck at the buyer.
Healthcare buys by committee. Executives, clinicians, procurement, and payers each weigh value differently, and a yes from one rarely means a yes from all. Most founders learn this after they've hired a sales team that is pitching the wrong person with the wrong story.
What I do
Validate.
Test fit through structured interviews with real buyers. Evidence on product-market fit, value proposition, pricing signals, and potential partners.
Convert.
Turn interest into pipeline. Warm introductions, pilot conversations, and a customer acquisition roadmap your team can run.
Who I talk to
Health system executives
Strategic priorities and budget authority.
Value analysis committees
The evidence and cost bar you must clear.
Physicians and clinicians
Workflow fit and adoption friction.
Payers
Coverage and reimbursement realities.
Pharma
Partnership and pilot potential.
Employers
What benefits buyers actually pay for.
Discovery vs. market research
Customer discovery
Will these specific people buy? Why? At what price?
Specific decision-makers in your ecosystem.
Output: actionable, focused next steps.
Traditional market research
How big is the market? Is it growing? Who competes today?
Whoever answers the survey.
Output: a review of the status quo.
Real conversations with real decision-makers, not a survey of whoever answers.
How it works
A 6 to 8 week engagement with a weekly rhythm.
01
Weeks 1 and 2
Map the stakeholders, build the target list, and refine the interview guide.
02
Weeks 3 through 6
Run interviews, with weekly synthesis and course correction.
03
Weeks 7 and 8
Deliver the findings report, a prioritized next-adopter list, and warm handoffs.
The weekly loop is plan, interview, synthesize, review, adjust. When discovery uncovers real buyers, the engagement can extend into business development.
What you get
Ecosystem map and target list
Interview recordings and summaries
Findings report ready for your leadership team and investors
Prioritized next-adopter list with warm introductions
Proof
170+
Projects completed
90+
Clients served
10,000+
Experts in the network
Since 2013.
Featured case study
From discovery to a pharma pilot.
An early-stage HealthTech startup engaged The SearchLite to test fit with pharma buyers. The discovery interviews led directly to a pilot with a top-5 global pharma company.
“The SearchLite identified several customer segments that we had not considered. In a couple of cases, they also drilled down to uncover insights relative to industry practices that are relevant to new product commercialization.”
Dr. Patrick Hines
Functional Fluidics
“I was very impressed with the contacts provided by The SearchLite and their positions of influence within Value Analysis Teams as well as their insights on what type of product value is needed to achieve commercialization.”
Gordon Maniere
Advanced Amputee Solutions
“The SearchLite uncovered novel applications for the patented flow cytometry technology that could facilitate early market entry, early revenue generation and new avenues for growth.”
Scott Olson
Managing Director, U-M Pediatric Device Consortium
About
Gautam Rajpal, PhD
Founder, The SearchLite
Connect on LinkedInGautam holds a PhD in Cell Biology from the University of Michigan and did his undergraduate work at Penn. He spent about a decade in oncology across management consulting and biotech before founding The SearchLite in 2013.
Every engagement is led by me, backed by a network of 10,000+ industry and subject matter experts.
Who it's for
Built for funded HealthTech startups.
Digital health, medtech, and diagnostics companies taking a product to health systems, payers, pharma, or employers, and wanting evidence before scaling sales.