How I made it: Jim Joyce

Two years later, he spotted a business opportunity.

“I could see from my work that the new medicines for everything from rheumatoid arthritis to Crohn’s disease were going to be high-tech, sophisticated medications delivered intravenously over set periods of time,” he said.

“These were medications for patients who would need ongoing care in terms of IV [intravenous therapy] or injections. And they were all going to be prescribed out of hospitals.”

But that’s not what was happening in North America. Over there, patients were getting their initial treatment and their prescription in hospital, but then they received any further treatment in the community.

Joyce imported the concept — and his timing was excellent.

“Ireland’s acute hospitals were so strained and, though a lot of physical infrastructure was going up, I didn’t see services being developed to take specialised treatments out to the community,” he said.

“I thought there was a business in it. Pretty much every western health system was trying to get patients out of hospitals, while that problem was only going to get worse as these new medications came on stream.”

The patients affected are those Joyce terms the “chronically well” — people who have an underlying condition but are otherwise well. “That’s the cohort we went after and the concept was to provide them with less expensive care,” said Joyce.

He left Schering-Plough and raised €500,000 in angel-investor seed funding. “It wasn’t easy,” he said. “I had to knock on a lot of doors, but the key to raising money is being able to show you can do the job. In that sense, my career history helped.”

After securing funds, he hired two nurses and began renting space in medical clinics, providing IV services. The capital costs were low. “All we needed was a chair and a refrigerator,” he said.

The working costs were high, however. “Very quickly we were up to 10 full-time nurse equivalents and that takes a lot of cash. At the same time, what we were doing was so new here that it took time to educate the market.

“We had to talk to hospitals and insurance companies and GPs. When you are setting up as a private health service provider, you really have to offer a distinct value for the patient.”

The main benefit for the patients is the ability to have their medication administered at a centre close to home.

There are benefits for the payer too, whether that is the health service, insurer or patient. Joyce reckons the cost of using Point of Care is up to 40% lower than going to hospital.

Point of Care has its headquarters in Dublin and has 10 centres across Ireland, but it plans to double that number.

Last year was its first full year of operation and it had revenues of €1m. The company is on track to double that and make its first profit this year.

The next stage is to enter the UK market. “The National Health Service interacts with private providers much more than is the norm here,” he said. “They are pushing care into the community much more aggressively in the UK.”

Joyce is optimistic about the future — indeed, he is optimistic by nature. This is most likely the reason for his biggest mistake to date.

“The idea was right, but I underestimated just how long it would take to get the product off the ground,” he said. “My advice to other start-ups is to keep your costs as tight as possible to allow your cash to see you through to a point where you gain traction.”

Don’t be afraid to ask for advice either. “You have to be able to ask for help. You need to be humble enough to ask for people’s opinion, but balance that with your own determination.”

Joyce also believes the recession makes for a better investment environment than the boom.

“The entrepreneurial landscape has improved with the downturn. I’ve raised money in all climates and, while it is always hard, costs have come right down for anyone starting a business and investors value entrepreneurship more.

“If you have the right idea and track record — the money is out there.”