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We help healthtech innovation make a difference.

Healthtech compliance can be a huge competitive advantage for innovators— and we’re here to make it simple, accessible, and faster than ever before.

Helping world-changing healthtech innovations get to those who need them most.

In our years in the NHS ecosystem, we’ve witnessed many amazing innovations, with the potential to transform healthcare delivery for good.

But all new innovations face complex healthtech compliance requirements. This delays them from reaching those who need them most.

Our co-founder Michael Bell had 25 years of healthtech experience when he joined NHS X. During COVID, he assessed new healthtech against the NHS DAQ (the forerunner to DTAC).

He saw innovators struggle with compliance first-hand and figured there was a better way to streamline compliance processes.

He teamed up with Roxana Valea, a process improvement & technology consulting pro, to make affordable and well-targeted healthtech a reality.

Together, they built Acorn Compliance.

More life-saving healthtech in the market faster. Without the compliance drag-out.

We believe the health of tomorrow is not based on pills, it’s based on innovation.

It’s simple—

We empower healthtech innovators.
Bring their life-changing solutions to market.
Faster.
With zen-like confidence.

We want innovators to focus on breakthroughs, not bureaucracy. That’s why your innovation + our expertise = maximum patient impact.

We empower healthtech innovators bring life-changing solutions to market.
Faster. With zen-like confidence.

Meet the Team

Michael Bell
Co-Founder and CTO

25+ years of healthcare consulting experience supporting suppliers, NHS Trusts, care providers, investors and NHSX, Michael is a veteran in advising and delivering on all aspects of UK HealthTech compliance and regulation.

Roxana Valea
Co-Founder and COO

25+ years of experience as a management consultant for performance improvement and technology projects. Worked for leading technology Innovators (Apple, eBay and Sony). Roxana is a passionate entrepreneur having founded 3 startups.

Brendan Sherry
Advisor

After a career of 35 years in Global Technology including 10 years as a Senior Director with Apple, Brendan is now passionate about mentoring and investing in technology startups. 

Ahmed Soliman
Business Development

A seasoned digital and growth leader with experience in managing technology, innovation, business transformation engagements, and new business acquisitions.

Paul Littlebury
Accessibility Specialist

Quality Assurance specialist with 20+ years experience in test engineering, DevOps, exploratory testing, test management and accessibility standards.

Reb Neiman
Head of Marketing

Marketing and fundraising specialist with 5+ years of experience helping startups with marketing and social media initiatives.

Leon Stein
Compliance Analyst

A keen medical scientist with a passion for technology, Leon loves working with new projects pushing the boundaries of medicine.

Ethan Chikowore
Compliance Analyst

ISO27001 Certified Compliance Analyst with a background in IP rights, Ethan supports companies with achieving ISO compliance.

Lucy Bell
Compliance Assistant

Bright and hardworking, Lucy loves learning and developing her understanding of the digital health space while also continuing her studies.

Nafisa Islam
Compliance Assistant

Final year medical student who is passionate about medical innovation, improving patient care and supporting clinicians.

Anika Noor
Compliance Assistant

Third-year medical student with a focus on medical technology and interested in advancing medical practices and education.

Michael Bell
Co-Founder and CTO

25+ years of experience in the technology industry and healthtech startup. Worked with NHSX, NHS and various healthcare and healthtech providers. Michael specialises in Data Governance, Information security and Interoperability.

Roxana Valea
Co-Founder and COO

25+ years of experience as a management consultant for performance improvement and technology projects. Worked for leading technology Innovators (Apple, eBay and Sony). Roxana is a passionate entrepreneur having founded 3 startups.

Reb Neiman
Head of Marketing

Marketing and fundraising specialist with 5+ years of experience helping startups with marketing and social media initiatives.

Rebecca Wilson
Clinical Safety

Senior Digital Clinical Safety Officer experienced in clinical safety standards. Senior Pharmacy Technician registered with the GPHC for over 13 years.

Paul Littlebury
Accessibility Specialist

Quality Assurance specialist with 20+ years experience in test engineering, DevOps, exploratory testing, test management and quality assurance.

Leon Stein
Compliance Analyst

A keen medical scientist with a passion for technology, Leon loves working with new projects pushing the boundaries of medicine.

Ethan Chikowore
Compliance Analyst

ISO27001 Certified Compliance Analyst with a background in IP rights, Ethan supports companies with achieving ISO compliance.

Lucy Bell
Compliance Assistant

Bright and hardworking, Lucy loves learning and developing her understanding of the digital health space while also continuing her studies.

Nafisa Islam
Compliance Intern

Final year medical student who is passionate about medical innovation, improving patient care and supporting clinicians.

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Partners

Brendan Sherry
Advisor

After a career of 35 years in Global Technology including 10 years as a Senior Director with Apple, Brendan is now passionate about mentoring and investing in technology startups. 

Ahmed Soliman
Business Development

A seasoned digital and growth leader with experience in managing technology, innovation,  business transformation engagements, and new business acquisitions.

The DTAC Challenge: Our Inspiration

We’ve been here since day 1 of The NHS Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC). DTAC is a vital compliance framework that brings together key strands of existing compliance. It is the minimum baseline standard that all healthtech innovators must conform to in order to pilot their innovations with, or sell to the NHS. DTAC is not a once and done exercise either, and innovators must continuously reassess and uplift their compliance as their products and organisation evolve.

Before creating the DTAC Squirrel™, we diligently collected feedback from our existing clients, conducting user research with 100s of healthtechs to understand their biggest DTAC challenges, and what ideas may help address them.

Healthtechs needed a way to weave compliance into the fabric of their product development lifecycle from the start.

The Acorn Solution: Building the DTAC Squirrel™

Our founders knew process automation and simplification could drive a new breed of compliance service, greatly reduce the time to market for innovators, and help them navigate this path with confidence.

So we used all our expertise and years of user research to build a revolutionary product: DTAC Squirrel™.

This friendly, AI-powered coach does the heavy lifting for you. It creates your DTAC compliance documents, guides you through the entire DTAC journey, and is then backed by our compliance experts who will assure and warranty your evidence to ensure your innovation reaches the NHS quickly and safely.

Compliance shouldn't be a burden.

Our approach is to make it simple and sustainable.

We go beyond basic compliance. Instead of treating your regulatory needs as a one-time checklist, we help you build a culture of compliance within your organisation.

Here's how:

Telling you it’s not a mystery

We start by demystifying and simplifying DTAC for you. Compliance can be made clear and accessible. That’s why we’re laser-focused on automating all parts of the process that are possible to cut down time and costs for you.

Introducing you to DTAC Squirrel™, your friendly AI-Powered guide

We’ve introduced the DTAC Squirrel™ to a lot of healthtech innovators. They tell us many reasons they love it, the best being how it’s a cute little compliance partner who instantly creates gold standard evidence that would have taken you months of work.

Providing you round-the-clock expert support

With DTAC Squirrel™ you've got the industry's leading compliance  professionals at your fingertips! They'll help you with personalised advice and ensure your compliance evidence meets all requirements. We assure all of your DTAC evidence and guarnatee that your DTAC evidence file will be approved by the NHS.

Guiding you with holistic compliance

We cover all aspects of all DTAC domains: Clinical Safety, Data Protection, Technical Security, Interoperability, Usability & Accessibility. The DTAC Squirrel™ will make sure none of your compliance worries need last moment Google searches, and your products remain procurable as they evolve.

We believe in building trust and long-term partnerships.

That’s why we’ve built all our services and platforms on grounded values.

Honesty & Transparency:
We are open and upfront in our advice and services
Approachability:
We are friendly and accessible, always happy to answer your questions
Reliability:
You can count on us to deliver on our promises
Fun & Easy-Going:
We are passionate about what we do, but we believe the process can be enjoyable
Fresh & Innovative:
We are constantly seeking new ways to improve compliance solutions

What are we here to build?

A healthier future for all, powered by frictionless healthtech innovation.

We dream of a world where groundbreaking healthtech innovations are readily available to everyone. We see ourselves as partners in this journey, empowering you to make a significant impact on the healthcare landscape.

Looking  Forward:

We aspire to be the go-to resource for DTAC compliance in the world, and will soon be expanding Squirrel's capabilities to encompass other international regulations including HIPAA and MDR.

Our ultimate goal is to demystify compliance and regulation to empower the next generation of healthtech innovation, ultimately improving healthcare for all.