The Backstory

Aakash Rai built MediTask to fix a problem he had experienced from both sides. As a medical student, he spent hours hunting for clinical skills to practise on the wards, and as a resident doctor he could never find students when he had a procedure to teach. MediTask closes that gap with a mobile app that notifies nearby students the moment a clinical skill becomes available.

The product was lean, purposeful, and low-risk. But getting it into hospitals meant getting DTAC done, and the quotes coming back were far beyond what a bootstrapped two-person team could absorb. Through Acorn's Innovation Fund and the Squirrel™ automated compliance platform, MediTask reached full DTAC compliance and now walks into conversations with NHS trusts and universities with a complete evidence pack in hand.

About MediTask

MediTask is a digital health startup connecting medical students with clinical learning opportunities in real time. Its mobile app notifies nearby students when a clinical skill becomes available on the ward, helping students build experience while giving busy clinicians an easier way to teach. 

The Challenge: A Big Hill on a Small Budget

Aakash never saw DTAC as red tape. He understood that building compliance from the start would make MediTask a better, safer product over the long run. The problem was not willingness, it was access. Three things stood between MediTask and  DTAC compliance:

• The cost barrier: Running on grants as a bootstrapped startup, every quote Aakash received came back, in his words, "eye-wateringly expensive." Legal support, penetration testing, and data privacy guidance stacked up quickly, and none of it pointed to an affordable path forward.
• The knowledge gap: Aakash is a doctor, not a compliance specialist. Data security, DPIAs, and technical evidence sat well outside his training. He attempted a DPIA himself and spent a considerable amount of time simply reaching a baseline understanding, and even then, he was not confident he had it right.
• The two-person team: With only Aakash and one colleague running everything, there was no dedicated compliance resource. Compliance kept slipping behind more urgent product work. He knew it mattered, but he needed a structured way to make steady, consistent progress.

The Solution: The Innovation Fund and Squirrel™

Aakash first saw Squirrel™ demonstrated live on the Propel Healthtech programme in Leeds. Watching the platform break DTAC into clear, manageable sections turned something that had felt overwhelming into something achievable, and winning Acorn's Innovation Fund then removed the final barrier of cost.

• Squirrel™: A structured compliance system replaced the scattered, start-from-scratch approach. Each section of DTAC was laid out clearly, with tasks, progress tracking, and all documentation held in one place. As Aakash completed each task, the progress bar moved forward, a simple but motivating way to keep momentum going.
• Expert support on demand: Rather than spending hours searching for answers, Aakash could ask the Acorn team directly. Specialists answered his questions on data protection, DPIAs, and technical security with clear, timely guidance. For a founder working outside his own field, that access was the difference between guessing and getting it right.
• Assured, not just automated: Every output Aakash produced in the platform was reviewed by Acorn's in-house compliance experts and backed by the compliance warranty, so he could be confident the evidence would hold up under NHS review rather than hoping it would.
• Innovation Fund access: Acorn's Innovation Fund exists for early-stage healthtech startups where compliance costs would otherwise be out of reach. For MediTask, it made DTAC not just possible, but thorough.

The Results

MediTask achieved full DTAC compliance, and came away confident it can stay compliant through every future stage of development.

• Task management — 10/10: The Kanban board gave Aakash a clear view of what was done and what remained, turning a daunting framework into a series of completable steps.
• Document management — 8/10: All compliance documentation stored and organised in one auditable location.
• Customer support — 10/10: Responsive, patient, and genuinely expert. "The team has been super helpful, super supportive, and super patient."

MediTask can now approach NHS trusts and universities with a full folder of compliance documentation in hand, ready well before anyone thinks to ask for it, because Aakash chose to get it right early. 

Client Testimonial

"Being selected as an Innovation Fund winner was game-changing for me. It allowed us to make considerable strides in DTAC compliance, and it allowed us now to work with NHS trusts and hospitals with reassurance from both sides that we are compliant with key regulatory frameworks."

— Aakash Rai, Founder, MediTask

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Getting DTAC Right, Early

MediTask's story shows what becomes possible when compliance is treated as a foundation rather than a final hurdle, and Squirrel™ gives you the same structured path through DTAC, DCB0129, or DSPT, with every output assured by our in-house experts and backed by our compliance warranty. 

If you want your compliance evidence ready before anyone thinks to ask for it, let's talk about where you are on your journey.

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