Trust Your Gut: A Tech Startup Journey with Zonova Technologies

In this episode of Tech Startup Stories, Natalie Binns speaks with Dr. Georgia Fleet, founder and CEO of Zonova Technologies, about the journey of building a medtech company focused on tackling one of healthcare's most overlooked challenges: hospital-acquired infections.

Fresh from announcing a successful seed funding round, Georgia reflects on the realities of fundraising in a challenging market, the transition from scientific research to startup leadership, and the mission driving Zonova's work to improve patient outcomes around the world.

Listen to the Podcast: Available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Solving a Problem Hidden Within Healthcare

Most people rarely think about medical devices when they enter a hospital. The focus is naturally on treatments, medications, and recovery. Yet many hospital-acquired infections originate from the devices used to deliver care.

For Georgia, this problem became impossible to ignore during her PhD research into antimicrobial materials. While studying ventilator-associated pneumonia, she became increasingly fascinated by how bacteria colonise medical device surfaces and contribute to serious infections.

The challenge was significant. Around one in ten patients acquire an infection during a hospital stay, and many of these infections are linked to medical devices such as catheters, IV lines, and implants.

Rather than accepting this as an unavoidable risk, Georgia became determined to find a scalable solution.

Turning Research into a Commercial Opportunity

Although her doctoral research demonstrated that antimicrobial technologies could reduce infections, Georgia quickly realised that the original approach was not commercially viable. The materials were expensive, difficult to manufacture, and unlikely to be adopted at scale.

Instead of abandoning the problem, she began searching for a more practical solution. The result was Zonova Technologies' antimicrobial additive, which can be integrated directly into existing manufacturing processes.

The technology allows medical devices to retain their existing functionality while adding antimicrobial protection designed to prevent bacterial growth on device surfaces.

Importantly, it does this without requiring hospitals or manufacturers to dramatically change the way they already operate.

Building a Startup from a Spare Bedroom

Like many founders, Georgia's startup journey began with limited resources and a great deal of determination.

The first year and a half of Zonova Technologies was built from a spare bedroom while she balanced multiple part-time jobs to support herself financially.

During this period, advisors, early supporters, and investors became a crucial part of the company's development. Relationships formed through organisations such as Angel Academy and Animal Health Angels eventually evolved into long-term support, guidance, and governance.

Georgia also credits her co-founder, Carla Southworth, whose background in NHS healthcare project management brought valuable operational and clinical insight to the business. Together, they built the foundations of a company designed for both impact and scale.

The Reality of Raising Investment

One of the dominant themes throughout the conversation is fundraising. For Georgia, securing the recent seed round was far from straightforward. The process lasted many months and required constant pitching, due diligence, and resilience.

She describes fundraising as feeling like a continuous cycle of interviews and examinations, where every conversation requires founders to defend, explain, and justify every aspect of the business.

There were also difficult moments along the way. Georgia openly shares an experience with a potential investor that left her questioning the process entirely, highlighting some of the additional challenges female founders can still face within investment environments.

Despite these setbacks, she remained focused on finding investors who genuinely aligned with Zonova's mission and long-term vision, that persistence ultimately paid off.

Moving from Research to Commercialisation

With funding now secured, the company's focus is shifting towards commercial execution.

Zonova Technologies operates through a licensing model, partnering with manufacturers to integrate its technology into existing product lines rather than producing devices itself. This approach allows the company to maximise both scale and impact while leveraging established manufacturing and distribution networks.

Over the next year, the team will focus on advancing commercial partnerships, supporting product development, expanding laboratory capabilities, and progressing towards its first revenue-generating agreements.

For Georgia, this next stage represents the transition from building foundations to delivering real-world impact.

Building with Purpose

Throughout the conversation, one thing remains clear, Georgia is motivated by more than building a successful company. Her ambition is to reduce preventable infections, improve patient outcomes, and help healthcare systems deliver safer care without adding complexity to clinical workflows.

As Zonova Technologies enters its next phase of growth, the mission remains unchanged. Solve a critical healthcare problem, create meaningful impact, and build technology that can improve millions of lives.

Listen to the Podcast: Available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Listen to the full episode with Dr. Georgia Fleet from Zonova Technologies on Tech Startup Stories, hosted by Natalie Binns, and follow for more conversations that focus on the true realities of building a startup.