From corporate ladder to independent platform: A conversation with Violetta Lomakowskaja

Interviewer: Olya Vvedenskaya 

We sat down with Violetta Lomakowskaja, founder of Diagnoodle, to talk about her path from biology student to country manager to startup founder - and what it actually takes to build something from scratch, alone, in your thirties.

Olya: Violetta, can you start by telling us a bit about your background?

Violetta: I finished school in Stuttgart, Germany and moved to Vienna, Austria to study biology. I focused on anthropology - the science of human evolution - which really shaped how I think. After my bachelor's, I wanted to go deeper into the molecular side, so I applied to universities in the UK and got into King's College London. I did my master's there, focusing on biomedical and molecular science, and wrote my thesis on antimicrobial resistance.

Olya: That's quite a shift - from Vienna to London. How did you manage it financially?

Violetta: I had always worked alongside my studies, so I had savings. My mother also helped with rent as London was (and still is) very expensive. We were never wealthy, but supporting me through education was always important to my mother. Everything else I had, I'd earned myself.
It was one of the best years of my life. The level of the university, the professors, the lectures - it was just very different from what I was used to. I understand why it costs money.

Olya: Did you consider doing a PhD afterwards?

Violetta: I thought about it. I was working alongside PhD students in the lab every day and I saw what it involved. Basically, it would mean I'd need to be focused on one very specific scientific question for four years. I have enormous respect for people who do that. But I knew it wasn't for me. I was already certain that industry was where I belonged, where scientific knowledge is applied to the real-world problems, where things reach people.

Olya: Where did the idea for Diagnoodle come from?

Violetta: It built up gradually. I was in sales and I kept noticing something: healthcare professionals would call us asking whether we had a specific parameter in the diagnostic tools we were selling. And I kept thinking: are they really calling every single company? When you book a hotel, you don't call the hotel to ask what they offer. You go to a platform, you filter, you compare. That did not exist for diagnostics. The information is fragmented, the process is slow, and healthcare professionals are incredibly busy people. I thought: why hasn't anyone solved this?

Olya: How long did it take from that realisation to actually founding the company?

Violetta: About two years. Honestly, I didn't expect it to become a full-time project. But the platform generated a lot of interest very quickly from healthcare professionals, from industry and at some point it became clear that this was something I had to pursue properly.

Olya: That meant giving up a very comfortable position.

Violetta: Yes. I had a high salary for my age, a strong CV, a great corporate track record. Many people probably thought I was crazy. The 'normal' path for a woman in her thirties would have been to keep climbing. But I stopped trying to think about what I was giving up and started thinking about what I wanted to build. I believe that if you do something with genuine passion and a working brain, things become possible. It's not for everyone, of course, - you have to be mentally strong. But for me it's worth it.

Olya: You started completely alone. What was that like?

Violetta: It was a lot. I handled the vast majority of things myself - the concept, the content, the strategy - while working with a great software development team who built the technical foundation of the platform. The idea and the platform are so large, so there's always more to do. I learned a huge amount, but I also felt the weight of carrying so much.

Olya: At what point did you bring in a co-founder?

Violetta: When I started to understand how big it could be. I come from science and sales and I have a very strong focus on the healthcare professional's perspective. But I knew I needed someone with a stronger background in economics and business. Hermann Eickhoff had been a friend for years, he was working as a consultant, and he was aware of what I was building. At the right moment, we had a serious conversation about whether he'd want to join. He was available, he was interested, and yes - some people call that luck. I think luck finds prepared soil.

Olya: What changed once he came on board?

Violetta: Everything. The speed, the decision-making, the fact that there was someone to talk to about challenges. And we challenge each other, which is really important. You can't just tell yourself things are good if they're not. We're both very direct about that, and I think that's why it works.

Olya: Does that directness ever create tension?

Violetta: Absolutely. We have very different views and different ways of reacting. But I think the tensions are productive when you handle them right. I have a very clear perspective on things from the healthcare professional side, and he brings the commercial and operational side. Over time we've both learned to listen to how the other thinks. It's very equal, and I think that's why it works well.

Olya: Can you describe what Diagnoodle actually does?

Violetta: Diagnoodle is an independent information platform for healthcare professionals looking for professional point-of-care diagnostics, specifically in vitro, laboratory diagnostics used at the patient's side. You can filter by parameter, by sample type, by company if you have a preference. You see what devices are available, you can read summarised scientific publications about each product: evaluation studies, performance comparisons. And you can request an offer via Diagnoodle, all in one place. In diagnostics, you don't sell like you're selling clothing. It's about evidence. That's what we built around.

Olya: And the transparency partners?

Violetta: These are companies that are willing to be transparent. They send us their product and allow an independent third party to document the real workflow. That takes confidence because we remain independent and don't hide publications or performance data. They also understand that healthcare professionals increasingly expect information to be available instantly. That's why they provide comprehensive information for our AI product assistant, helping clinicians research products 24/7. Naturally, that gives them an advantage over companies that rely solely on a traditional website.

Olya: The independence question must come up a lot.

Violetta: It does. Some companies ask whether becoming a transparency partner changes how their product is presented. The answer is yes and no. Yes, transparency partners are showcased with original photos, videos and workflow demonstrations because we have access to the actual product. For other products, we often rely on publicly available information and illustrations. But no, the partnership does not influence the content itself. The difference is transparency, not editorial control. Transparency partners give us access to more information, but studies, publications and performance data are presented objectively, whether favourable or not.

Olya: Are there things you refuse to compromise on?

Violetta: The independence of the platform. Absolutely. It's what gives us access to people who care about evidence and objectivity. At Diagnoodle, we're particularly interested in the perspective of healthcare professionals who use point-of-care diagnostics every day. We believe those voices should be heard more often.
We recently spoke with the Medical Director of a major air ambulance service in Germany. That conversation only happened because of what we are. If we changed that, we'd lose the thing that makes us relevant.

Olya: Has this journey changed you?

Violetta: It's made me happier. I know how I want to work now. I know what matters to me. We make decisions and live with the consequences, without asking five people for approval. We can challenge an industry that takes itself very seriously and say: this can be better, more transparent, more useful. That freedom is something I didn't have before. I wouldn't trade it.

Olya: Any advice for someone thinking about taking a riskier next step?

Violetta: Prepare as well as you can: understand the business model, think through the economics. But at some point you also just have to jump. Think about what you've already built, what kind of person you are. If you're good at what you do and you have a real plan, it's a calculated risk, not a reckless one. And then stick with it. Nothing happens in weeks. It takes years. That's why you need real motivation, not just excitement.