Eva Díaz studied a degree in industrial engineering at the Facultat de Disseny i Enginyeria de Barcelona Elisava. As a final degree project, she set out to answer a real problem. To do this, she contacted the professionals at the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona. She wanted to know her needs and found her purpose in the neonatal unit, where she cares for babies born prematurely.
The still student designed a bed "that is placed inside the incubators and tries to satisfy the physical and emotional needs of premature newborns," in the words of Díaz. Satisfied with her solution, the engineer did not want her to remain in a mere university project, so she patented it and founded the startup Nido for the development and commercialization of her bed for incubators.
Díaz and Nido have been in business for five years. The entrepreneur is not alone in the face of such a purpose. It counts as partners with María José Trollanos, who has more than 30 years of experience as a pediatric nurse in the Neonatology Service of the Sant Joan de Déu hospital, and with Paola Mepchia, who in addition to being an expert in textile product development is the mother by Eva Diaz.
The nest beds have required an initial investment of 50,000 euros, between own and external financing, plus another 50,000 euros in hours invested by the entrepreneur. For its manufacture, the three partners have relied on different manufacturers, located in Girona, Toledo and Valencia.
The first product tests were carried out in the same Sant Joan de Déu hospital and, subsequently, the bed has been tested by other centers. Although Nido is already a finished product and ready to go on the market, the three partners have wanted to wait for authorization to be able to market it as a medical device, a slow and complex process, but one that gives them access to hospital centers. They calculate that by mid-2024 they could get the certificate. Meanwhile, the three entrepreneurs will continue to combine their respective jobs with their particular adventure of giving incubators a bed.
