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New Product Development – Why Start with a Clean Slate?

March 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I’m currently providing project management services for a medical device startup. We recently encountered a “roadblock” requiring we find additional resources to move forward. I was able to reconnect with several capable options within my network for possible solutions. Nearly each resource I spoke with wanted to start at the beginning, basically with a clean slate and blank sheet of paper.

The thing is, this medical device project doesn’t need to start with a clean slate. In fact it should NOT for a couple reasons:

  • We’re developing a “me too” device. Yes, there are likely to be a few features and benefits which are unique to this product. But there is a ton of existing products in this space, including a couple identified as benchmarks.
  • The project actually started a few months ago. While we haven’t gotten too far, we have made progress. Let’s leverage and use as much as this progress as possible.
  • We have an aggressive yet realistic timeline to launch this device in 2013.

Thankfully, there were a couple potential resources who get it and want to minimize the research phase and get right into development. They realized and listened to what we were trying to say. We should make a final decision about the next resource(s) later this week. I assure you it will be those who we feel can pick up where we left off and help us get back on schedule as quickly as possible.

There are very few product development scenarios where you start with a clean slate and blank sheet of paper. Beg, borrow, and steal from other products and technologies. It’s very cliche, but don’t reinvent the wheel.

Filed Under: All, Ask CQ, Product Development - General, Project Management Tagged With: , , , , ,

Garage Inventors Special Too

March 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I recently wrote about enjoying the opportunities to work with doctors on medical device ideas. There is another category of people I have enjoyed working with too. I call these people “garage inventors”.

I describe garage inventors as the people who are tinkering in their garages, basements, kitchens, coffee shops–wherever! These garage inventors are sometimes eccentric and eclectic but usually always passionate. Garage inventors are a special breed, believing their ideas and inventions will change the world and yield millions in revenue.

I recall several years ago when I was heavily into network, I was often asked who I wanted to meet. My answer was always garage inventors. And often times I was looked at strangely for suggesting this. Largely because the person asking was stumped. But I would add that we all know garage inventors. It might be that neighbor who has sparks flying out of his garage late at night. Or an uncle who is writing software. Or maybe a cousin who always seem to be patenting something new and crazy.

When I put it out there that I was interested in meeting garage inventors, a few of these people found their way to me.

Filed Under: All, CQ Story Tagged With: , , ,

Opportunities to Work With Doctors and Medical Devices

February 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

One of the most rewarding aspects of my career has been working with the doctors and nurses who come up with novel medical technologies to help save patient lives. My first real experience of this occurred just a few months into my first job with Cook Medical.

I got to work with Dr. Dietmar Enk, an anesthesiologist from Germany. He had an idea for a medical device to help allow ventilation via high-pressure oxygen. He provided a prototype he had constructed from components and parts found. Like me, Dr. Enk was newer to medical device product development. And we seemed to learn the ropes together. His English was good but the time difference sometimes made communications a little difficult. But before long, I had a design and prototype that Dr. Enk was happy with and proceeded with the next steps to finalize Design Control documentation, work with production to manufacture, and eventually move the Enk Oxygen Flow Modulator to market.

Working with doctors and nurses directly and having opportunities to see devices that I helped design in use has been such a humbling and amazing experience. And I’d like to thank Dr. Enk for helping to establish this foundation for me. He was a great, patient mentor.

I had the opportunity to work with doctors on medical device ideas during the first few years of my career. But then I had a several year hiatus–still working in the medical device industry but not directly with physicians. This changed a few years ago when I started my own business, Creo Quality. Since doing so, I work first-hand with medical device inventors interested in commercializing their products and technologies. It continues to be a rewarding experience.

Filed Under: All, CQ Story, Medical Device - General Tagged With: , , , , ,

By The Time I’m 40

February 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Yes, I shared in an earlier post that I currently invest time with inventors and entrepreneurs. But by the time I’m 40, I want to be in a position to where I can invest meaningful capital in startups. I have about 2.5 years to achieve this big hairy audacious goal. How am I going to make this happen? My plan is multi-faceted:

  • Continue to invest time in early-stage ventures. Why? The assumption is that a few of these ventures will one day receive funding to pursue product development. Once this happens, CQ should be in a position to continue providing consulting support and be compensated, maybe even with equity opportunities. And maybe, just maybe, one of these funded ventures will have an exit and the resulting equity will have substantial value.
  • Bring UniDoc to market. This is a proprietary CQ software product geared towards helping medical device companies better manage design control and product development documentation and records. We’ve had a couple starts and stops and are at a point where we need to aggressively work towards launching this into the market.
  • Continue to provide consulting services, helping medical device companies with business development, operational efficiency, and project management.
  • Identify and launch other product ideas.
Yes, time is ticking but this is my BHAG. Why? Since starting CQ, I’ve come across several medical device inventors and entrepreneurs whom I think have decent ideas. However, funding, especially locally and during the last few years, has been basically non-existent. I think there are a few very good ideas that are dying due to lack of investment. I’d like to be in a financial position to help make a difference.

 

How?

Invest in them now, providing advice and consulting. Find opportunity or two with equity, resulting in exit.

Also, develop own products, starting with UniDoc.

Filed Under: All, Ask CQ, CQ Story, Funding, start-up, Strategy vs. Tactics, UniDoc Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Playing Investor

February 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

For years, I have been an investor for inventors, entrepreneurs, and startups. No, I don’t write checks or provide capital. My investment comes in the form of pro bono time. I knew when I started my business in March 2007 that I wanted to work closely with early-stage ventures. And I learned just as quickly that many early-stage ventures are hungry for assistance yet often lack funding to compensate for it. This presented a bit of a dilemma. I had just started my business and needed income to take care of my family. Somehow, I had to find a balance.

Fortunately, I did. Through networking and connections, I was able to find a couple of well-funded medical device startups in need of project management and quality system services. Plus, I established a partnership with Anson Group to be a consultant on their bench, if and when needed. These engagements took care of my financial needs and allowed me some flexibility. I could now “invest” in a few early-stage ventures where capital was lacking.

Many asked me why I would do this. To me, the answer was simple. Not all good ideas have funding. Not all good resources are funded either. But the lack of funding did not mean these early stagers didn’t need a little help and guidance. I never claimed to have all the answers. But I was willing to review business plans, have a discussion over coffee, and help make a connection or two. I just wanted to give back–to pay it forward so to speak. Plus, I have been very fortunate to have willing and patient mentors throughout my career who invested their time in helping me every step along the way.

After doing this for a couple years, I began to notice a trend. I put the word out that I wanted to work with medical device inventors and entrepreneurs. And quite a few of these folks found me one way or another. However, I learned that many of these contacts were not as prepared as they should be, in my humble opinion. Many wanted me to do quite a bit of the heavy lifting. Many times, the scenario would repeat itself. Inventor contacted me asking for help, usually identifying market opportunities, regulatory pathway, estimate on time to market, and estimate of budget. I would spend a couple hours researching and provided feedback to inventor. Inventor took the information and never called again, I suspect because he/she wasn’t ready to do anything with the information and/or didn’t like my answers.

So one day, after having done this dozens of times, a light bulb went off for me. The questions and issues each of these inventors is many times the same. Yet, I often times got frustated because the inventor did not seem to be passionate enough to take the idea to the next step. I decided to develop a process for these requests and created a questionnaire called “Building the Business Case“. The process developed was this:

  • Inventor contacts me, seeking assistance
  • I send non-disclosure agreement and Building the Business Case questionnaire
  • Inventor returns NDA and questionnaire, completed as much as possible
  • I review the responses and set a time to follow-up with inventor to discuss next steps
We also wrote a whole blog series about the questions on Building the Business Case. After putting this in place, I was amazed by how many inventors and entrepreneurs were NOT willing to fill out the questionnaire. Keep in mind that these questions are pretty basic and pertain to the business opportunity. A completed questionnaire would be very helpful in writing a business plan. So implementing the process with the questionnaire became a filter, allowing me to more easily identify the inventors and entrepreneurs who are passionate about their ideas and willing to do some of the heavy lifting and homework required.
The process has been in place for a couple years. Yes, I still invest my time in early stage ventures. Yes, I’m still optimistic that one of these will take off and be the next big thing. Product development takes time. And not every idea will go through every phase and launch.
Filed Under: All, Ask CQ, CQ Story, Product Development - General, start-up Tagged With: , , , , ,

Would You Pay to Pitch?

January 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Earlier this week I received a couple emails asking if my company is interested in receiving investment funding. I’m not, but I was kind of flattered by the inquiries. At first, I hit was going to hit the delete button. Then I decided to read the emails a little closer. Okay, big surprise, I wasn’t really being targeted directly. The emails were more of a blast out to many people. Regardless, I still thought there might be some value. I know several startups currently seeking funding.

One of the emails was from Venture Summit West. I did a Google search for this organization because the email did NOT include a link or website. When doing so, one of the top search results was an article from Mendelson’s Musings. Apparently Venture Summit West charges startups and entrepreneurs to pitch at the event. And Jason Mendelson takes exception to this premise stating that an entrepreneur should not have to pay to pitch to investors.

I’m not sure how I feel about this concept. Part of me thinks that an entrepreneur / startup seeking funding should be more than willing to pay a reasonable fee to pitch to investors. I asked a friend and she agreed. She then asked how much this particular event costs. When I told her the fee, she thought it was a little steep. I’m not knocking Venture Summit West or other events that charge entrepreneurs to pitch. I still think that it might be worth it for an entrepreneur to pay to pitch to investors.

Let me explain. The event fee does a couple things. Mostly, it acts like a filter. Chances are paying to play will help ensure those applicants are serious. I think it also sends a message to the investors attending that these entrepreneurs are serious because of the entry fees ponied up.

Filed Under: All, Funding, start-up Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Two People I Want to Meet

December 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Mark Cuban and Daymond John. If you know me, you know I’m a fan of Shark Tank. I enjoy watching Mr. Cuban and Mr. John on the show. Each seems to provide the most savvy advice to budding entrepreneurs.

Why do I want to meet them? Mark Cuban got his break in software. I’m working on a software solution for medical device industry. Plus, he went to Indiana University. And IU is kind of in my backyard.

Daymond is a fashion GOD! Because of my Bestie, I only started appreciating fashion within the past couple years. But now that I do, I think Mr. John would be a great person to chat with. Plus, he always seems so peronable on Shark Tank, willing to work with aspiring entrepreneurs.

If you know Mark and/or Daymond, I would VERY much appreciate an introduction.

Filed Under: All, Misc Tagged With: , , ,

An Entrepreneurs Checklist from Steve Blank

October 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I just discovered a Udemy (pronounced u-da-me kind of like from you to me?). It’s an online platform to learn about stuff from a large variety of topics. While there, I came across a tutorial titled “An Entrepreneur’s Checklist”. So I clicked and watched the short video. I thought it had some value, so I decided to share. There are other videos in the series too that I will check out soon.

Enjoy!

Filed Under: All, Catalyst, start-up Tagged With: , , , ,

Good Read for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

October 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Over the weekend, I came across 21Times, a resource that claims to help inspire entrepreneurs to turn side projects into businesses. I decided to go ahead and sign up–what the heck.

If the first email from 21Times is any indicator, I’m glad I signed up. The article shared is from Spencer Fry title “How to Bootstrap”. Now I don’t know who Mr. Fry is or how much success he has had. But I found his blog post interesting and thought you might get a few insights from it as well.

Topics covered include:

  • Idea Generating
  • Team Building
  • Off Hours
  • Consult on the Side
  • There’s No Need to Rush
  • Building Organically
  • Making That First Dollar
  • When Investors Come a Calling
Filed Under: All, Catalyst, start-up, Strategy vs. Tactics Tagged With: , ,

Medical Device Entrepreneurs Need to Start at the Beginning

October 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

But where is this? I guess because of the years of experience I have with medical device product development, I often times take the process too much for granted. This became a little evident to me the other day while talking with a medical device inventor / entrepreneur.

The inventor is an ER doctor who developed an idea for a novel solution to a problem he has had to treat a few times. I had the opportunity to hear the doctor speak at an event a couple weeks ago. He was very humble and apologized several times for being out of his element. But the doctor spoke very well, almost eloquently, about the issue. The audience was on the edge of their seats, listening intently. When it was time for Q&A, nearly half the audience threw their hand up to ask a question. I think the question and answer session lasted as long, maybe even longer than the presentation.

A few days afterward, I had a chance to connect with the inventor via email. He humbly admitted again that he was out of his element and wanted to know if I would be interested in talking to him. Of course. We had that first, semi in-depth conversation a couple days ago. I provided a high-level overview of medical device product development. And the doctor was very hungry for knowledge on this topic. He understood that we needed to start at the beginning and asked question after question to understand what this means and where the beginning actually begins.

It was actually very refreshing for me. Not always, but many times when working with inventors / entrepreneurs, they are more concerned about the end rather than starting at the beginning. Within the next couple weeks, I expect to have a face to face meeting with the doctor. He asked if we could use this time to review medical device product development process and discuss FDA Design Control regulations.

Filed Under: All, Ask CQ, Product Development - General, start-up, Strategy vs. Tactics Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Some Thoughts About Startup Valuation

September 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I’ve written about how entrepreneurs / inventors often over-value their product ideas in the past. For me, this continues to be an interesting topic. If you follow this blog, you know that I’m a huge fan of Shark Tank.

While watching the most recent episode of the tank, I witnessed yet another example of an entrepreneur coming in with an unrealistic valuation. The entrepreneur asked for $200K for a 10% equity stake, valuing his idea at $2M. The sharks had a flurry of questions, including whether the entrepreneur has generated any sales. The response: no.

So how did the entrepreneur derive at a $2M value for his product idea? The sharks asked. The answer given was something along the lines of “. . . we’ve had people tell us our company has a value between $1.5M and $2.5M . . .” Sounds plausible, right? Follow-up question from the sharks was: Why didn’t any of these people write you a check?

Entrepreneur stumped. Entrepreneur with deer in the headlights look on his face.

I can somewhat appreciate this dilemma because of current efforts with UniDoc. We’re considering raising some funds to accelerate our efforts. However, how do we value this? We have no revenue. We can only speculate on the size of the market opportunity. I can only give you a best guess on the value of UniDoc. And my guess is, well uh, WRONG.

And that’s the beautiful thing about valuation. It’s only write if the person writing you a check believes it to be.

Filed Under: All, start-up, UniDoc Tagged With: , , , ,

The Thrill of a Startup

September 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

There are few things I’ve experienced that can top the thrill of a startup. And the thrill is greater the earlier you are involved in the genesis. I’m fortunate to have had this experience a few times during my career.

I’m going through these thrills right now with 3 different ventures, each of which is unique and has different founders. One is a medical device. One is a useful software application for use in every day lives. One is an enterprise software solution to help companies with efficiency. Each has their own technical challenges. Each has different obstacles to get to the next step. Yet all are thrilling to be a part of.

From time to time I’ve been asked if I would go work for a large company again. I almost always respond with immediate laughter followed by how much I enjoy working with startups. And I think until you’ve done it and been apart of one, it’s really hard to imagine. Maybe that sounds cliche. The thrill of a startup presents a litany of challenges and opportunities. Yes, I’m well aware that the statistics are not in favor of any startup ever making it. Yet some do. And I can’t wait to be there when this happens.

Filed Under: All, Catalyst, start-up Tagged With: , , ,

Why Are Startup Founders Paranoid?

September 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

My best friend has been assisting Creo Quality for quite some time. She’s heard the stories I tell about inventors, entrepreneurs, and startups. Without being disrespectful, I’ve told stories about how inventors / entrepreneurs often seem to develop a bit of paranoia. How many in this space have quirky personalities. And for me, this is very much part of the allure to working with startups.

Recently, my best friend came up with a product idea. She shared it with me, and I thought it would be a very useful, simple to use solution. I offered to help do some research and network to find software resources. She said okay. I had some vague idea of the software resource needs. I reached out to a few contacts to see if they could help without sharing any specifics about the idea. I also attended an event where I met a couple startup founders who have created a software solution that could be tweaked a bit for my friend’s idea. I talked to them too.

When I reported back to my friend, I almost instantly witnessed paranoia take hold of her. She immediately became concerned that I had shared too much. That the people I talked to were going to go off on their own and develop this new product. It was interesting to me, because my best friend has really never exhibited paranoia in the 4+ years I’ve known her.

What is it about startups that can make someone a little paranoid?

Filed Under: All, start-up Tagged With: , , ,

Failing Fast & Cheap During Product Development

August 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Several weeks ago, I suggested in a YouTube video that I was considering developing a new device for handling unruly nose hair. I spent less than $10 to come up with a couple “proof of concept” prototypes. A few weeks later, someone who watched the video created an animation of a 3D concept for a nose hair trimming device (I still haven’t met this person even via email, but I thank them for their interest). The other day while shopping for a few household items, I visited the personal grooming aisle. There are quite a few gadgets available claiming to be the best nose hair trimmers on the market. And maybe one actually is. I don’t plan to purchase each one by one to find out. But at the same time, noticing how many products are currently available has me a little concerned about the ability to penetrate the market.

The other day, I learned that people sometimes have nose hair removed via hot wax. And yes, there are plenty of YouTube videos on this as well. I decided to do a little research into this and found a local spa who is willing to rip my nose hairs out later today. Yes, I plan to have a video of this experience too.

Why am I sharing all this? Despite being a little bit of a cheesy example, I am actually traveling slowly down the path of medical device product development. It started with an idea and since, I’ve been in discovery mode–learning some about the market, competitors, etc. I have limited my expenses while trying to make progress. And depending on how the spa session goes later today, I might just kill the concept altogether.

This is an important point for product development of any kind. If you are going to fail, do it fast. Do it cheap. Then move on to the next idea. Product development is a process. There is (or at least should be) a method to the madness.

 

Filed Under: All, Create, Medical Device - General, Product Development - General, Project Phases Tagged With: , , , ,

Innovator Personality Types

July 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Mover & Shaker?

Experimenter?

Star Pupil?

Controller?

Hanger-On?

Read the full descriptions of each type in The Five Personalities of Innovators from Forbes.com.

I think I’m a combination of mover & shaker and experimenter.

 

Filed Under: All, Misc Tagged With: ,
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