The journey of a new invention is a true rollercoaster. The highs…. amazing. The lows…. devastating. and sometimes those lows are too low for a new device to ever come to market in any meaningful way. Running out of cash is a common issue, but the more deadly one for medical devices is when the inventor (or leaders) run out of patience.
It takes time to change the world.
When we start thinking about commercialisation, as inventors, we have lived and breathed nothing but our invention for months and years. We have thought about it, dreamt about it, slept on it, slept with it(!), doubted it, fallen out of love and then…. fallen back IN love with it again. Essentially, we have gone through a lifetime of experiences with our innovation, long before the first customer ever buys one. And it is easy to forget that it is a monogamous love.
Don’t love your product too much
It is hugely important to realise that nobody else will ever love it as much as you do. No matter how dedicated your staff is, no matter how important the solution is for the patient, no matter how reliant a surgeon will be on your surgical retractor…. they will NEVER love it as much as you. And that’s okay. But if you don’t realise that there is a massive difference in how YOU feel about your product and how others relate to it, you are going to make mistakes in your commercialisation. You will overestimate the interest, the uptake, the amount of effort people will put behind it. You will accept financial projections that are too optimistic, and you will believe too many sales teams who are telling you that your product is the best thing since sliced cheese…and you will be disappointed when their promises of speed to market and pending PO’s don’t materialise.
Pick your cash: investor funds or customer revenue?
I have a clear favourite, and (in my view) some solid reasons why. Customer revenue is a clear winner.
- It means that there are actual real life customers who perceive your products to add value to their life’s. This is the ultimate goal, so a clear number one for me.
- Sales grow courage and confidence in everyone, from the sales team to the leadership team…and indeed in other customers. “Who else is using it?” is a very common questions from surgeons, ask any medtech rep!
- Sales equal clinical use, and clinical use equal customer feedback which in turn mean input to further developments. Products can’t survive without incremental improvements, and nothing beats user input.
- External vs internal focus. My focus and that of my team is on customers. Always. And that is evident in everything that we do. That includes my time and focus: I would much rather spend my time speaking with end users about their challenges and the device benefits, than prepping for yet another internal meeting with investors and shareholders. And don’t get me started on the time and effort fundraising requires! My hat off to those who have the stamina and the endurance…fundraising is not for the fainthearted!
- Freedom to spend. Not of business class flights and fancy hotels, but on humanitarian aid and emergency relief efforts. When Russia attacked Ukraine, I sent the equivalence of the entire years profit (including my salary…) to the frontline to help the surgeons operate on war victims. I didn’t have to ask my investors for permission, I just told the team what I wanted to do, and that was it. We have shipped Galaxy Retractors to Ukraine in 13 lorries, and we have sent Galaxy Retractors to Uganda, Malawi and several other places for years. And we will continue.
If commercialisation is the easy part, why do we struggle?
Innovation (useful innovation) is difficult. I can’t imagine trying to sit down and TRYING to innovate in a specific area, so the work of R&D teams in medtech companies must be very challenging. In my experience, good innovation comes when you don’t try to invent, but instead just try to solve a problem. And then…a thorough, self-critical review of if this is an improvement that is possible to implement. For example:
- An idea that has small incremental improvement but requires fundamental change in structural healthcare approach is not viable, no matter how good the idea itself is ( eg a brilliant surgeon in UCLH London UK came up with a great solution to improve catheterisation for men, but the shift needed in the NHS prevented a reasonable ROI timeline. Project was No Go.)
- Budget shifts from one department to another is a huge hurdle in most countries, and an almost insurmountable challenge in public healthcare. ( eg a less invasive device can be used in outpatients, but the budget sits in Main Theatre.)
I was lucky to have my aha moment with regards to a single use device that could easily carve out a market place in a space currently occupied by one single competitor, 2 decades old, with a design overripe for improvements, using modern manufacturing and materials. Having been alone in the market for eons of time, the competition was asleep at the wheel, and didn’t see me coming. When they notice, they threw lawyers and sales team wargaming my way, but it was too late. Fast forward a couple of years, and they are now following my every move, trying to catch up as fast as they can. ( eg I invented a light solution for the Galaxy Retractor and named it LUX Connect. I am willing to bet my right hand that they will have a light soon!)
As much as I like champagne, the best cocktail for innovative entrepreneurs is the one made of equal parts innovation, patience, customer focus and a sprinkle of luck!
By Angela Spang, Founder and Owner at JUNE Medical
Angela Spang
Award-winning serial entrepreneur Angela Spang is a UK-based innovator in medical devices. Swedish born, Angela’s vision is to enable healthcare professionals to improve patient outcome through making surgery simpler and safer.
Over the past 25 years, Angela has worked in the life sciences sector and has gained a deep understanding of building successful businesses, managing international staff and operating in a highly regulated industry across the globe.
As a successful entrepreneur, Angela spends her time developing global strategies and often speaks and delivers workshops on leadership, sales and innovation. She is a board member and the CEO of a few carefully selected healthcare companies, and consults on market entry strategies and launch planning on a regular basis. Top of FormShe was awarded the prestigious title CEO of the Year in the UK in 2021, and also received The Queen’s Award for Enterprise: INNOVATION the same year. She was appointed a Buckinghamshire Swan Envoy for her contributions in business in 2022.
She is a best-selling author: ‘Outspoken – what I never told anyone’ (#1 Amazon), her latest release ‘Diary Spang – snippets of a CEO’, a collection of her most read and liked business blogs, and has published both research papers as well as editorials in well known scientific journals and lay press.
Angela’s built strong teams her entire career. Using her ability to challenge and coach as appropriate, always carefully choosing her time and place, she’s created hugely successful individuals around her, who’s often followed her as she has progressed through roles and companies. Her direct reports describe her as “open”, “authentic” and “inspirational”. With mature self-insight, a healthy dose of self-depreciation, a never wavering optimism and a Swedish passport, you get this humble and dedicated leader.
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Her favourite expression is “Simplicity is greatness in its divine form”.
She lives with her husband and two children in Buckinghamshire, England.
Awards and Recognition
The 10 Most Successful Women Leaders in Business, 2023
Tycoon Success Magazine
World’s Most Influential Business Leaders to Follow in 2022
Issued by World’s Leaders Magazine · Nov 2022
Top 10 Most Empowering Women Leaders To Watch 2022
Issued by The Woman Achiever · Jun 2022
UK CEO of the Year 2021
Issued by Corp Magazine — for C-suite leaders · Feb 2021
