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Medsider Radio: Learn from Medical Device and Medtech Thought Leaders
In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Jennifer Fried, co-founder and CEO of Flow Medical. Her startup is developing an advanced catheter designed to treat pulmonary embolisms.Jennifer started her career as a healthcare venture capitalist and consultant at Bain & Company. Before co-founding Flow Medical, Jennifer was the CEO and co-founder of ExplORer Surgical, a surgical software platform spun out of research at The University of Chicago. Under her leadership, ExplORer grew from an idea to a global product, earning accolades, like being named one of the Top 50 Healthcare Technology CEOs, and partnerships with major medical device companies. Jennifer successfully exited the business in 2021, when it was acquired by GHX.In this interview, Jennifer shares insights on navigating M&As, raising capital, and tips for validating ideas. She explains why engaging early with potential acquirers is key, how challenging your assumptions can save years of effort, and the importance of tailoring your pitch and building lasting investor relationships.Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:First, if you're into learning from medical device and health technology founders and CEOs, and want to know when new interviews are live, head over to Medsider.com and sign up for our free newsletter.Second, if you want to peek behind the curtain of the world's most successful startups, you should consider a Medsider premium membership. You'll learn the strategies and tactics that founders and CEOs use to build and grow companies like Silk Road Medical, AliveCor, Shockwave Medical, and hundreds more!We recently introduced some fantastic additions exclusively for Medsider premium members, including playbooks, which are curated collections of our top Medsider interviews on key topics like capital fundraising and risk mitigation, and 3 packages that will help you make use of our database of 750+ life science investors more efficiently for your fundraise and help you discover your next medical device or health technology investor!In addition to the entire back catalog of Medsider interviews over the past decade, premium members also get a copy of every volume of Medsider Mentors at no additional cost, including the latest Medsider Mentors Volume VII. If you're interested, go to medsider.com/subscribe to learn more.Lastly, if you'd rather read than listen, here's a link to the full interview with Jennifer Fried.
In this episode, host Dr. Bryan Hartley interviews head and neck surgeon and entrepreneur Dr. Alex Langerman about the story of his startup, ExplORer Surgical and his idea generation advice for physician-innovators. --- EARN CME Reflect on how this Podcast applies to your day-to-day and earn free AMA PRA Category 1 CMEs: https://earnc.me/5yb4nD --- SHOW NOTES Dr. Langerman starts by describing his journey into head and neck surgery and his University of Chicago research lab, where he conducted research over improvements in the operating room (OR) setting. The idea to make the OR more efficient stemmed from a conversation with a medical student who wondered why so many operating tools were opened and laid out, but never used. This question led him on a tour of different ORs around the country, where he learned that a lot of his colleagues shared the same frustrations about inefficiencies in the OR. When he returned to his institution, he visited different surgical departments and integrated their concerns into a roadmap of aspects that could be improved upon. We also discuss the value of bringing in non-physicians who have fresh perspectives. Dr. Langerman sought feedback and help from business and design students, which eventually led to the incorporation of his company, ExplORer Surgical, and a pitch at the New Venture Challenge Competition. While he worked on communication with surgeons about minimizing waste in the OR, his co-founder, Jennifer Fried, led the effort to find investors. The company's inflection point occurred when they shifted the focus away from healthcare institutions and towards medical device companies. The ExplORer Surgical app became a playbook that device companies could use to educate operators and ensure that their devices were being implemented in the exact way that they were intended to be used, thus ensuring consistent outcomes and minimizing complications. It also offers a way for sales representatives to virtually teleconference into the OR and guide operators through the procedure. During COVID, this technology became incredibly useful to ensure that collaboration between the OR and medical device companies could still continue. The company was eventually acquired by GHX Medical in 2021. Dr. Langerman encourages physician entrepreneurs to try “idea harvesting,” defined as pitching your idea to others, in the effort to see what resonates with them and learn how to improve your pitch. Additionally, finding a team of business professionals that can help run day-to-day operations is a great way to free up time and energy for further idea generation. --- RESOURCES Dr. Alex Langerman Website: https://alexanderlangerman.com/ New Venture Challenge Competition: https://polsky.uchicago.edu/programs-events/new-venture-challenge/ SBIR and STTR Grants: https://www.sbir.gov/about Social Physics by Alex Pentland: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/314230/social-physics-by-alex-pentland/
In this episode, host Dr. Bryan Hartley interviews head and neck surgeon and entrepreneur Dr. Alex Langerman about the story of his startup, ExplORer Surgical and his idea generation advice for physician-innovators. --- EARN CME Reflect on how this Podcast applies to your day-to-day and earn free AMA PRA Category 1 CMEs: https://earnc.me/5yb4nD --- SHOW NOTES Dr. Langerman starts by describing his journey into head and neck surgery and his University of Chicago research lab, where he conducted research over improvements in the operating room (OR) setting. The idea to make the OR more efficient stemmed from a conversation with a medical student who wondered why so many operating tools were opened and laid out, but never used. This question led him on a tour of different ORs around the country, where he learned that a lot of his colleagues shared the same frustrations about inefficiencies in the OR. When he returned to his institution, he visited different surgical departments and integrated their concerns into a roadmap of aspects that could be improved upon. We also discuss the value of bringing in non-physicians who have fresh perspectives. Dr. Langerman sought feedback and help from business and design students, which eventually led to the incorporation of his company, ExplORer Surgical, and a pitch at the New Venture Challenge Competition. While he worked on communication with surgeons about minimizing waste in the OR, his co-founder, Jennifer Fried, led the effort to find investors. The company's inflection point occurred when they shifted the focus away from healthcare institutions and towards medical device companies. The ExplORer Surgical app became a playbook that device companies could use to educate operators and ensure that their devices were being implemented in the exact way that they were intended to be used, thus ensuring consistent outcomes and minimizing complications. It also offers a way for sales representatives to virtually teleconference into the OR and guide operators through the procedure. During COVID, this technology became incredibly useful to ensure that collaboration between the OR and medical device companies could still continue. The company was eventually acquired by GHX Medical in 2021. Dr. Langerman encourages physician entrepreneurs to try “idea harvesting,” defined as pitching your idea to others, in the effort to see what resonates with them and learn how to improve your pitch. Additionally, finding a team of business professionals that can help run day-to-day operations is a great way to free up time and energy for further idea generation. --- RESOURCES Dr. Alex Langerman Website: https://alexanderlangerman.com/ New Venture Challenge Competition: https://polsky.uchicago.edu/programs-events/new-venture-challenge/ SBIR and STTR Grants: https://www.sbir.gov/about Social Physics by Alex Pentland: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/314230/social-physics-by-alex-pentland/
Jennifer Fried, MBA, most recently the CEO of ExplORer Surgical, joins the show to share her story as a co-founder of a successful startup health technology company. She begins by telling her inspiration to start the company with her partner, when and how operating room workflow and efficiency was discovered as an area of unmet need, the steps she took to create the software platform solution and how it functions, struggles she faced when facing potential investors, how the pandemic propelled the platform from a “nice to have” to a “must have,” why the business was eventually sold, and what the lessons learned were from the whole experience. Check out Chadi's website for all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes and other content. www.chadinabhan.com/ Watch all Healthcare Unfiltered episodes on Youtube. www.youtube.com/channel/UCjiJPTpIJdIiukcq0UaMFsA
Jim Surek is a recognized sales leader whose teams have performed wherever he has been, based on proven sales principles. Jim is currently VP of Sales at Explorer Surgical and is also host of the podcast, Medical Sales Nation. In this episode Jim shares the sales process, including translating engineering language into customer language, aligning the company behind customer messaging, building a learning culture, question-based selling, setting sales targets for a new product, and identifying and segmenting buyer types.Links from this episode:Jim Surek LinkedInMedical Sales Nation Podcast - Apple PodcastsMastering Medical Device:WebsitePat Kothe LinkedIn
Jim Surek is a recognized sales leader whose teams have performed wherever he has been, based on proven sales principles. Jim is currently VP of Sales at Explorer Surgical and is also host of the podcast, Medical Sales Nation. In this episode Jim shares how medical sales has changed, why reps have evolved into enterprise salespeople, his mindset of helping to heal our healthcare system, developing a value proposition for a multi-headed customer, commercialization as an initiative, the importance of sales skills, sales training based on real customer knowledge, and how to begin a salesforce in a start-up.Links from this episode:Jim Surek LinkedInMedical Sales Nation Podcast - Apple PodcastsMastering Medical Device:WebsitePat Kothe LinkedIn
Jim Surek, Vice President of Sales of Explorer Surgical discusses the importance of adding value and uniqueness to sales calls.
“You told me the opposite of what I have been told by everyone else about how they would attack this market.” Said one CEO to Jim during an interview. Jim got the job and helped lead this company to success. During his stellar career, Jim has been part of 7 startups. We cover a lot of ground that will have pearls of wisdom for all listeners whether you are in the C-Suite or in marketing and sales. Lots of great career advice as well. We set the foundation with Jim's current role at Explorer Surgical where he is heading up sales in a MedTech SAAS technology. Some of you may want to implement this technology once you understand how powerful it is. This technology can really help companies with unique surgical products scale more rapidly with improved consistent outcomes. Then we move into his deliberate process for deciding whether to join a startup organization. During all of this we delve into the strategic and tactical power of startups as learning organizations. I would like to welcome the new members of the Medtech Leaders community. They joined to get access to the Part One Strategic Plan slides that I posted with the podcast in the Strategic and Tactical planning Topic area in the community. And I was about to forget to mention that today's guest, Jim Surek is a member of the MedTech Leaders community. You can learn more about the community at medtechleaders.net. The annual fee costs a few cups of coffee. And, there is a free trial. During the podcast Jim credits several people with contributing to his career including Patrick Pilcher, Ron Pickard, Jeff Greiner, Paul LaViolette, Jennifer Fried and more. Now Go Win Your Week!! Jim Surek's LinkedIn link ExplORer Surgical website link GHX website link Ted Newill's LinkedIn Profile link More Medical Device Success podcasts link Medical Device Success website link MedTech Leaders Community link Link to Ted's contact page
Through UChicago's Polsky Center, Jennifer Fried started Explorer Surgical: a developer of software for surgical teams to use in the operating room; by improving communication, their tools/platform reduce disruptions and wasted disposables. In mid-October, in fact days after the recording of this interview, Explorer Surgical was aquired by Global Health Exchange. In this episode, under the guidance of John's structured curiosity, Jennifer walks us through the life of a startup company–from start to (at this time, undisclosed) acquisition. Even beyond that, we get to learn about her influences, her motivations and her personal journey: we get to see the person behind the company.
This week's discussion begins on the stage in Las Vegas where Tom Salemi interviewed Kwame Ulmer of Ulmer Ventures and Medtech Color at Medmarc's annual broker meeting. This episode is sponsored by Medmarc. The conversation hit upon five areas that have changed over the past two years due to the pandemic or critical concerns over equity and fairness. In this podcast, Ulmer speaks to the slow progress being made in medtech in diversifying the workforce. But he also offers signs of hope and introduced Medtech Color. Ulmer will also speak to improvements made at the FDA, where he started his medtech career. He also provides an update on a comprehensive survey of the FDA being conducted by the biomed program at UCLA. We'll also hear post-conference interviews with Jennifer Fried, CEO of Explorer Surgical, who will share how that company successfully pivoted during the pandemic. Mark Leahey, CEO of MDMA, will update on the MCIT ruling that would deliver surer reimbursement for medical device companies with breakthrough products. Finally, Jonathan Norris of Silicon Valley Bank shares surprising changes to early and late-stage financings as well as medical device exits. Subscribe to this podcast on all major podcast applications.
In a field as quickly changing as healthcare, ongoing training and education are essential. And just as it did with telehealth and physician collaboration, COVID has helped to accelerate work that was already going on in remote medical education. In today's episode of HIMSSCast, we will talk to two startup founders working on remote workforce training from different angles. First, host Jonah Comstock chats with Osso VR CEO and cofounder Dr. Justin Barad, then Healthcare IT News Senior Editor Kat Jercich talks to Jennifer Fried, CEO and cofounder of ExplORer Surgical.This podcast is part of our Workforce Re-entry Series, brought to you by Zoom.Talking points:Justin's background in video games and surgeryIssues with healthcare workforce training: a lot to learn, complex procedures, no way to assessWhat's the role of VR and what it can doHow did we teach and practice surgery before VR?What it takes to become proficient in a surgical procedureHow medical education broadly is changingVR fidelity — how it's changing and why it is (and isn't) importantHow ExplORer Surgical helps to make surgeries accessible remotely for teachers and studentsDisadvantages to physically observing surgeriesAdvantages to remote observationDealing with connectivity issues in hospitalsHow to maintain a secure environment with remote trainingWhat's coming up in technology and regulationMore about this episode:At ortho meeting, VR companies announce industry-advancing partnershipsSurgeon training company Osso VR closes $27M Series BSurgical training tool Osso VR adds assessment, more language supportIntraoperative support platform ExplORer Surgical collects $2.5M in new fundingSurgical support software maker ExplORer raises $5M
The urology specialty faces a critical moment, with 10 urologists ready to retire for every new urologist entering the field. That puts the onus on medical device companies to develop faster, safer and more efficacious ways to break down kidney stones, shrink enlarged prostates and handle other critical treatments. In this week's episode, we'll speak with Meghan Scanlon, SVP and president, Urology and Pelvic Health at Boston Scientific about that company's growing pipeline bolstered by the acquisition of Lumenis. This episode was sponsored by KNF Neuberger. We'll also connect with the leaders of Zenflow – CEO Nick Damiano and President Susan Stimson – about the start-up's minimally invasive treatment for urinary obstruction caused by enlarged prostate, or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Finally, we have all-hands (or most hands) on deck for this episodes Newmarker's Newsmakers. Jim Hammerand, managing editor of Medical Design and Outsourcing, talks about Koya Medical and Hologic. Associate Editor Sean Whooley shares his insights on Varian and Explorer Surgical. Pharma Editor Brian Buntz gives us the latest on the never ending saga of Covid-19 booster approval. Subscribe on all major podcast applications.
Welcome to another episode of the Action and Ambition podcast. Today's guest is Jennifer Fried. Jennifer Fried is the co-founder and CEO of ExplORer Surgical, an interactive surgical playbook that reduces disruptions and waste. ExplORer Surgical also provides OR administrators with real-time performance and scheduling data to improve treatment quality and efficiency. Surgeries teams can use the program to organize work, manage instruments and supplies, and more. Thus, optimal cooperation, efficiency, and performance are obtained. It allows doctors to focus on what they do best: performing successful procedures that help patients live their best lives. A tailored checklist helps the Explorer manage workflow in the OR and procedural suites, reducing errors and confusion among team members. It helps medical device producers introduce new products faster and cheaper while simultaneously improving medical education. Sounds intriguing, right? Tune in to learn more about this medical breakthrough!
In this episode, Jennifer and I discuss how she founded ExplORer Surgical, what they are doing, tips for start-up companies, pitch advice, and more. Jennifer Fried LinkedIn ExplORer Surgical Website Duane Mancini LinkedIn Project Medtech LinkedIn Project Medtech Website
Is digital transformation in the MedTech space a threat to your business? Only if you hide from it, says Jim Surek, VP of sales at ExplORer Surgical and host of the Medical Sales Nation podcast. We sat down with the digital health advocate to discuss how early adopters of new technologies are primed to capture market share, why so many reps are afraid to rock the boat, and a few things to watch out for as expectations shift. In this episode, you'll learn: - How digital health redefines the relationship between reps and clinical specialists - Why younger doctors aren't interested in grabbing dinner with you - The aspects of device sales that will never be digitized -Why seeing 50 cases in two weeks could be the new expectation for reps Plus, we explore how digital technologies eliminate “hiding places” in the sales process. Resources and links from the show: Connect with Jim on LinkedIn Check Out the Medical Sales Nation Podcast The Behavior Change Blueprint Connect with Zed Williamson on LinkedIn Connect with Clark Wiederhold on LinkedIn The Growth-Driven Practice Series
Jennifer Fried, MBA '15, started her MBA at Chicago Booth with dreams of a career in venture capital. By the time she graduated, she had launched a healthcare tech company that helps ensure surgical procedures go smoothly — and today her product is becoming a must-have in operating rooms.Fried, MBA '15, took second place in the Edward L. Kaplan, '71, New Venture Challenge (NVC) with ExplORer Surgical, a digital playbook that helps surgical teams coordinate and communicate during procedures.The Chicago-based company recently closed a $2.5 million round, bringing its total funding to $11 million.In a conversation with Steve Kaplan, her former Booth professor and co-founder of the New Venture Challenge, Fried discusses how she went from having no medical experience to being a healthcare entrepreneur, and how the NVC helped steer her toward a viable concept.“We got destroyed in our pitch presentations,” Fried recalled. “The judges just ripped apart everything we did, and it made us so much stronger as a company to push on our business model and think through the problem and what evidence did we have to show and how could we validate it.”Fried, who left her “dream job” at a VC firm to run the company, reveals the sweat that went into finding the right investors, the challenge of making sales and the hardest part of being the boss. She describes how the company found a foothold by partnering with medical device reps and how the COVID-19 pandemic catapulted her business as hospitals sought ways to go virtual.“I think 2020 was the inflection point for us where we went from, candidly, I think, a nice-to-have product that might've been a little bit ahead of its time to being a must-have product that the entire medical device industry needs and is looking for,” Fried said.
Surveys indicate that virtual support in the operating room and procedure room is here to stay. From the “back of a napkin” to commercialization, Jennifer Fried has led the ExplORer Surgical team to success. They are busy staking out a position as a leader in virtual support to medical device companies seeking to improve best practices, clinical support, training, collaboration and coaching in the operating room. In this episode she starts out explaining the technology and how it works. Then, we dive into the story of ExplORer Surgical. Believe it or not…the development of this technology is NOT a response to the pandemic. Of course, it has benefited from the pandemic. However, if you leave it at that, you miss some of the important value propositions that underly the power of the platform. Everybody is a winner with this platform…the patient, the hospital and the medical device company. Tune in! Now Go Win Your Week! Jennifer Fried’s LinkedIn Profile link Explorer Surgical website link Jennifer’s recommended books The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers, by Ben HorowitzHardcover link Kindle link Venture Deals, Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and Venture Capitalist, by Brad Feld and Jason MendelsonHard cover link Kindle link Ted Newill’s LinkedIn Profile link Medical Device Success website link MedTech Leaders Community link Link to Ted’s contact page
DeviceTalks Weekly listeners will need some gravy to digest this Thanksgiving feast-sized podcast featuring news and insights from three stellar guests in addition to two new installments of #2minutedetalks chapters from Delve Inc. and Explorer Surgical. This week we visit with… Mark Leahey, president of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, who explains where medtech might fits in this evolving political climate. Spencer Stiles, group president of orthopaedic and spine at Stryker, who shares details on the Wright acquisition and the secret to the success of placing MAKO surgical robots in hospitals Art Collins, senior advisor to Explorer Surgical. The former Chairman and CEO discusses leadership, Medtronic and the future for startups like Explorer. Also co-host Chris Newmarker, executive editor of MassDevice, shares his selections for this week’s #newmarkersnewsmakers which includes news from BD, Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson.
It's rare that the perfect tools are available at the perfect time. --> Enter ExplORer Surgical ExplORer offers tools for orthopedic device companies at the perfect time during the Covid era and beyond. ExplORer's new tools will improve the performance of your device in the OR, will save time and steps for the OR team, and will enable remote case support for your sales force. In this Q&A interview with the CEO you will learn about what the tools are, why they are so important, and how they developed the tools. Enjoy. https://explorersurgical.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tigerbuford/support
Medsider Radio: Learn from Medical Device and Medtech Thought Leaders
In this episode of Medsider Radio, we downloaded with Jennifer Fried, the CEO and Co-Founder of ExplORer Surgical. Jennifer founded the company with Dr. Alex Langerman as an MBA student at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where she received her degree with honors in finance and entrepreneurship.Previously, Jennifer was a Vice President at Park Lane Ventures, a healthcare-focused venture capital fund spun out of Essex Woodlands. Jennifer began her career as a consultant at Bain & Company in Chicago after graduating from Northwestern University.With me on this episode is special guest host, Norbert Juist, who runs Sales Performance Resources, where he specializes in recruiting for medical device marketing and sales positions. Prior to this, he was a sales rep at Cordis Endovascular, a spine consultant at Synthes, and a sales rep at Ethicon. Interview Highlights with Jennifer Fried● How most medical device companies capture procedural data & workflow processes -- and why it’s completely outdated. ● The challenges medtech companies are facing when it comes to educational training & product development and why they’re considering platforms like ExplORer Surgical.● Jennifer’s favorite business book, the business leader she most admires, and the advice she’d give to herself 5-10 years ago.See more...
In this COVID-19 series podcast, Jeniffer Fried, CEO of ExplORer Surgical discusses what they're doing to enable medical device companies to continue supporting operating room and procedural activity during a COVID-19 epidemic and after. While case volumes for elective procedures are low to none, there are those emergency procedures that still need support from a medical device clinical or sales rep. What does the future hold for medical device reps in the operating room? This has been a topic of discussion in the C-Suite of both hospitals and medical device companies for a long time, with not much change. Is it possible to provide support to a physician and O.R. team without being there in person reducing the risk of infection, freeing up space in the O.R. while keeping the technical expertise of a medical device representative? Listen to what ExplORer Surgical is doing to enable this future. Learn more at: https://explorersurgical.com/
A fascinating dive into Digital health with a Chicago startup ExplORer Surgical. Jennifer Fried, the Co-Founder and CEO, takes us on a journey unlocking the potential of real time, real life learning for providers to uncover potential efficiencies and best practices to heal our healthcare by capturing data. Device Companies need to pay attention to this competitive advantage that ExplORer Surgical offers as they can provide extended learning and training for sales reps and the providers they interact with on a daily basis. R&D you will love ExplORer Surgical and how they can help collect data that provides insights to product strengths and potential areas of improvement before a full launch. Listen to this podcast twice, there is so much here that so many of us can benefit from to heal our health care system.
Did you know that $300 of supplies are wasted & thrown away during a typical surgery? Not to mention the occasional instrument that’s accidentally left inside the body cavity :-O Not anymore. Jennifer Fried is CEO & Co-Founder of Chicago-based ExplORer Surgical. They’ve created workflow management software for the operating room. Which helps docs & nurses avoid mistakes, achieve better clinical outcomes, save lives, save money on wasted supplies, and avoid patient lawsuits. She’s raised millions from top VC’s including Aphelion Capital, Elliott Management, M25, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Wasson Enterprise, SymphonyAlpha Ventures, HBS Alumni Angels, and The George Shultz Innovation Fund. In this 20-minute conversation, Jennifer reveals how she’s scaled the team. How she hires. Plus, how she took maternity leave from her own startup (…and what she found when she returned.)
Today on Crain’s Daily Gist, host Amy Guth talks with Crain’s Chicago Business commercial real estate reporter Danny Ecker about the sudden closing of popular North Side staple Stanley’s Fruit and Vegetables after 52 years. Plus: the Chicago Board of Trade building is going up for sale, Walgreens plans to raise the tobacco-buying age to 21, U of C med-tech spinout Explorer Surgical raises $5 million, Samsung delays the launch of the Galaxy Fold after screen failures, UIC gets $65 million to commercialize novel drugs and Chicago security firm Hillard Heintze is acquired by Jensen Hughes. Follow host Amy Guth on Twitter at @AmyGuth, or continue the conversation with #CrainsDailyGist.
In this dual podcast, we talk with leaders from the American Heart Association, Philips, UPMC, and Aphelion Capital about Cardeation Capital, a new venture fund aimed at funding start-ups in the digital health and medtech fields. How did the four entities join forces? What can they offer start-ups looking to disrupt healthcare? For more information go to aphelioncapital.net. You can also learn more about Aphelion Capital, the firm managing the fund, in this Medtech Talk Podcast. We also highlight one of its first investments, ExplORer Surgical in this Breaking Health Podcast.
Working on operating room staff efficiency through a software tool that can be used in the intraoperative part of surgery
CEO Jennifer Fried explains how start-up ExplORer Surgical is delivering a high precision workflow tool for surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses in the OR. Fried says ExplORer can not only make surgery run more smoothly, but also can save hospitals millions in wasted supplies.