Insight: Evo or Revo? The $64,000 question
After nearly 30 years in and around the Medical Device space, I’ve seen success defined by both Evolutionary and Revolutionary products. Both come with their own specialized set of risks –
- Evolutionary is generally an easier Regulatory pathway but can easily be mistaken as a “me too” product which makes gaining the attention of investors more challenging and may require a more clearly defined route to marketing and sales with predictable results.
- Revolutionary is, by definition, a riskier Regulatory track which can encumber both the skilled team members and investors with a much longer timeline to a commercialized product (if at all) but if that product gets to the clinical stage of the process and can have its real value demonstrated, the payoff can be much bigger.
Whichever of these you would define as your sweet spot, you have to be prepared upfront for how you define the “long haul”. The traps setup by demanding, short-term minded investors and the unbelievable minefield known as Regulation, can make even the most formidable personality style quake with occasional fear.
But the true $64,000 question is: What motivates an already successful entrepreneur to want to do it again? “I’ve pushed myself in ways I didn’t know possible; taken friendships and business relationships to the brink of disaster; and caused my family to reconsider my grasp on sanity too many times to count. Why am I doing this again?” It’s an interesting phenomenon and only rarely about money. The most successful entrepreneurs I’ve known are driven by the challenge of succeeding and in med device, success is defined as improving the condition for patients.
I recently read an interesting Q&A on the subject so I thought I’d share it with you –