In this episode of The State of MedTech, we dive into the raw ingredients of a legendary medtech career with Doug Boyd , SVP & GM at Imperative Care. What builds a legendary medtech leader? Doug Boyd of Imperative Care shares the blueprint. We cover the "Auris Mafia" effect, hiring for hunger over pedigree, and the hard lesson from a startup failure. Learn the key to overcoming overthinking and why moving from VP to GM required a new skill set. Essential listening for your career.

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Episode Breakdown

00:00 – Opening Motivation & Host Intro

00:56 – Welcome Back + Episode Setup

02:10 – Guest Intro: Doug Boyd’s Background & Career Overview

04:25 – How Doug Boyd Entered Medtech (The Breast Cancer Market Project)

08:23 – Early Medtech Lessons: Rubicon, Peak Surgical & Medtronic

10:28 – Hard Lessons: Permission vs Action & Failing Fast

13:47 – Commercial Break (Showpad)

15:55 – Taking Action vs Overthinking in Startups

17:48 – Strategy Shifts, Product Decisions & Market Reality

20:21 – Auris Health Era: Creativity, Culture & Career Breakthrough

22:10 – The Moment Everything Changed (Inflection Point at Auris)

23:00 – Developing Robotics: Early Decisions, Architecture & Iteration

29:22 – Transition into Sales at Auris + Mentorship from Bill Green

32:45 – Understanding Market Dynamics & Product-Market Fit

34:57 – Moving from Auris to J&J + Lessons Learned

35:47 – Discovering Imperative Care (Stroke Thrombectomy Opportunity)

37:16 – Why Stroke Is a Massive Unmet Need

40:55 – How Imperative’s Technology Actually Works

42:06 – Becoming GM: Responsibilities, Scope & Strategy

44:45 – How a GM Measures Progress & KPIs

46:58 – What Product-Market Fit Really Looks Like

48:05 – Diagnosing When a Product *Doesn’t* Have Product-Market Fit

49:17 – Common Reasons Medtech Products Fail

50:09 – Why Many Startups Build “Cool Tech” With No Real Market

51:14 – The Shift from VP Marketing → GM: New Skill Sets Required

53:47 – Medtech Is Changing: Financial Modeling, New Standards & AI Lag

55:25 – Why Medtech Lags 10–12 Years Behind Consumer Tech

57:00 – Tech Talent Crossing into Medtech (and Why It Matters)

59:42 – The Next Big Shift in Medtech Innovation

01:00:29 – Boyd's Strong Opinions About Modern Marketing

01:01:53 – Why He Wouldn’t Hire His 22-Year-Old Self

01:03:50 – Lessons From a Failed Startup (Rubicon)

01:05:11 – What Young Professionals Get Wrong

01:07:29 – “Stop Worrying About Yourself” -Career Philosophy

01:11:10 – Final Thoughts & Episode Close

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