Juliana Buonanno is the CEO of TechSlice, a Maryland-based software development agency helping physician-entrepreneurs and MedTech innovators bring new medical and security technologies to life. Over the past eight years, She has led and advised startups and technical teams through the challenges of building FDA-regulated products—from early concept to market-ready solutions.

Before founding TechSlice, Juliana helped lead an organizational transformation that turned a mid-sized software firm from a $1M annual loss into profitability within a year. At TechSlice, she has overseen the creation of medical monitoring devices, AI-driven diagnostic tools, and other products that sit at the intersection of healthcare and technology. Her work centers on improving how complex, regulated technologies are built—making the process faster, more transparent, and more effective.

Ann's passion lies in forging genuine connections to cultivate collaboration and unlock collective potential, driven by a desire to make a positive impact.

What happens when a deeply personal experience exposes a blind spot in women’s health and a team of entrepreneurs decides to build the device that should have existed all along?

In this episode, CleoCare co-founder Frederico Stock joins Dan Mazzucco to talk about turning real-world unmet need into a clinically meaningful product — navigating validation, usability, population risk, and med-device development trade-offs along the way.

This conversation is for entrepreneurs who build because problems in medicine won’t leave them alone.

Dan Mazzucco summarizes Season 1 of Life Science Insights and provides some teasers for Season 2.

Is your science truly investable, or just interesting?

Learn how early development decisions determine whether academic science can realistically become a drug, and how industry evaluates translatability long before the clinic.

This episode helps you understand what it really takes to turn promising academic science into a viable drug program. Dr. Vijayakumar explains how early development decisions, often made long before investors or regulators are involved, can determine whether a program succeeds or quietly fails. You’ll learn how industry evaluates “translatability,” how formulation and development strategy shape everything downstream, and why great science alone is not enough. If you want to know whether your research can realistically become a drug, and what thinking must change when moving from lab to clinic, this conversation provides a clear, grounded roadmap.

Know when to spin out your technology.

This conversation helps academic innovators decide whether (and when) spinning out a company is the right move. Dr. Riley shares a practical framework for assessing commercialization readiness, beyond publications and grant success. You’ll learn how timing, team composition, and institutional context affect outcomes, and why spinning out too early can be as risky as waiting too long. If you’re wrestling with whether to license, form a startup, or keep developing your technology in the lab, this episode offers clarity, perspective, and decision-making confidence grounded in real translational experience.

Entrepreneurship without the mythology.

An honest look at what it takes to build a medtech company, from customer discovery to leadership realities beyond the technology.

This episode gives an honest look at what it actually means to build and lead a medtech company. Eric Sugalski draws on experience as a repeat founder to explain the realities behind product development, customer discovery, and operational execution. You’ll gain insight into how founders spend their time, how service and product business models differ, and why leadership discipline matters as much as innovation. If you’re considering entrepreneurship or are already in it, this conversation helps align expectations with reality and prepares you for the non-technical challenges that define early company success.

Design discipline is your competitive advantage.

Discover how voice-of-customer insights and design controls enable strong science to become products that regulators clear and clinicians adopt.

This episode explains why many medical products fail despite strong science, and how structured design thinking can dramatically improve outcomes. John Crombie shows how voice-of-customer insights and design controls translate clinical needs into fundable, buildable, and approvable products. You’ll learn why these processes matter to regulators and investors, and how they protect innovation rather than slow it down. For academic and early-stage founders who see design controls as bureaucracy, this conversation reframes them as powerful tools for reducing risk and increasing the chance your product actually reaches patients.

Investors fund programs with a clear path to launch.

Understand why manufacturing and safety strategy matter early—and how CMC and tox shape investor confidence and program value.

This episode demystifies CMC and toxicology—and explains why they matter far earlier than most founders expect. Dr. Silvon shows how manufacturing and safety planning shape investor confidence, regulatory credibility, and program value. You’ll learn what questions investors are asking even when they don’t say so, and how early technical rigor can de-risk your program. If you’ve ever felt unprepared discussing development strategy, scalability, or safety planning, this conversation gives you the understanding and language needed to engage confidently and position your company for funding and long-term success.

Regulation doesn’t have to be a black box.

Learn how and when to engage FDA, what regulators expect early, and how smart interaction reduces risk and wasted effort.

This episode helps founders understand how to engage FDA early and productively. Dr. Glass explains when to initiate regulatory conversations, what agencies are really looking for, and how early feedback can shape smarter development strategies. You’ll learn how to avoid common regulatory missteps and how to view FDA as a partner in risk reduction rather than an obstacle. For academic and first-time founders who find regulation intimidating or opaque, this conversation brings clarity, structure, and confidence to one of the most critical (and misunderstood) parts of building a life-science company.