Scott Nelson Live

In this episode, we had an engaging conversation with Bill Snyder, CEO of Vivante Health, a startup commercializing an all-in-one digital platform for digestive health conditions.

GIThrive is a platform that combines data-driven technology with a team of physicians, registered dietitians, and health coaches to deliver personalized care.

With over 15 years of experience in healthcare technology, Bill's background includes building and leading national sales efforts at Virta Health and overseeing their health plan practice. Previously, he spent 11 years at Humana in various leadership roles, including Vice President of the company's greater Chicago region.

In this interview, Bill talks about the importance of finding where your company stands in the overall healthcare ecosystem, why clinical outcomes and sorting out reimbursement are critical to survival, and his experiences raising capital for Vivante.

In this episode, we had a fun and insightful conversation with Benjamin Sexson, co-founder and CEO of Monogram Orthopedics. At Monogram, Ben and his team are developing a fully autonomous robotic system for knee replacement surgery.  Benjamin's tenure at Pro-Dex, one of the world's top manufacturers of orthopedic robotic components, eventually brought him to lead the development and launch of Monogram’s flagship product mBôs. Ben has authored multiple patents and previously founded Brides & Hairpins, a successful B2B retail brand. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with honors from Caltech and is a CFA charterholder.

In this interview, Ben talks about the importance of a good team and a liberating company culture as well as the importance of believing in what you’re doing and openly reassessing its validity regularly. He also elaborates on Monogram’s daring strategies for validating its technology and walks us through the pros and cons of crowdfunding and going public.

In this episode, we had an inspiring discussion with  Dr. Steven Mickelsen, CEO of Field Medical, which is developing the next generation of pulse field ablation (PFA) technology to address ventricular arrhythmias.

Starting out his career as a professional musician, Steven made a pivotal shift in his late twenties and ventured into the world of medicine. As a practicing electrophysiology (EP) physician, he has combined his medical expertise with an entrepreneurial spirit to revolutionize cardiac care. Steven made significant strides in the development of pulse field ablation (PFA) treatment with one of his previous companies, Farapulse, which sold to Boston Scientific.

In this episode, Dr. Mickelsen shares his hard-earned wisdom on how limited means can breed resourcefulness, how to build a modest yet effective prototype, why having real expertise in clinical and regulatory spheres is a necessity, and how to raise funds with a win-win mindset.

In this episode, we had a riveting conversation with Anish Kaushal, an ex-physician turned healthcare investor at Amplitude Ventures, one of Canada's leading healthcare VC firms.

Anish's engagement with venture capital began at M Ventures in Amsterdam, a corporate VC fund of Merck KGaA, where he quickly developed a passion for the field. Outside of his professional pursuits, Anish is an avid reader and writer who has published over 900 articles and summarized 250 books across 50 categories. He has also authored two books, the latest of which is From Here To There: A Niche Guide to Navigating Career Transitions. 

In this interview, Anish reveals vital fundraising strategies from a VC’s perspective, offers practical tips for crafting pitch decks that capture attention, discusses why always being in the mode of seeking funds is so important, expands on the value of building extensive networks, and talks about the cumulative effect of small improvements. He also provides guidance on staying open and ready for career shifts in today’s fast-paced professional environment as outlined in his latest book.

In this episode, we sat down with Abhita Batra, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Neuro42. The company recently received 510(k) clearance for its portable head and brain MRI system, which integrates MRI, AI, and robotics in one platform.

Abhita holds a B.E. in Biotechnology from Panjab University, an M.S. in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from the University of Pennsylvania, and Executive MBAs from UCLA Anderson and the National University of Singapore. Before Neuro42, she started several companies and held a variety of roles in business development and strategic consulting with organizations such as Otomagnetics and Admac Oncology. Her expertise spans across oncology, biotech, and medical devices. 

In this interview, Abhita talks about her approach to building strategy at early-stage companies, the importance of a good team and thorough market analysis, and how to take a nuanced approach with regulatory bodies. 

In this episode, we had an engaging conversation with Ananth Ravi, CEO of MOLLI Surgical, a medtech startup that has developed an award-winning, wire-free soft tissue localization technology for breast cancer surgery.

Growing up in Zambia, Ananth lost his best friend to treatable brain cancer, which ignited his passion for creating equitable and innovative cancer care solutions. Before founding MOLLI Surgical, he served as a medical physicist at Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Center and as clinical operations lead in brachytherapy. He held faculty appointments at Sunnybrook Research Institute, the University of Toronto, and Toronto Metropolitan University. He is also a co-inventor on numerous patents and holds several grants for medical devices. 

In this interview, Ananth unpacks his story, touching upon the benefits of being in close contact with a medical ecosystem, the importance of intuitive design, the ideal role of regulatory consultants, and the funding strategies he employs for MOLLI.

In this episode, we sat down with Harlee Sorkin, CEO of InterShunt Technologies, a startup developing a minimally invasive catheter designed to treat heart failure. By improving blood flow and lessening the heart's workload via a shunt, the company's technology holds promise for easing heart failure symptoms.

Harlee is a co-founder of Common Place Holdings, a venture studio that has spun out eight medtech startups, including InterShunt. Before Common Place, Harlee led Traco Labs, a health and nutrition ingredient manufacturer, to a successful exit. He also served as the Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he focused on translating research ideas into commercially viable applications. 

In this interview, Harlee delves into the nuances of leading an early-stage medtech company and covers essential topics such as development prioritization and capital fundraising. He also shares what it’s like to navigate clinical and regulatory challenges as a first-time medtech entrepreneur and how to effectively engage with stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem.

In this episode, we had an insightful discussion with Patrick Anquetil, CEO of Portal Instruments, a company developing a novel needle-free drug delivery system. This cutting-edge technology promises to revolutionize how medications are administered, making the process less invasive, more precise, and more comfortable for patients. 

Patrick brings over 20 years of experience leading bioengineering companies from concept to commercial success. Before Portal, he co-founded two medtech startups, SynapDx and Aretais. Patrick holds a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and advanced degrees from Harvard Business School, ETH Zurich, and the University of Tokyo. His scientific achievements have been featured in top journals and media outlets such as MIT Technology Review, Wired Magazine, PBS, and CNBC.

In this interview, Patrick talks about how he landed on Portal’s business model, how their team condenses timelines across key company functions, and why their diverse set of partners is a golden asset to the company. 

In this episode, we sat down with Tess Cosad, a femtech enthusiast and CEO of Béa Fertility. Béa offers effective, hormone-free, affordable, at-home fertility treatments and ovulation tracking as an alternative to traditional clinic-based offerings. 

Before Béa, Tess founded Emberson Ventures, a B2B marketing agency, and Hers By Design, a femtech company. She was also the first woman to lead a digital marketing-focused accelerator program in Saudi Arabia.

In this interview, Tess delves into the challenges and triumphs of launching a consumer-facing product, the importance of a solid design team, how to be comfortable making decisions with imperfect information, and the lessons she learned about being a CEO while raising funds.

In this episode, we had an awesome chat with  Carla Spina, the pioneering force behind Noa Therapeutics. Carla and her team are developing treatments for inflammatory skin diseases with their innovative multimodal small-molecule therapies.

Carla began her academic journey at the University of Calgary in the fields of inorganic and analytical chemistry, and continued with a Ph.D. in Bioinorganic Chemistry at McGill University. After going to BASF in Germany to develop pharmaceutical formulations, Carla returned to Canada and led the development and global commercialization of antimicrobial wound care devices. Later, she also pioneered first-in-class pharmaceuticals for inflammatory and infectious skin diseases. Currently, she spearheads Noa Therapeutics, a Canadian biotech firm that is transforming how immune diseases are treated.

In this episode, Carla shares her invaluable experiences on the importance of engaging actively with the startup ecosystem and staying connected with those who are shaping the field. We talk about how building a company is a collaborative venture that requires a strong network of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts, and the significance of authentic interaction when reaching out to a variety of potential stakeholders.